Bilic's side beat Kazakhstan 3-0 in their World Cup qualifying opener

Croatia coach Slaven Bilic is confident his side can maintain their impressive record against England when they meet in Wednesday's World Cup qualifier.

England lost twice to Croatia during the Euro 2008 qualifiers, two defeats that contributed to their failure to reach last summer's finals.

"They have world-class players, who have been key for their clubs week-in and week-out for 10 years," said Bilic.

"It's going to be hard and we're full of respect - but we're very confident."

We are full of respect for this England team Croatia coach Slaven Bilic

He also suggested England boss Fabio Capello is trying to lure Croatia's players into a false sense of security similar to the tactic the Italian used when he masterminded AC Milan's 4-0 win over Barcelona in the 1994 European Cup final.

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"We are Croatia and, of course, you are under pressure. If you want to be in the top five or so in the world rankings and compete with the best and qualify for the World Cup, you have to cope with the pressure.

"The way England are approaching this game is that we are favourites and that England don't stand a chance and it reminds me of the 1994 European Cup final, Barcelona v Milan.

"Barcelona had a lot of star players and Capello was in charge of Milan and two weeks before everyone was saying Barcelona were going to kill them - and it finished 4-0 for AC Milan.

"I don't know if Barcelona were approaching that game like it was a jolly-up and was too easy but we are not like that. We are full of respect for this England team."