Croatia confident of overhauling Italy

Croatia coach Dražen Ladić is facing a selection dilemma as he prepares his side for their decisive match against five-time winners Italy in UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying Group 1.

Key trio missing
The two teams are already certain to finish first and second in the section regardless of the outcome in the final round of fixtures at the NK Varteks Stadium in Varazdin, but victory would see Croatia win the section by a point. The mood in Ladić's squad has been boosted by Friday's 4-0 win against Albania, although HNK Hajduk Split trio Nikola Kalinić, Tomislav Bušić and Ivan Strinić will be missing for the Italy match as Kalinić is already part of Slaven Bilić's plans for the senior side while fitness problems rule out Bušić and Strinić. "They were complaining of injuries so I had to leave them out," said Ladić.

'Keep to our game'
Croatia lost the reverse fixture 2-0 in Chieti last October, but despite his absentees Ladić remains hopeful his side can get the three points they need to send them into the play-off draw as group winners. "It's most important to keep to our game, just like we did against Albania," the coach explained. "We need to play hard and I'm convinced we can do that, although Italy are an excellent team. I'm an optimist and I think we can win and finish top of the group."

Missed opportunity
The mood in the Italy camp is rather different after a 1-1 draw against Greece on Friday yet Sebastian Giovinco is confident that, having missed one opportunity to win the section, the Azzurrini will not prove so profligate second time around. "We cannot get demoralised because of the wasted opportunity against Greece because now we have another chance," said the Juventus midfielder. "We'll find a difficult atmosphere in Croatia, the whole stadium will be against us, but we are a big team and we cannot be scared of anything. We're not in our best physical condition because our domestic league has just started but we're going there to play well – and to win."

Casiraghi confidence
The condition of his players is also a concern for Pierluigi Casiraghi, who is expected to keep faith with Mario Balotelli – scorer of a debut goal against Greece – in attack in the continuing absence of Giuseppe Rossi. "Greece were superior to us physically in the second half," said the Italy coach. "They were running more than us, but I expected that as only one game has been played in Serie A so far and most of my players did not even get on the pitch then. I expect a tough game in Croatia. We will have to battle but I remain confident."