Former Croatia Captain Reminds Russia of its 'Debt' Ahead of Quarterfinals Match

During the group stage of the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship ten years ago the Croatian team, which had already secured a place in the knockout stage, crushed England, helping Russia qualify from second place. Russia later beat the Netherlands in the quarterfinals 3-1, but lost to Spain 0-3 in the following round.

Croatia's most capped player and former captain of the national team Dario Srna told the online news outlet Ukraina.ru that Russia should return the 10-year-old favor during the World Cup quarterfinal game.

"I think that our team once did a great favor to Russia. And now it's time to repay the debt. Croatia has an advantage over Russia. We have a lot of high-class, experienced players, who are playing for big clubs. To say frankly, Croatia is stronger, but Russia deserves respect. The team left the group and defeated Spain — that's a serious achievement. I believe, the upcoming match will be difficult," Srna said.

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Croatia, who beat Denmark 3-2 on penalties in the round of 16, will face Russia, which earlier claimed victory over Spain 4-3, also on penalties, in the quarterfinals at Sochi's Fisht Stadium on Saturday. The game is set to begin at 21:00 Moscow time (18:00 GMT).

The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off on June 14 and will continue until July 15, with the final set to be held at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.