Bilic's joy at winning start

Croatia coach Slaven Bilic told his players to enjoy this victory even though they looked a shadow of the side who knocked England out of the qualifying stages.

Luka Modric scored the only goal of the game at Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium but Bilic's side were then hanging on to their lead as they soaked up pressure.

It offered encouragement to England boss Fabio Capello, who was in the stands scouting his opponents for the World Cup qualifiers.

Croatia have a record of starting tournaments slowly, so Bilic was delighted to win the Group B opener.

"I didn't think the players were happy when they got back in the dressing room," he said. "I turned on the CD player and said they should sing - because they won."

Bilic felt the occasion got to his team. He added: "Some players were overwhelmed by playing at a great tournament - but we started off with the best possible way with a win.

"In the first 35 minutes we played excellently. They exerted more pressure in the second half but we confined ourselves to our penalty area too early. The last 15 minutes or so, you can do that. But we started in the 60th minute."