Klasnić comeback thrills Rakitić

Crowd reaction
"That was not only very important for him, it was important for the whole country," said Rakitić, a relative newcomer on the international stage with just ten caps but as keenly aware as any of his colleagues of the long and arduous journey Klasnić has been on. In fact, all of Croatia was surely willing the 28-year-old to score when he collected Danijel Pranjić's cut-back after 53 minutes of his first major tournament appearance since undergoing two kidney transplants. "You could see how the crowd reacted to him," added Rakitić, who described the Werder Bremen striker's hooked drive as his favourite goal of the tournament so far. "It was the best of days for him."

Left-wing provocateurs
Klasnić's goal marked another huge step in a comeback that looked almost unthinkable when he suffered renal failure in January 2007, and he will now be hoping to claim a regular starting berth. As it was, only Rakitić and Pranjić of the lineup that faced Poland had previously started in this tournament, both having featured in the 2-1 defeat of Germany that helped sew up a quarter-final against Turkey on Friday. Coach Slaven Bilić's intention was to give the duo another chance to develop their routines down the left flank, and his plan worked perfectly. The youngsters combined brilliantly all night, orchestrating a vast number of chances – including the goal itself. "I think myself and Danijel work very well together and I'm happy we get to play together," said Rakitić. "I hope we can do just as well against Turkey. We always do a good job."

Turkey test
Having taken nine points from nine in the group stage, the 20-year-old FC Schalke 04 dynamo is now confident Croatia can overcome Turkey in Vienna if they perform at their peak, despite watching Fatih Terim's men register two late goals against the Czech Republic to book their last-eight ticket. "Turkey are a really good team as they showed in that match, but we have to concentrate on our own game and if we play as we can then we should go through," Rakitić said. "All 23 of our players are good players and we showed that tonight in the best way possible."