Bilić proud of bumper Croatia crop

Coach Slaven Bilić concluded that his side were "good, very good" after the 3-2 win at Wembley that capped Croatia's excellent qualifying campaign and eliminated England.

'One of the best'
With the hosts needing only a draw to reach UEFA EURO 2008™, already-qualified Croatia put on a tremendous display with goals from Niko Kranjčar, Ivica Olić and Mladen Petrić dashing English hopes. "I think you have all seen it – this is one of the best national teams I have witnessed in the last five years," he said. "We proved our character and their players even told us we deserved to win."

Lacking respect
He added: "I have not been a coach for long, so it goes without saying that this is my most precious victory in charge. I will talk about it for a long, long time. I am also happy because of everything that happened to us in London. They welcomed us like they did not respect us at all but now they respect us. The players did everything I told them, and a little bit more of their own which God gave them. We are good, very good."

Finals chance
Having sealed qualification on Saturday, despite a 2-0 defeat in F.Y.R. Macedonia, the 39-year-old former defender – who spent several years in England playing for West Ham United FC and Everton FC – is now looking forward to the finals: "We have had high hopes since the beginning but if I couldn't guarantee we would reach the finals, I can't guarantee anything now. We were in the toughest group so that tells us something, but the EURO is a competition where you can become European champions without winning your group."

Kit to keep
Defender Vedran Ćorluka, who is based in the Premier League with Manchester City FC, delighted in England's downfall, saying: "They got what they deserved. They didn't respect us at all. I didn't expect such arrogance from their media and players. It's a real joy to knock England out." Mladen Petrić, scorer of the winning goal, added: "This is the most valuable goal of my career. I didn't swap shirts at the end – I kept mine on. None of their shirts are worth more than mine today."