Croatia had no issues winning their first match of the Euro group stage with ease.
This match quickly gained traction back in Croatia.
Television stations were looping replays of the game almost all day.
Many fans, even though they had already watched it live, couldn't resist watching it again and again.Watching the smooth passing, proactive playing style, and aggressive offensive approach, the fans were absolutely thrilled.
They were filled with great expectations for this edition of the European Championship.
Croatia hadn't set any official goals for this tournament.
Bilic publicly stated that the team's goal was simply to reach the knockout stage and maintain form.
In other words, it was a "training ground" mentality.
Of course, this wasn't unreasonable, as most of the players were debutants in the Euros.
But after watching their performance in the match, Croatian fans couldn't help but expect more.
Even the media began probing for hints, hoping Bilic would aim higher.
"No way! I won't make any promises," Bilic firmly refused over the phone."We've only won one match. What we need right now is stability, not arrogance. Davor, you should understand that!"
Davor Šuker gave a wry smile. "I understand, but things are different now. Look at how well these young guys played. We could build momentum back home and raise the excitement even further."
"You want to see them crushed by pressure? The goal is to reach the knockout stage, and I won't budge," Bilic said sternly.
Davor was silent for a moment. "How about the semifinals then?"
Bilic snapped, "You think I don't see what you're doing? Getting through the group stage means making the quarterfinals. One step further is the semifinals. You just want to lock that in."
"You don't even have that much courage?"
"Nope! You all say I'm cowardly — fine, let's just go with that!"
"You son of a…"
"You curse again, and I'll curse you right back. Ever since you joined the FA, all you think about is consolidating power. I know you're trying to ride this wave of hype to climb higher, but you can't do it by sacrificing the players."
"Who said I was sacrificing them? If we reach the semifinals, their reputations will grow too — it's a win-win!"
"And what if we don't?" Bilic sneered. "If we don't meet expectations, they'll be blamed. The worst thing is for fans to get their hopes up only to have them shattered. It's too early for this. If you want a commitment from me, fine…"
"Once we make it out of the group stage, I'll give you an answer."
Hearing Bilic's words, Davor Šuker suddenly fell silent.
"You bastard… you actually do sound like a proper coach now!"
"You blind idiot — I am the head coach of the Croatian national team!"
After trading insults, both of them couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Alright, fine. Let's leave it at that. You guys really played well in the first round."
"Poland didn't see the situation clearly. Maybe they breezed through the qualifiers and thought they were better than they are!"
"Next match is against Germany. Feeling confident?"
"Should be," Bilic said, turning to look at Van Stoyac, who was lying on the bed, writing furiously.
"What do you mean 'should be'?"
"It depends on the state of our assistant coach."
"Van Stoyac? Haha! Don't worry, he's got a great track record against the Germans!"
After Croatia's match concluded, the first round of Euro matches continued.
Germany won 1–0 against Austria that same day, showing respect to the host nation.
On Matchday 3, in Group C's first-round games:
Romania forced a draw against France.
Post-Zidane era France was clearly in decline, and their offense was lacking.
But more than that match, the big one was still to come — the Netherlands vs. Italy.
The Dutch "Oranje" were definitely one of the powerhouses of this tournament.
Featuring players like Van Nistelrooy, Sneijder, Van der Vaart, Robben, Van Persie, and others — even without Robben, they thrashed Italy 3–0, the same Italy that had excelled at the last World Cup.
Without Totti, Italy's offense couldn't get going.
Their defense was also undergoing major changes after Maldini's retirement and Nesta stepping away from international duty.
Inzaghi barely made the squad, and at 35, he was already in the twilight of his career.
There were also coaching issues. Lippi's contract had expired and he left the team, and Donadoni clearly couldn't handle the pressure.
All these factors led to Italy's disgraceful loss.
Šuker watched the whole match from start to finish.
Truth be told, it was painful to watch.
Šuker had witnessed Italy at its peak — he knew what Catenaccio looked like.
Watching Gattuso constantly sprinting to plug gaps, seeing Pirlo physically commit only to be knocked to the ground, he could only sigh.
It wasn't any one player's fault — it was a reflection of the overall state of Italian football.
Of course, this wasn't exactly an upset either — the Dutch were a very strong team.
On Matchday 4, the final day of the first round:
Spain's match left the world stunned.
They held 83% possession and completely disoriented the Russian team.
It wasn't that Russia played poorly — they tried hard the entire game — they just couldn't win the ball.
David Villa scored a hat-trick, becoming the first player to do so in this Euro.
In the end, Spain defeated Russia 4–1.
In the final match of the first round, Ibrahimović led Sweden to a 2–0 win over defending champions Greece.
And so, the first round of the group stage came to a close.
On June 12, the second round of the group stage kicked off.
Three matches stood out as major showdowns:
The first, naturally, was Croatia vs. Germany — the biggest of the big.
Led by Ballack, the German team would face Šuker's Croatian squad — a matchup worthy of the knockout stage, and a true clash of titans.
The second: Netherlands vs. France — the Oranje against Les Bleus.
The third: Sweden vs. Spain — could Ibrahimović counter Spain's tiki-taka?
Vienna, Austria.
After the first round, the Croatian team relocated to Austria to prepare for the second match.
They were joined by a large group of Croatian fans.
By now, fans from all over Europe had flooded into Switzerland and Austria, constantly rotating between cities.
Each city was caught in a rhythm of welcoming new fans and saying goodbye to old ones.
With so many Croatian fans arriving, Vienna was as lively as ever, and with the influx of German supporters too, the atmosphere was already on fire before the match even began.
Vienna's locals were also thrilled.
They never imagined getting to see such a big match during the group stage, and having it held in Vienna made it even more exciting.
Croatia vs. Germany — both teams were packed with star players.
This clash would likely decide the fate of Group B, and both sides would go all-out in a fierce battle.
Vienna's residents couldn't wait.
Meanwhile, large groups of Croatian and German fans filled the streets, hyping up the atmosphere — the whole city was burning with excitement.
The day before the match, Vienna started decorating the city.
Everywhere was filled with references to Croatia vs. Germany.
Posters on streetlights, LED displays by the Danube…
The poster featuring Šuker and Ballack facing off was hung in the most prominent spot in central Vienna — a clear message to all: a showdown of epic proportions was coming.
At Croatia's training base…
Van Stoyak was giving a speech.
"To win, the Germans will commit some pretty rough fouls on our forwards. And what should we do?"
He paused. Mandžukić replied, "Avoid them, try not to get hurt?"
"No!" Van Stoyak said firmly. "We confront them. If they foul us, we foul them back."
"We must never show weakness or avoid confrontation against the Germans. If we do, they'll press even harder."
"The next match will be tougher, and yes, there's a risk of injury. But we must protect ourselves and deliver a heavy blow to them as well! Understand?"
Everyone shouted in unison: "Understood!"