
Wonderfully well managed in qualifying by the charismatic Slaven Bilic, Croatia will be extremely difficult to beat - but they have yet to convince they have enough thrust up front to hurt teams in the knockout stages.
The absence of a genuine international class centre-forward could be decisive. The broken leg suffered by Arsenal's Eduardo Da Silva against Birmingham City in February was a source of widespread consternation far beyond North London - fans in Zagreb and Dubrovnik watched their best prospect for goals ruled out in the cruellest fashion.
It isn't just the striker's 10 goals in 12 games in qualifying that will be missed; his mobility and neat touch were ideally suited to the 4-4-1-1 system Bilic favours against stronger opponents. Mladen Petric is best-placed to take Eduardo's place: a pacey if slightly raw 24-year-old who has had a decent season with Borussia Dortmund. He scored seven goals in qualifying, too, even if six of those were against Andorra. The other one came against England at Wembley, of course.
More responsibility will therefore fall on the shoulders of Luka Modric, Spurs' recent £15.8m signing, who tends to be stationed in a deep lying attacking position. He might be a little skinny, but he's got plenty of energy and a wonderful eye for a pass - and was the outstanding player at Wembley in November.
Among the replacements, the uncapped 20-year-old Nikola Kalinic scored 18 goals in 26 games this season for Hajduk Split and has been compared to a young Davor Suker - high praise indeed among Croats.
The team's main strengths remain technical adeptness in all areas (witness Niko Kranjcar's intricate skills on the right side of Portsmouth's midfield) and the wealth of international and European experience accumulated by players such as Dario Simic and Robert and Niko Kovac. However, goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa does give the impression he's just itching to throw one in at a vital moment.
Croatia's other trump card is the inspiration provided by Bilic, who only demanded the minimum wage when he was appointed coach as a mark of his chest-thumping pride in doing the job. The former West Ham and Everton defender remains much-coveted by Premier League chairmen - even if his reputation is based largely around having twice succeeded in outwitting Steve McClaren. This is a man of many talents, however: Bilic has recorded a Euro 2008 song with his rock band (yes, rock band) Rawbau. It's called Vatreno Ludilo, or Flaming Madness.
Croatia's best showing in the European Championships remains their quarter-final exit at the hands of Germany at Euro 96, a game in which Bilic played. Portugal or the Czech Republic are their likely opponents at the same stage this time around. Whether they can be relied on to score the goals needed to progress further is very much open to question.
Either way, their travelling army of fans in red and white chequer-board strip (''the divine shirt'', as Zagreb brewery sponsors Ozujsko would have it) will provide one of the more stirring sights of the tournament, particularly during the group games in the tightly-packed Wörthersee stadium in Klagenfurt.
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