Joint top scorer Savo Milosevic nets his second against Slovenia (GChadwick/Allsport)

The Euro 2000 minnows had played themselves brilliantly into a 3-0 lead and with Yugoslavia down to 10-men looked set to cause a memorable upset.

But Milosevic helped the Yugoslavs mount a recovery to eclipse Portugal's performance against England 24 hours earlier.

The former Aston Villa striker, now with Real Zaragoza, tapped home two of the simplest goals he will ever score - but they were priceless to his team, who for an hour were outplayed and humbled by Slovenia.

The Group C underdogs enjoyed a dream start to their debut in a major tournament and played brilliantly to go three up thanks to two goals from Zlatko Zahovic and one from Miran Pavlin.

But Vujadin Boskov's side, down to 10 men after the dismissal of Sinisa Mihajlovic, began a fightback which almost ended with them clinching all three points as both teams went for broke in a frantic finale.

Milosevic came on for Darko Kovacevic in the 52nd minute and within seconds, before he had touched the ball, his team were 2-0 down as Pavlin headed a Zahovic free-kick into the net.

Five minutes later they were three goals behind and down to 10 men after Mihajlovic, at fault for Slovenia's third, completed a miserable night by getting himself sent off for a push on Saso Udovic, his second bookable offence.

Slovenia, who gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1990, played some delightful football as Boskov's boys struggled to find the pace of an up-tempo first half.

Slovenia started briskly, winning the midfield battle and knitting together some crisp passing movement - especially down the left, where Amir Karic's left-foot crosses caused chaos in the Yugoslav defence.

Zeljko Milinovic rattled a free-kick inches wide in the fourth minute but unsurprisingly it was Zahovic who broke the deadlock.

The Olympiakos midfielder, who loves to get forward, has been in dispute with his club for much of the season but his strike-rate for his country has been incredible.

He scored 10 times in 12 qualifying games and opened his Euro 2000 account with a diving header in the 23rd minute.

A free-kick, given for a foul by Vladimir Jugovic in midfield, was quickly played out to the left. Ales Ceh whipped a fierce cross into the goalmouth and Zahovic threw himself at the ball to head past Ivica Kralj.

The Midas touch deserted the 29-year-old star of Slovenian football, however, 10 minutes later.

Udovic unlocked the defence with a clever pass to send Zahovic clear but as he tried to poke the ball beneath the keeper's dive, Kralj saved with his legs.

Zahovic's free-kick was headed home by Pavlin for the second and then the Olympiakos midfielder was gifted his second of the game by Mihajlovic's dreadful blunder.

He received the defender's misplaced pass in front of goal and finished clinically.

But Milosevic clawed back the first after Marinko Galic hooked what looked to be a lost cause back into the goalmouth as keeper Mladen Dabanovic tried to usher the ball out for a goal-kick.

The substitute tapped the ball into an open goal from a matter of inches - then Ljubinko Drulovic gave Yugoslavia new hope when he crashed the second home on the angle from 10 yards.

Drulovic made the equaliser for Milosevic with a tricky run to the byline down the right. Again the former Villa striker only had to tap the ball into an open goal but he was in the right place at the right time.