Scotland’s gutsy performance against England sets up a mouth-watering showdown with Croatia at Hampden on Tuesday night with Steve Clarke’s side aiming to take all three points and progress out of the group stage of a major tournament for the very first time.
Slaven Bilic knows what it is like to manage his country at Hampden having led them to a 1-1 draw in George Burley’s first game in charge back in 2008, and the Croatian legend thinks Scotland have what it takes to cause an upset in their final group game.
“Of course, they are capable of beating us. To be fair they were a bit unlucky against England. They defended really well and have Tierney back who makes that left side very strong with Robertson.
“There is also huge pressure there for us, from the media and the players. We are still vice champions of the world. For us to be knocked out would be a huge blow.
“But pressure is there for the Scottish players as well, not a negative pressure but the pressure that comes from within. This is their dream.
“I watched Scotland against Serbia and the way they celebrated after the victory, you could see how much they want it and what it meant to them. They are all top professionals playing at a top level and they have the pressure to go through because they want to go through. You don’t have to be threatened to feel pressure, you feel the pressure from the inside because you want to do it, you don’t want to be the ones who lose it, you want to go and qualify.
“These players play for Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Southampton, Celtic, Rangers, all massive clubs in football. Those guys are there for a reason, because they want to win.”
But Bilic also has some words of caution for Scotland; take Croatia lightly at your peril. Having worked with many of Zlatko Dalic’s side in the past, the Beijing Guoan head coach warns that despite their advancing years, Modric and co are still able to turn it on when they must.
“To go through we will need a big improvement to beat Scotland. They played a top game against England and are going to get the confidence they maybe lost a bit after the defeat to the Czech Republic. They’ve got the momentum back and will definitely be on fire because they have a situation where if they beat us, they are through.
“If we are comparing this Croatia with the Croatia who played in the World Cup final, we are lacking a little bit and we have to find it.
“These younger players who are playing in their first tournament need a bit of experience, like the players who were in their prime in 2018 needed to pay the price in 2008, 2010, 2012 and so on. Maybe at this moment in time we are expecting too much, but still on paper at least we think we have better individual players than Scotland.
“Still in midfield we have the players that maybe only France can match. Luka Modrić, Marcelo Brozović, Mateo Kovačić, very few teams in the world have that kind of quality in midfield.
“The core of our team has been in situations where they have to win the game and they know how to play those tournament games.
“Most of our team have been to the World Cup final and we should know how to react. But we have to show that on the pitch.”
And the former defender, who was part of the Euro 96 and France 98 squads that helped put Croatian football on the map, was also surprised at some of the criticism Steve Clarke and his players received for their opening group game against the Czechs
“It’s crazy. Nowadays it’s brutal, we are talking about one game. It’s never spring or autumn in football management, only summer and winter! I’m glad Steve had a great result against England because he is a top guy and a fantastic coach.”
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