MOSCOW, May 18 (RIA Novosti) - The fate of the UEFA Cup will be settled May 18, as Portugal's Sporting and CSKA-Moscow meet in Lisbon finals. CSKA has a good chance to make Russia's first soccer team winning Europe's second-best club prize.

The team, under head coach Valeri Gazzayev, started this season in the champion league-but ranked third in the group tournament. It went over to UEFA Cup games to beat a national record for the event. Spartak-Moscow was Russia's only team to make it to the semifinals, 1998-and lost to Milan's Inter.

It was CSKA's express goal to get it to semifinals, though few believed it would be any success-but the Russian army team did it! Last year's national vice-champion, CSKA has done even more than that, and become finalist. That does not mean the team will put up with a setback today.

The guest team will be no favorite with the fans in Lisbon, and that will be very stimulating. Though by no means soccer cream, Sporting will play at home to feel all the more responsible. Gazzayev, for one, does not think the home venue will be at all encouraging to Sporting. Russians are much superior in tactics and athletic craftsmanship, and have good prospects to win the cup, he says.

"The boys' know-how and sophisticated team tactics will be playing into our hands, so we have a good chance to win. As for Sporting, it's a very strong team-weaklings wouldn't have made it to UEFA finals," said the coach.

As for their physical form, the CSKA boys are all fit, he added.

Great Britain's Graham Poll, finals referee, appeared in official meets involving Russians on three previous occasions. On one, our national team lost to Slovenes in World Cup eliminations, 2002. On the two others, Spartak won Spain's Valladolid for the UEFA Cup, and lost to Bordeaux, France, on the champion league. As for Portuguese teams, they never lost with Poll judging-there were four victories and three draws.

The Sporting-CSKA meet starts at the Jose Alvalade stadium, 22.45, Moscow time.