Intro:
Croatian midfielder Darijo Srna said his side have 'no fear' heading into their final Euro 2012 match against reigning champions Spain.
Script:
Croatia trained in Gdansk, Poland ahead of their final Group C game with Spain at the UEFA European Championship, knowing a win would see them finish top of the group.
Croatia will also be through to the quarter-finals with any draw other than 0-0 or 1-1.
For Croatia's opponents Spain, they will progress to the last eight of the competition with a draw, while a win would ensure top spot.
Midfielder Darijo Srna says Spain will get the same performance Ireland and Italy did against the Croatians.
SOUNDBITE: (Croatian) Darijo Srna, Croatia midfielder: (on opponents Spain) "We have no complex, no fear, we don't respect Spain. They are the best team in the world but we will play against Ireland and against Italy in the same way, and the whole world is going to watch this game and we will show again that we have character. We can play well against big teams and we can win."
Since Croatia turned independent they have faced the Spaniards four times, all in friendlies.
They won the first match 2-0 in Valencia in 1994, but since then they've drawn once and lost twice.
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Rank | Team | W/D/L | Pts |
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Cities & Stadiums
The Top 3 Teams of Previous Tournaments
Year | Winners | Runner-up | Third place |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | Spain | Germany | Russia / Turkey |
2004 | Greece | Portugal | Netherlands / Czech Republic |
2000 | France | Italy | Netherlands / Portugal |
1996 | Germany | Czech Republic | France / England |
1992 | Denmark | Germany | Netherlands / Sweden |
1988 | Netherlands | Soviet Union | Italy / West Germany |
1984 | France | Spain | Denmark / Portugal |
1980 | West Germany | Belgium | Czechoslovakia |
1976 | Czechoslovakia | West Germany | Netherlands |
1972 | West Germany | Soviet Union | Belgium |
1968 | Italy | Yugoslavia | England |
1964 | Spain | Soviet Union | Hungary |
1960 | Soviet Union | Yugoslavia | Czechoslovakia |