Arsenal midfielder Alexander Hleb believes Russia will prove too strong for England in Wednesday's crucial Euro 2008 qualifier.
A draw would leave Steve McClaren's men requiring one more point from their final qualifier, at home to a Croatian side who are likely to have already clinched their finals spot by that stage.
But sub-zero temperatures, a hostile 78,000 crowd and an unfamiliar artificial surface will all combine to make the examination England face in the Luzhniki Stadium more rigorous.
And Hleb believes the ease with which Russia's defence was dismantled in the 3-0 defeat at Wembley last month was misleading.
"After the first goal Russian players were eager to level the score and thus they lost concentration and made a lot of mistakes," Hleb told Sport Express.
"As a result England got more freedom in their rivals' penalty area and converted all their scoring opportunities."
And the Belarus international has pinpointed the men who could dismantle England's European Championship ambitions
"Andrei Arshavin and Alexander Kerzhakov are the leaders of the Russian national side and I think they are able to lead their team to success," he commented.
"The match will be staged on Luzhniki artificial pitch so to my mind Russia will have some advantage and will seal a narrow 2-1 win."
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發表於 2007-10-17 01:50 AM
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