Boss Bilic satisfied with slow starters Croatia ... especially Luka Modric
Croatia coach Slaven Bilic told his players to enjoy victory against Austria, after surviving second-half pressure to record victory over the co-hosts.
Luka Modric scored the only goal of the game at Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium then Bilic's side were 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 next season's World Cup qualifiers.
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Perfect start: Bilic's side have three points in the bag
Croatia have a record of starting tournaments slowly, so Bilic was delighted with victory in the Group B opener.
"I didn't think the players were happy when they got back in the dressing room," said Bilic.
"I turned on the CD player and said they should sing - because they won."
Bilic felt the occasion got to his players.
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, of course the early lead contributed to that.
"They exerted more pressure in the second half, and I'm sure that is not to do with a lack of strength from our players. But we confined ourselves to our penalty area too early.
"The last 15 minutes or so - when they play all or nothing - you can do that. But we started in the 60th minute or so."
Croatia goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa was named man of the match, such was Austria's pressure after conceding an early opener.
Breakthrough: Modric celebrates his opener
"This was the worst possible start you can have in an opening match of a major tournament," said Austria coach Josef Hickersberger.
"We took some time to recover - during the first 30 minutes we were nervous.
"For the rest of the match, we were playing the way we should have been playing. We even dominated in the second half of the match.
"We had good opportunities but unfortunately we weren't able to score a goal, so we are empty handed. In our remaining games we need four points to go through.
"We know that the Croats eliminated England in qualifying, so we couldn't start the way we finished the game."
The co-hosts even had a penalty shout turned down when the ball struck Dario Knezevic in the area.
"I saw it from the bench and didn't have the best view of the penalty incident," Hickersberger added.
"The referee had to be 100% convinced, and I hope it was a correct decision."
