Sergei Rebrov believes his countrymen can cause an upset against against England.
Former Ukraine ace confident his countrymen can upset the odds
Former Ukraine striker Sergei Rebrov believes his countrymen can cause an upset when they take on England in their World Cup qualifier at Wembley on Wednesday.
The Ukrainians, like England, are unbeaten in Group Six but sit five points Fabio Capello's leaders. They do, though, have the advantage of having a game in hand.
The 34-year-old was an unused substitute the last time the two sides met at St James' Park in August 2004, as England ran out 3-0 winners, but the former Tottenham man is anticipating a better performance from Ukraine this time round.
Rebrov also points out that the Ukraine's strength is to hit teams on the counter-attack and he believes that England may play into their opponent's hands.
"I think Ukraine are preparing well for this game. They have been in England for one week," he told
Sky Sports News.
"Of course everyone is waiting for this game because it is so important to both of these countries. I expect a very good game.
Attacking
"The Ukraine side is attacking but you never know, they play good counter attack but I know England will go forward and look to score and in this type of game Ukraine feel very good.
"Oleksiy Mikhailichenko is a good coach and he knows England well. We are expecting to get some points.
"We are playing against a very strong side and people in Ukraine know that but we are preparing for a good game."
Despite just two starts since his return to AC Milan in the summer Rebrov believes his former team-mate Andriy Shevchenko can still pose a threat to England.
"Andriy (Shevchenko) is a very good player and he is a very strong character," he added.
"It doesn't matter when he comes back to the national team. He is doing his best and if he comes on the pitch he will be one of the best players."
The Rubin Kazan ace also highlighted the other danger men in the Ukraine squad that England should keep an eye out for.
Good form
"(Andriy) Voronin is in good form and (Artem) Milevskyy has scored a lot for Dinamo Kiev in the UEFA Champions League and Uefa Cup and is in good form," he enthused.
"I expect Voronin to play as he is in the best form out of our strikers."
The striker admits that Ukraine must keep an eye out for England forward Wayne Rooney and adds that the Three Lions now play better as a team under Fabio Capello.
"It doesn't matter what form Wayne Rooney is in as he is one of the best strikers in the world. Any defender has to worry about him," he explained.
"But England are a strong team not just (individual) players. When Capello came to the national team the team started to play much better than before.
"I think England now play collective football instead of playing like stars. Now it's a real team."
