Croatia beat Germany 3-0 in the quarter-finals of the 1998 FIFA World Cup and reached the semi-finals, where they lost to eventual winners France. In the third place match Croatia beat the Netherlands 2-1.

Croatia will face hosts Russia in the quarter-finals in Sochi on Saturday.

"History repeats itself. This time around we do not need 3-0, 1-0 will be enough. It was an incredible success for Croatia. We will do our best to repeat it. It will no be easy but we are striving after it," Dalic told journalists.

He added that current generation of Croatia players wanted to prove that they are as good as the team that played in 1998.