Slovenia's helping Handanovič

Terrific display
The fact Slovenia are still in with a chance of progressing to next summer's finals ahead of Wednesday night's second leg is undoubtedly down to one man: goalkeeper Samir Handanovič, who almost single-handedly stifled Foppe de Haan's side.

'A great goalkeeper'
"We deserved a victory," the Netherlands coach said after the match. "We should have gone home with a better result as we had some great chances. We did not play to the best of our abilities, it was a hard match and Slovenia did not have a lot of chances, but they had a great goalkeeper."

Handanovič recalled
Treviso FC's Handanovič, the first Slovenian goalkeeper to play in Italy, had been recalled to Branko Zupan's U21 squad as the coach struggled with an injury crisis that cost him the services of striker Borut Semler, midfielder Dalibor Stevanovič and custodian Borut Mavrič.

'Why not?'
With seven senior caps to his name, Handanovič proved an able deputy, and he remains hopeful that Slovenia can defy the Dutch again in the second leg at Heerenveen's Abe Lenstra stadium. "Can we reach the finals? Why not?" he said. "This is football - everything is possible."

Dutch potential
Handanovič was happy to acknowledge his star turn on Sunday, saying: "I had my day. No doubt about it. We didn't play badly, but especially in first half we could have shown more courage. The Dutch are a great side. They are fast and have experience at the highest level."

'Good generation'
However, having played in four FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the 21-year-old has seen his share of first-class action, and has great faith in his team-mates. "This is a good generation," he said. "We are doing our best for our country. It would be great to get to the finals but we will have to play better."

Huntelaar record
Handanovič will also have to beware Netherlands stiker Klaas Jan Huntelaar, who is within three goals of the Dutch U21 scoring record of 15, shared by Roy Makaay and Arnold Bruggink, and Huntelaar will be on familiar territory as he plays his club football at the Abe Lenstra with SC Heerenveen.

'Not really impressed'
Huntelaar was annoyed at not inching closer to that mark in the first leg, saying: "I could have scored a few goals in this match. I was not really impressed by our opponents though, so I think we will be able to finish the job on Wednesday."

Zomer suspended
If the Netherlands are to fulfil that prediction, they must do so without defender Ramon Zomer who is suspended after receiving a yellow card in Celje.

Additional reporting by Berend Scholten