Mandžukić's five-step guide to overcoming Turkey

Croatia and Turkey have previous when it comes to the UEFA European Championship.

Consider their dramatic Vienna quarter-final in 2008 and the teams' play-off tie in November 2011, not to mention their meeting in the first round of matches at EURO '96, and you will form an idea of the history between the nations.

Mario Mandžukić knows it will not be straightforward for Ante Čačić's side to open their Group D campaign with a victory, but he is confident, given the "great players" they have, it can be achieved when the rivalry is renewed in Paris on Sunday.

Introducing the Juventus forward's five-point plan to defeating the Crescent-Stars.

1. "I am saying this a lot, but we need to run, run and run. And we need a big heart."

2. "We have to be as one on the pitch. We are aware of our quality, but it won't mean much if we don't act as one on the field."

3. "I know the Turkey players well and we will be prepared for them."

4. "We should think about our qualities much more than those of our opponents. I like that our coach thinks that way. We have to focus on what can we do – not what our opponents can do – because we are really good and have great players."

5. "We should not think about what happened at EURO 2008 in Austria [Croatia lost on penalties after scoring in the 119th minute and then conceding in the last seconds of the extra time]. This is a new match, everything is different."