Dario Bašić's men reached their first goal at the European Championships in Bulgaria, going through to the second round, and now await the quarterfinal clash with Belgium. A victory guarantees the semifinal spot, as well as the World Cup berth.
foto: Drago Sopta/HNS
Young Croatians have not conceded a goal in the last six competitive matches, winning against Bulgaria (2:0) and Austria (1:0), and drawing against Spain (0:0) in the Group A.
"This is the most important game of all. I hope we can continue without conceding. We are ready and we can hardly wait for the match to start. We're going for the win", said Croatian goalie Adrian Šemper.
foto: Drago Sopta/HNS
Croatia will face Belgium at 15:00 CET in Burgas, with the winner to play France or Italy in the semifinals. Germany plays Spain, and England will meet Russia. The losing quarterfinalists will enter the play-offs for the remaining two spots at the World Cup.
"If we show quality football, as we have done so far, there should not be any problems. We hope that we can defeat Belgium and get our double reward", said Vinko Soldo.
foto: Drago Sopta/HNS
Croatia head coach Dario Bašić believes that his team will answer to the challenge.
"There are no easier opponents at this stage, they are all the top of European football. Belgium is a team with great discipline and several excellent individuals. These kind of games makes us happy, they require that we give our best. I think we can play very well against Belgium, and that we will give all we've got", he concluded.
