Slovenia 1-0 Russia (2-2 agg.): Underdogs qualify for World Cup with historic victory

One of UEFA's smaller nations ousts a giant...

19 Nov 2009 00:00:00

More On :  Russia, Slovenia, Slovenia vs Russia
Milivoje Novakovic, Slowenia Slovenia (Photo by Giuseppe Bellini/Getty Images)
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Russia will miss out on the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, after Slovenia pulled off a famous aggregate win in Maribor.

For the tiny central European nation it's their second major playoff scalp, having qualified for the 2002 edition of the World Cup by defeating Romania.

This time they squeezed through on away goals following a gusty performance at home that followed up from a close 2-1 defeat in Moscow.

Matters were settled in Maribor thanks to a well-executed goal from Zlatko Dedic just before the break.

While the Russians threatened after the interval, with ten men - and, right at the death, nine - they seldom truly looked like managing the equaliser that would have sent them to the Cape next summer.

It was truly a sight to behold as Wednesday night's powerhouse that is Russia looked completely out of the depth for the majority of the match. For the entire first half, Hiddink's men struggled to see any of the ball against the stout-chested Slovenians and, when they did manage to get a sniff at the ball, failed miserably at holding onto their possession.

With the hosts marshalling the midfield area with extreme dominance, it was only a matter of time before they opened the scoring. Minutes before the break, Dedic did just that.

A Valter Birsa who had been quiet for the most part, but indeed still lurking, whipped in a cross, just feet infront of Igor Akinfeev. The 'keeper could only watch as Dedic shrugged off his marker to poke the ball home from six yards.

Having seen Slovenia score what would turn out to be the goal that had ultimately won the tie, Hiddink opted for a more aggressive approach.

Throwing on Alexander Kerzhakov and Sergei Semak in place of Roman Pavlyuchenko and Renat Yanbaev respectively, the Russians began to play with three at the back.

Slowly but surely the visitors began to build up some momentum, but would ruin their pace as Kerzhakov saw red after lashing out at a faultless Handanovic. Reduced to 10 men, the Russians pushed harder.

In the dying stages of the game, it was panic stations for the hosts as Russia teemed forward, this time with Stuttgart striker Pavel Pogrebnyak adding to their troubles. With emotions riding high, it was only a matter of time before something happened.

And it did. With 94 minutes on the clock, Chelsea's Yury Zhirkov - who had been deployed as a left winger, as opposed to left-back - pushed over a Slovenian substitute on the sideline, and was sent to meet Kerzhakov for an early shower.

With only 9 men to hold out against, Novakovic almost made it two with one last ditch attempt before the ref blew the whistle that would prevent Russia from having any more players sent off and, more importantly, send Slovenia to the World Cup.

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