Nearly 10 years have passed since Croatia celebrated their greatest triumph on the international stage. The most famous Vatreni side in history, which included today’s Coaching staff Slaven Bilic, Aljosa Asanovic and Robert Prosinecki, beat Germany 3-0 thanks to goals from Davor Suker, Goran Vlaovic and the majestic Robert Jarni.

That victory is inspiring the current Croatia squad, who are just as talented as their predecessors and, more importantly, better prepared. Six of Bilic’s 23-man squad regularly play in the German League. Captain Niko Kovac was born there, while strikers Mladen Petric and Ivica Olic put fear into Bundesliga defences throughout last season, scoring 27 goals between them.

Trading on reputation, as their lacklustre performance against Austria showed on Sunday, will only get the Vatreni so far however. Luka Modric’s fourth-minute winner, the fastest penalty awarded and scored in European Championship history, was the only shot the Croats had on target all match. Bilic’s side were dominant in the first half, retaining 59 per cent of possession, but retreated after the interval making for a nervy finish.

Petric and Olic often had to come deep to receive the ball, nullifying their threat and exhausting them as the game progressed. Darijo Srna was arguably Croatia’s best performer at the weekend, working tireless up and down the right flank. The 26-year-old covered 11,172m in Vienna and will be expected to do the same in Klagenfurt, where he will need to use his engine to pin back Lukas Podolski, who scored both of Germany’s goals in their 2-0 win against Poland four days ago.

The Germans started their campaign in impressive fashion, tearing apart the Poles with some impressive movement and incisive passing. The Mannschaft’s energetic wing-play, embodied in Werder Bremen’s Clemens Fritz will cause Croatia problems on the left, an area Germany scout Urs Siegentaler has already identified as a weak point.

Germany’s tall and speedy front line will also provide Croatia’s central defensive partnership of Josip Simunic and Robert Kovac with their sternest test yet. Miroslav Klose was caught speeding through the Polish back four at 18mph on Sunday and has a good record against the Vatreni, netting the opener in their last encounter, which ended 2-1 four years ago.

Ref From channel4.com