Hiddink coughed and spluttered as he took his seat at Russia's official press conference on Tuesday evening ahead of Wednesday night's Group E clash against Andorra, and the former Holland coach admitted to also feeling metaphorically sick following his side's last-gasp defeat in Israel at the weekend.

"As you can see I am still sick, not just physically but also figuratively," he said.

"I am still sick from the last game, I have a little bit of a cold or flu, but that's nothing.

"I am really sick from the defeat of the game against Israel, that's much worse."

A Russian win in Tel-Aviv would have left Hiddink's side merely needing to brush aside European minnows Andorra to qualify for Euro 2008, while a draw would have had England sweating ahead of Wednesday night's clash with group leaders Croatia - who have already booked their place for next summer's tournament in Austria and Switzerland.

As things now stand, Russia need to beat Andorra and must hope that Croatia win at Wembley.

Hiddink was furious when his side conceded in the last minute against Israel and is equally annoyed that his team relinquished control of its destiny in the closing stages of qualification.

"We were in command after the win against England and it would be perfect to be in control now. But we are not in that position now and I am still figuratively sick," he reiterated.

The Dutch coach admits the odds are now against his side reaching Euro 2008.

"We still have a little chance and we have also to fight for a win (against Andorra). We are not in command any more but we are still close. I talked to the players (collectively) yesterday and the individuals today. There is still a slight chance, but let's face the facts; we have to win and Croatia must (also) put in a big effort. But we still hope for that (qualifying) place," he said.

Whatever happens on Wednesday night, Hiddink believes his side must learn valuable lessons from this qualifying campaign and in particular the defeat in Israel.

"That is one of the things we have to learn. If you are close you must know how close you are and be a winner. (You must) know how to get to the next stage (when) going into a qualifying game," he said.

Roman Pavlyuchenko - the scorer of both goals in Russia's 2-1 win over England in Moscow last month - will be missing on Wednesday after picking up an injury against Israel.

Hiddink has an otherwise full-strength squad to choose from, but says he may make some changes for the final qualifying fixture.

"Pavluchenko will not be there, so there will be at least one change, and there could be more. We need people who can react and are fresh, not having played the whole game (against Israel)," he said.

Russia currently lie in third place, two points behind England and five adrift of Croatia.

Andorra, meanwhile, remain rooted to the bottom of the table, having lost all of their 11 qualifying games.

That dismal run is a far cry from the tiny nation's qualifying campaign for last year's World Cup, when David Rodrigo's side picked up a creditable five points from 12 games following a win over Macedonia and draws against the Macedonians and Finland.

For the game against Russia, Rodrigo will be boosted by the return of wing-back Marc Bernaus and goalkeeper Jose Antonio Gomes, after both remained with their club sides at the weekend and missed Andorra's 2-0 defeat against Estonia.

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