Russia coach Guus Hiddink hailed his two-goal midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov after their World Cup playoff victory over Slovenia.

The Everton man scored both his side's goals in their 2-1 World Cup play-off win at the weekend.

"The matches of the English Premier League hardened him in battles," said Hiddink.

"Bill is a really stylish player. And to tell the truth after (a recent game against) Azerbaijan I had no doubts that he would appear in the starting eleven. His work at training only proved my decision was right.

"People are growing up. And Bilyaletdinov is becoming a real man. To my mind people in Russia underestimated him till now.

"Usually left-footed players have problems with their right leg. But Diniyar scored both goals with his right one. I would not call him a two-footed footballer but he proved that he could do wonderful things with the right leg as well."