Stanković: "We will not be holding anything back"

Belgian city of Antwerp will host UEFA Futsal EURO 2014, and Croatia - after beating Slovakia in the play-offs - is playing in the Group D, together with Spain and Czech Republic.

The first match is scheduled for Wednesday, January 29th, against the European title holders Spain. Mato Stanković's team played Spain in the qualifying round in March and lost 10:0.

"Our major objective was fulfilled by qualifying. We will play both matches, against Spain and Czech Republic, at our maximum level and I hope we will get our reward. We will not be holding anything back, as we have worked on our mentality in order not to get hammered. Lessons have been learned after March, we will do some things differently and we hope to get a better result", said head coach Stanković.

The second match, against Czech Republic two days later, could determine the quarterfinal berth.

"Czech Republic is a strong team with ten players of the same quality. Even though they have better rankings, I am not convinced they are better than us. They will have more rest before the match, yet this does not have to be decisive. There is a 50-50 chance", says Stanković.

In the match versus Spain, Croatia will be without the suspended Jakov Grcić. The match starts at 18:30, in the Lotto Arena in Antwerp.

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