Croatia coach Otto Baric and his side are confident they can beat England and claim a place in the Euro 2004 quarter-finals.
The Balkan nation has consistently punched above its weight in world football since seceding from Yugoslavia and almost claimed another famous scalp yesterday.
Trailing 1-0 at half-time to an Igor Tudor own goal, the Croats steamrollered European champions France in the first minutes of the second period to take a 2-1 lead with a Milan Rapaic penalty and a Dado Prso goal.
However, David Trezeguet grabbed a share of the spoils for the French and denied the Croats revenge for their 1998 World Cup semi-final defeat by Les Bleus.
That run to the last four - they finished third - remains Croatia's best footballing achievement although they also beat Italy in the 2002 World Cup.
Only Sven-Goran Eriksson's England stand between them and the quarter-finals and Baric scents another famous coup for the nation of only 4.4 million citizens.
"Against England we will be 100 per cent motivated and ready," said Baric who will quit as Croatia coach after the tournament.
"My boys are very motivated. After the (0-0 draw) game with Switzerland I gave them all a day off but they all stayed in the camp except Robert Kovac. That shows how motivated they are and I am very proud of them."