Qualifying would be big bonus, says Russia boss

By Gennady Fyodorov

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia coach Guus Hiddink says it will be a big bonus if his young team qualify for Euro 2008.

After beating England in Moscow last month, Russia must win their last two Group E qualifiers in Israel and Andorra to reach the finals.

"If we get the six points it would be a perfect birthday gift not only for me but all of Russia," Hiddink told Reuters before taking his squad for a three-day training camp in Cyprus to prepare for Saturday's encounter in Tel Aviv.

"The team has changed in the last year. It was older but now we have a lot of young guys with potential to become real top-class players. If we qualify it would be a big bonus."

The Dutchman, who turned 61 last week, said he was still on a high nearly a month after the 2-1 triumph over England.

"It was a tremendous victory," said Hiddink. "It was so important for us to beat England because no one expected us to win.

"It was a huge game for our young team in many ways. If we had lost it would have been the end of the road but it wasn't just the three points, it was just as important how we played."

After falling behind to Wayne Rooney's first-half goal, the Russians hit back with two goals after the break to record their first home victory over England.

It was also Russia's first win over a major soccer power since June 1999 when they beat then-world champions France 3-2 in Paris in a European Championship qualifier.

CHANGING MENTALITY

"We didn't panic after going 1-0 down," Hiddink said. "We changed our tactics in the second half, we played a high tempo, aggressive game.

"We didn't wait for their mistakes, we forced them. That's why I'm so pleased with the way we played.

"One of my goals when I came here was to change the mentality of Russian players. I wanted to play an attractive attacking game, not to put nine or 10 men behind the ball and wait for the opponents to make a mistake."

Hiddink, who last month agreed a new two-year contract with Russia until 2010, said he expected a tough game in Israel.

"I'm realistic enough to know it will be another big test," he said. "Israel have no extra pressure as they cannot qualify.

"They will also be playing at home and will try to attack but I don't think they will be able to put us under pressure for the entire 90 minutes.

"We'll have to stick to our plan and be aggressive but at the same time watch out for their counter-attacks."

Asked about his plans for the future, Hiddink said: "After the Andorra match I'm going to take a couple of weeks off, then next month go to Durban for the World Cup qualifying draw. I'm already planning for next year".