The Tottenham playmaker missed the 3-0 victory over Latvia with a thigh problem but is in line to return for the second round of matches in Group F.

Coach Slaven Bilic admits Croatia's self-belief dipped after they failed to qualify for the World Cup but believes they are now on the right track.

"I'm not only delighted because of the victory against Latvia but because we thought Latvia would be our most difficult away match," said Bilic.

"We had a dip in confidence after World Cup qualifying but we shouldn't be euphoric just yet."

New Greece coach Fernando Santos experienced a frustrating competitive debut as after his team were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Georgia in the opener.

Georgia host Israel in their first Euro 2012 qualifier on home soil in what will also be their first competitive match against Israel.

Temuri Ketsbaia, the Georgia coach, was pleased with last weekend's 1-1 draw in Greece.

"The match was very tight but that's not a surprise for me," said Ketsbaia.

"I knew Greek football well so it was easy to tell the players what to expect.

"Even though we led and only got a draw, I am happy to have this result as we now look forward to meeting Israel."

The opening round of fixtures pointed to a long qualifying campaign for Malta and Latvia with both sides suffering three-goal defeats to Israel and Croatia respectively.

Now the minnows meet in Ta' Qali in what will be their first competitive fixture.

Malta coach John Buttigieg saw pleasing aspects in the 3-1 defeat by Israel and refuses to throw in the towel against Latvia.

"We all knew that the Israel match would be very difficult," said Buttigieg.

"Despite being under early pressure my team reacted well and even drew level with a goal from Jamie Pace.

"Again we conceded two goals which we could have avoided. From then on it was impossible to recover.

"Our immediate objective is now Latvia - another difficult match but not impossible."