Debutants Ukraine have capacity to impress

KIEV, May 26: World Cup debutants Ukraine will be eager to prove themselves in Germany after reaching a major championship finals for the first time in their history.

After suffering bitter playoff defeats in their last three championship campaigns, Ukraine finally succeeded, becoming the first European nation to qualify for the finals.

The former Soviet state won a tough European Group Two, also containing continental champions Greece, 2002 World Cup semi-finalists Turkey and former European winners Denmark.

Now Ukraine, led by a pair of European Footballers of the Year in coach Oleg Blokhin, who won the Golden Ball award in 1975, and striker Andriy Shevchenko, last year's winner, want to follow up their recent good form with a fine showing in Germany.

Some experts, such as former Belgium goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff, who played in the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, think Ukraine are capable of making the semi-finals.

''It's quite possible having a player of Shevchenko's calibre in their side,'' Pfaff, who helped Belgium to reach the semi-finals at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, told Sport-Express newspaper.

Blokhin is more cautious.

''It'll be our first major championship, so it's hard to predict the outcome but certainly we want to make a good account of ourselves there,'' said the former Soviet striker.

Blokhin knows his team's strengths and shortcomings.

Ukraine are largely dependent on one player and if Shevchenko is struggling for form or injured, their chances even to make it out of the first-round group are slim. Most of the Ukraine players are also lacking big-match experience.

The Ukraine captain, however, remains optimistic.

''We have a young team, capable of causing upsets,'' the AC Milan striker told Ukrainian media.

''The first task would be reaching the knockout round, then anything is possible. In any case, we have nothing to lose and everything to gain from playing in the World Cup finals, so it should be a great experience for all of us.'' Shevchenko warned against unrealistic expectations.

''You must set realistic targets for yourselves,'' he told reporters earlier this year after being voted the top player in the former Soviet Union for the second year in a row.

''Otherwise, you just put extra pressure on yourselves which doesn't do you any good.'' Shevchenko also played down Blokhin's prediction of winning the World Cup shortly after Ukraine qualified for Germany.

''You have to understand that our coach was joking when he said that we're going to win the World Cup playing in our first finals,'' he said. ''Even if we just make it out of our first-round group, that would be considered a big success.''

REUTERS