Belgrade, March 26 (Reuters/Sportski Zurnal) - Yugoslavia aim to put their World Cup qualifying campaign back on track in Wednesday's
European group one qualifier in Slovenia following a
disappointing 1-1 home draw with Switzerland on Saturday.
The result left Yugoslavia in fourth place with four points,
three adrift of group leaders Russia who have played a game
more.
The Yugoslavs also have two games in hand over second-placed
Slovenia and Switzerland who are third, but their unimpressive
display against the Swiss has raised doubts about their
prospects of reaching the 2002 finals.
"We are in a complicated situation now," striker Savo
Milosevic was quoted as saying by the daily Sportski Zurnal on
Monday.
"The match with Slovenia will be of utmost importance and we
only have ourselves to blame for not beating Switzerland."
The encounter between the two sides at the Euro 2000
provided one of the most memorable matches of the finals, ending
in a 3-3 draw after Slovenia surrendered a three-goal lead.
Milosevic accepted some blame for Saturday's result,
admitting he should have scored when the Swiss keeper Marco
Pascolo denied him from point blank range in injury time.
"We should have scored more goals as a number of good
chances went begging. I missed a sitter, it's my fault," he
said.
Manager Milovan Djoric said his team had "played their
hearts out" to win in his debut as head coach, but he was
critical of his midfield.
"They did not do a good job," said Djoric. "They had a big
problem taking the ball out of their own half and transforming
defence into attack," he said.
"As a result, Sinisa Mihajlovic was forced to skip the
midfield and look for the forwards with long balls," he added.
Most of the few chances created by Yugoslavia against the
Swiss came from set pieces involving Milosevic, the Yugoslav
captain, who also scored his side's goal - a trademark freekick
from 25 metres.
Djoric said it would take time for the less experienced
players to find their feet at international level.
"There are a lot of young players who are new to the squad
and they still haven't blended in. This will take time," Djoric
said.
"But we have to do everything to be at our best against
Slovenia and make up for dropping two points against
Switzerland," he added.
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