Slovenia v Ukraine Preview

This match up ensures that a debutante will make up at least one of the places in the Euro 2000 finals next summer.

The break up of the old Soviet Union has seen European football fragment in the Eastern provinces and new powers emerge. Many predict that the superbly talented Ukraine side will be one such new nation to contest the major honours in Europe and that it has the strength in depth to aid a football boom in the region.

Unfortunately the Ukraine economy struggles to adapt to the end of communism but monetary hardships for the populace have been leavened slightly by the reputation earned by its champion club side Kyiv Dynamo and now the Ukraine national side. Ten Kyiv players have been included in the squad for this trip to Ljubljana on Saturday and the team are expected to prove too strong for Slovenia over two legs.

Next summer the Ukraine team could provide a genuine challenge for top honours in Holland and Belgium but Slovenia play a good defensive game that could hold out against them.

Another beneficiary of political change on Europe, coach Srecko Katanec has assembled a talented side that are tenacious enough to test every part of the Ukrainian game.

Katanec has found a new generation of players after the break up of the Yugoslav federation and has a star striker in Zlatko Zahovic. Srecko often plays the Olympiakos player in a withdrawn role in midfield and this area of the side has given the Slovenian boss many opportunities to create a formation that makes his team hard to break down. He plays three at the back and spreads five across midfield invariably with most of these players on defensive detail. Ales Ceh and Miran Pavlin stay in defence. The side is a hard running unit that can play on the break when necessary but Slovenian games are often dragged into midfield tactical battles and they have only lost in recent months to Norway who scored a narrow 2-1 win in Ljubljana last November.

The Ukraine side has developed from its Kyiv roots and their main star - Andriy Shevchenko - has had outstanding moments for AC Milan in his first few months with the club. The tall 23 year old has established himself quickly as a world class star and Slovenia are almost certain to man mark him with extra defensive duties heaped again on the midfield unit.

Such a tactic usually creates space for other players and Sergiy Rebrov is an excellent finisher for his side's good passing moves. Despite such talent in the forward line the Ukrainians have only scored twice in their last three Euro 2000 qualifiers and this failing pegged them back behind the French when Group Four was concluded.

Ukraine must start as favourites and possess in Shevchenko one of the best strikers in the world. They are not just individual talents and have a rigid team pattern with well disciplined players knowing their exact role in the side and if they can find their touch in front of goal they can see off Slovenia.