Asia PR News

HAMBURG, 29 June /AP/ –

Ukraine no longer considers itself an outsider since it reached the
quarterfinals of the World Cup.

The Eastern European nation, which is making its first World Cup
appearance, has been emboldened since becoming the first former Soviet republic
to get past the group stage, then defeating the unbeaten Swiss in the second
round.

Now the team is eager to face talent-packed Italy in the quarterfinal at
Hamburg on tomorrow night.

"We are not dark horses. We are the Ukrainian national team," said Ukraine
coach Oleh Blokhin, a former Soviet player worshipped by his team and nation of
47 million.

"I understand we are not Argentina or Brazil, or one of those teams, but we
made the quarterfinals.

"We’ve not stopped here. I’m not satisfied so far. We have a game against
Italy. I understand Italy is the favourite but there are two teams on the pitch
and we developed an appetite and we will try to win."

Despite reaching the quarterfinals and its own self-assurance, Ukraine
still hasn’t imbued a great deal of confidence in World Cup observers.

In its opener, the team lost 4-0 to Spain. The players regained some of
their confidence after whipping Saudi Arabia by the same score but then barely
scraped past 10-man Tunisia 1-0 to finish runner-up in the group behind Spain
and advance to the knockout stage.

There, despite unfavourable odds, Ukraine held Switzerland off for 120
minutes and prevailed on penalty kicks 3-0 to reach the round of eight.

"We’ve had some luck but we’ve played well, and I understand what we’ve
done for our country and fans," Blokhin said.

He dismissed criticism of his team’s inelegant, laborious style, and is
hoping Ukraine will enjoy the same fate as Greece, which won the Euro 2004
title after entering the tournament as a longshot.

"We are different in style to Greece, but maybe our success will be the
same," Blokhin said. "A lot of teams play attractively. I liked Mexico and
Spain was nice, but they went home.

"Can we win the Cup? Why not?"

The confident team invited Ukraine’s President Viktor Yushchenko to attend
its quarterfinal match.

According to a statement on Yushchenko’s press office’s website, he has not
yet decided whether he will make the trip.

"The president said he had a very busy schedule on Friday but would choose
to go to Germany if he knew his presence could support and encourage the team,"
the statement said.

Yushchenko was expected to decide tomorrow, the day of the contest.

By Erica Bulman