Croatia will contest their sixth consecutive European Championship this summer, with Zlatko Dalic’s side drawn alongside heavyweight opposition in the shape of Spain and Italy in Group B at Euro 2024.
The Kockasti have progressed out of the group stage in three of their last four Euros and have plenty of historic results to draw from in recent history as their look for inspiration in Germany this month.
One of the biggest results in recent Croatian history was the extraordinary 2007 victory over England at Wembley, which saw the Three Lions fail to qualify for Euro 2008.
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Wing-back Darjo Srna was a key part of the Croatian side that day and he has recalled that eventful evening.
“It was an amazing game for us,” he tells FourFourTwo. “England have always had a fantastic team and great players, and the Premier League is the strongest league in the world.
“But there was a lot of pressure on England that night – huge. We could see it building in the media. It was very different for us: we had qualified for the Euros four days earlier, after Israel beat Russia, so we’d been spending the time celebrating.
“On the day of the game, our coach, Slaven Bilic, allowed us to relax with a shopping trip in London. Because we were so relaxed, I believe it made us a very difficult opponent for England, who needed the win so much.
“I met John Terry at Stamford Bridge recently for an FA Cup match and we talked, but he joked that he didn’t want to speak to me because of that England-Croatia game.”
Croatia would go on to reach the quarter-finals at Euro 2008, where they lost to Turkey. Srna will be watching on this year where his former side kick off their Euro 2024 campaign against Spain on Saturday night, before Group B clashes against Albania and Italy.
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