Bilic doubts England belief

Croatia coach claims confidence can slip

By Rob Parrish   Last updated: 9th September 2008

Slaven Bilic Croatia

Bilic: England clash

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Croatia coach Slaven Bilic has claimed England do not always match their off-field talk with on-field actions.

Bilic's side lock horns with the Three Lions once again on Wednesday night having enjoyed home and away successes during qualification for Euro 2008.

Fabio Capello's side are eager to erase the memories of their 2-0 Zagreb reverse and the 3-2 Wembley humbling they suffered when Steve McClaren was at the helm, which ended their hopes of reaching Austria and Switzerland in the summer.

But Bilic believes that England's pre-match positivity is not always evident once they step across the white line onto the field.

He said: "I would not say the confidence is low because before every game they are like the Three Lions.

"This is the first time that they are a bit cautious although John Terry apparently said they were going to beat us 3-0. It was in the papers here.

"They always have confidence before the games, sometimes they drop with the confidence during the games."

Bilic admitted his memory of the 1994 European Cup final, when Capello masterminded a shock 4-0 AC Milan victory over Barcelona, will keep him on his guard.

The former West Ham player knows his side are favourites to triumph on Wednesday night, but maintains a strong respect for England.

Pressure

Bilic said: "There is more expectation and pressure on us this time. We are always under pressure. We don't want to run away from this pressure.

"We are Croatia and, of course, you are under pressure. If you want to be in the top five or so in the world rankings and compete with the best and qualify for the World Cup, you have to cope with the pressure.

"The way England are approaching this game is that we are favourites and that England don't stand a chance and it reminds me of the 1994 European Cup final, Barcelona v Milan.

"Barcelona had a lot of star players and Capello was in charge of Milan and two weeks before everyone was saying Barcelona were going to kill them - and it finished 4-0 for AC Milan.

"I don't know if Barcelona were approaching that game like it was a jolly-up and was too easy but we are not like that. We are full of respect for this England team.

"They have world-class players, who have been key players for their clubs week in and week out for 10 years, and we know it is going to be hard and we are full of respect - but we are very confident."