Slaven Bilic and Mateo Kovacic commented about Croatia travelling to face Spain on Tuesday.
Fresh from a 2-1 win over Czechia, the Nations League campaign continues with a tough test against the finalists from the previous edition of the competition and the newly crowned world champions.
‘We're not afraid of anyone’
The midfielder knows Spanish football well, having moved from Inter Milan to Real Madrid and been at the Santiago Bernabéu for the completion of the threepeat. La Roja are breaking records of their own kind on the international stage, but Kovacic is confident the Croatians can cause problems.
"Of course. Spain, right now, is the best team in the world. There's nothing better than playing against the best.
"It will be a difficult match against the best team in the world. But it will be difficult for them too.
“We have played against them several times, and sometimes we have done very well. Hopefully, we can repeat that. We're not afraid of anyone. We respect everyone. Spain is a very strong team. They're very united. They're a top team, but we'll focus on our own game.
"No [it is not impossible to win against Spain.] We know about the 39 games without losing, but I don't want to dwell on that; I want to focus on our game and take the ball away from them.”
‘Spain has some strengths that can be exploited’
Slaven Bilic, head coach of the Croatians, echoed the belief that an upset is possible in this match.
"Spain has some strengths that can be exploited, as England showed. We don't need a miracle; we need faith. We've played great matches against them. Matches are long. Against the Czechs, there were moments when we didn't know how to suffer. We can't repeat that.
“We know they'll have possession, but it can't always be theirs. We must have confidence in what we do, in ourselves."
