Past Australian, and current Russian manager Guus Hiddink has stated that England do not deserve to qualify for Euro 2008. Hiddink, who lead South Korea to the semi-finals of the World Cup 2002, and the amateur Australian side to the final 16 in the World Cup 2006, believes that England’s disunity is the reason for their demise. The man who faced imprisonment for fraud, now hopes to lead Russia to both a successful Euro campaign and a World Cup campaign in South Africa 2010.
England, who have failed to impress during both the World Cup, and these recent qualifiers are plagued with the possibility of not qualifying for this prestige tournament. Coming from a country where their quality of football is globally most profound, this possible occurrence will dent the typical arrogance in which they previously employed. And it is Hiddink who has come out:
‘They are ready to make every last sacrifice because they believe anything is now possible after beating England.’
‘You judge success as to who qualifies. If we finish above England then no-one can say we don’t deserve it. It was not a freak or a one-off.’
‘They realise now that there is not a big difference between the squads of England and Russia and that money, name and fame do not come into it.’
Do you agree with Hiddink’s statement? Do England, despite their poor form, deserve to qualify for Euro 08, or do they deserve to been isolated from the world’s best?