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Croatia 'don't respect' Spain, says Srna
Posted Monday, June 18, 2012 by SNTV

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.

Standings
    Rank Team W/D/L Pts

    Cities & Stadiums

    The Top 3 Teams of Previous Tournaments

    Year Winners Runner-up Third place
    2008SpainGermanyRussia / Turkey
    2004GreecePortugalNetherlands / Czech Republic
    2000FranceItalyNetherlands / Portugal
    1996GermanyCzech RepublicFrance / England
    1992DenmarkGermanyNetherlands / Sweden
    1988NetherlandsSoviet UnionItaly / West Germany
    1984FranceSpainDenmark / Portugal
    1980West GermanyBelgiumCzechoslovakia
    1976CzechoslovakiaWest GermanyNetherlands
    1972West GermanySoviet UnionBelgium
    1968ItalyYugoslaviaEngland
    1964SpainSoviet UnionHungary
    1960Soviet UnionYugoslaviaCzechoslovakia