“There is nothing special about this England team. I will bet on a 1-0 score to the Ukraine.

“England defenders are slow and they are not of a high level. That is why John Terry is not playing for a European team. He will always have a bad time playing against a long-legged forward.

“You need leaders and I believe Shevchenko will become one against Terry and will outplay him.”

Shevchenko is unlikely to start tomorrow's qualifier but Fabio Capello is well aware of the damage he could cause from the bench.

“When I was coaching in Italy, Shevchenko always scored against me,” the England manager said.

“He has a great record which he maintained when we beat Ukraine at Wembley. Even though he came on as a substitute with only 20 minutes to go, he still managed to put the ball in the net.”

Judged a failure after his £31million move to Chelsea yeilded just nine goals from 48 appearances, Shevchenko has returned to Dynamo Kiev, where he has scored twice in four appearances.

However, he has netted 42 times in 90 games for his country, having made his debut in 1995.