Why a 2-0 lead is no great comfort for Ukraine

Reaction to Ukraine's 2-0 UEFA EURO 2016 play-off first-leg win against Slovenia in Lviv was remarkably restrained. "We'll get to the EURO," winger Yevhen Konoplyanka said, but none of his team-mates were prepared to make such bold predictions.

Perhaps there is good reason for that. Back in November 2013, Ukraine seemingly had one foot in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil after a 2-0 play-off home success against France. However, Les Bleus beat Mykhailo Fomenko's side 3-0 in the return fixture, Ukraine missing out for the fifth time in a major tournament play-off.

"We think our lack of experience played a part then," Fomenko said. "That and the fact we couldn't change half of our team [for the second leg as France did]. We were taught a lesson and we had to learn from it."

France were perhaps more daunting opponents than Slovenia, but the parallels between the two ties are not lost on nervous Ukrainians.

Andriy Yarmolenko scored a penalty to make it 2-0 against France and had a hand in both goals against Slovenia on Saturday, netting the first and feeding Artem Fedetskiy to set up Yevhen Seleznyov for the second. "When we won 2-0 two years ago, we were happy and thought we were already in Brazil," the Dynamo Kyiv forward noted. "But then we were knocked out.

"Everyone knows we cannot relax," Yarmolenko added. "There is a second leg and the tie is still open. We have laid a foundation and now we have to get a positive result in Slovenia. We have to be well-organised in defence and capitalise when we have a chance to counter. We know if we score once, Slovenia will have to score four."

Taras Stepanenko and Olexandr Kucher return in Maribor on Tuesday having served suspensions, while injured captain Ruslan Rotan will be cheering them on having temporarily handed the armband to Konoplyanka – whose mishandled cross laid on Ukraine's weekend opener for Yarmolenko.

That stroke of luck – and the Sevilla winger's natural optimism – made him a lone beacon of unalloyed positivity ahead of the decider. "Everything is going to plan," he smiled. "I told you before the first match that we would win. I was right – maybe now I can put myself forward as a TV pundit. Remember France? Oh, don't worry – we'll knock out Slovenia and we'll get to the EURO!" Ukraine's fans can only hope his confidence is well placed.