After qualifying for Euro 96 the team reached the World Cup semi-finals in 1998. There was a bit of a downturn after that and Croatia didn't qualify for Euro 2000.

It was almost as if they took it for granted they were going to have a great team and they didn't.

In Euro 2004 the team failed to get past the group stages and in 2006 Croatia didn't have a great World Cup, so there is a big motivation for the country to get back up there again with this tournament.

It is hard to explain how a nation of 4.4m people is competing at the highest level of international football. There is a legacy of a great coaching system from the old Yugoslavia and a very competitive domestic league.

But there are few facilities and looking round when you visit Croatia you don't see many grass pitches. I just don't get their success to be honest. Perhaps it is the Croatian mentality. The nation is just 16 years old, which is nothing really.

Everyone has pride in putting on the shirt. Don't forget it is a country that recently fought a war for the right to wear their own shirt. It is a monumental thing for any Croatian to do.

The coach Slaven Bilic has definitely played his part in Croatia's success. He is a great coach and the players clearly respect him. He did his time with the Under-21s, so I assume he knew a lot of them from then.

Cannot play media. Sorry, this media is not available in your territory.

Archive: Croatia 2-4 England - Euro 2004

He is a very impressive bloke when you meet him; very softly spoken and very studious. If you are a player he is the kind of bloke you would listen to and you would walk through walls for.

In a year he is probably paid what former England coach Steve McClaren was paid in a week or a couple of weeks.

As for Croatia's players, Luka Modric had a lot of fans when he played at Wembley in the 3-2 win over England. You can't replace a player like Eduardo, who is such a prolific goalscorer. Mladen Petric, who scored the winner in that win at Wembley, will be the man they probably have to rely on for goals.

I was talking to Tony Adams about Niko Kranjcar, who has had a fantastic season. When he first came to Portsmouth he was almost anonymous and their fans were a bit doubtful, but he has blossomed in his second season.

Likewise, Vedran Corluka has had a good season with Manchester City and the fact that players have been playing in the big league can only be good for Croatia.

Bilic coached Croatia's Under-21 side before the national team

Croatia are a good bet to win the tournament. They will have massive support and they've got a lot to prove. I don't see any outstanding team and everyone is beatable. They could go all the way. Put it like this; they are daft enough to win.

Having said that in the cold light of day, everyone will huff and puff, there will be lots of drama and in the end Germany will win.

I also think Spain will do well. Everyone knows Fernando Torres is a class player and this could be his moment.

I was a goalkeeper, but an incompetent one and most Croatians are very competent. The Croatian side of me wasn't very proud of me.

I was brought up bilingually and my mum mainly spoke to me in Croatian. My grandmother came over in the winter months and she couldn't speak a word of English, which also helped.

Having said that I'm getting rustier all the time, but the language usually comes flowing back when I get among a load of Croatian football fans and have a few drinks.

606: DEBATE How far can Croatia go in Euro 2008?

When I'm watching a game at home I put my Croatian shirt on and explain the significance to my daughter and just hang on tight to my chair.

I didn't enjoy the game at Wembley, even though Croatia had already qualified. I didn't know what I wanted to happen, though England were so abject they didn't deserve to qualify.

I'm really looking forward to Euro 2008 because the tournament is almost going to be a home game for Croatia. There is a massive Croat community in Vienna and, to a lesser extent, Switzerland.

When they get going the Croatian supporters are fantastic to watch.

Adrian Chiles was talking to John Sinnott