Russia storms into Euro 2008's final 4

Marco van Basten's confident Dutch stars appeared on course for another European Championship final when they brushed aside Italy and France.

Now the only Dutchman left in the competition is Guus Hiddink.

The master coach handed the former star player a lesson Saturday. The man who led Oranje to a World Cup semifinal 10 years ago guided his young Russian team into the final four of Euro 2008.

Hiddink's Russia beat the strongly favored Dutch 3-1 after extra time in Basel, Switzerland in a game that was simply made in the Netherlands, despite the three Russian goal scorers.

Although Ruud van Nistelrooy's close-range, 86th-minute headed equalizer forced the game into 30 minutes of extra time, Russia resumed its control against a tiring Dutch squad and ran out of the stadium clear winners. The Russians handed Hiddink, one of soccer's most inspirational and successful figures wherever he goes, a first major triumph over his former team.

This modest Dutchman is such a firm believer in the traditional way his country plays soccer that he tries to pass it on to the teams he coaches -- from Madrid to Seoul to Sydney to Moscow.

Without a single element of self-praise, he truly believes that his Russian team played better Dutch football than the Dutch.

"What the boys did tonight, their commitment, to outplay tactically, physically a Dutch team," he said. "After the game I don't want to talk in big words -- but it's a miracle. It's super what the guys did. Super.

"I said, 'Hey, we can do it,' because tactically, physically, technically this Russian team is a better team than the Dutch team. You see the passing and the controlling. So we were dominant and I am very happy and very proud of this team."

In a championship which is taking unexpected twists every day, Russia now faces either Spain or Italy for a place in the final against either Germany or another upstart, Turkey.