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01. 07. 09. - 12:00

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01. 07. 09. - 12:00

Bilic confident Croatia can qualify for 2010 World Cup

Croatian Times

Croatian national football team coach Slaven Bilic believes the team has a good chance to qualify for World Cup 2010 in South Africa despite its recent draw with Ukraine.

Croatia’s next game will be against Belarus on 12 August in Minsk.

Bilic said: "Belarus are a very good team, and we need to win that game. The date of the game should not be a problem for our players because they will be highly motivated."

Bilic said he would announce his starting players on 30 July.

Bilic also said he had recently talked with player Eduardo da Silva, who had said he was not in pain any more and was prepared to put forth maximum effort during training later this month. Da Silva has been recovering from a serious injury.

Bilic once again repeated he did not plan to leave his job until he had accomplished his mission, to win the World Cup.

The coach claimed he had not talked with any football clubs since he had become coach of the national team.

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