Croatia coach Slaven Bilic believes that his "team of lions" Croatia can upset the odds against Spain in this evening's final round in Group C.
Croatia currently sit second in the Group behind the Spaniards and both tied on four points. With Italy still in contention to qualify, both Spain and Croatia may look to win to win the group.
"In the last seven years, we have constantly been among the top ten teams," said Bilic. "The whole world respects us. But that has not only been in the last few years – we were first singled out as a good team on the world scene back in 1994.
"I remember our match against Spain that year – it was a friendly in Valencia and we won it 2-0. Since then, we have been causing upsets against the biggest teams. And this new generation, led brilliantly by Darijo Srna, has something special on the pitch and off it. Their energy is fantastic and they are ready for something big."
The former Croatia defender will depart his hotseat to take the helm of FC Lokomotiv Moskva after Euro 2012 and has billed the Spain showdown as "the match of a generation".
