Croatia coach Slaven Bilic added: "England were good against a Macedonia side that was fighting hard for a draw.

"We will try to win, especially as we have to maintain our record of having never lost a home qualifier.

"We are not interested in their draw against Macedonia, we will just focus on ourselves.

"I actually wanted England to beat all the sides in the group except us."

Bilic will again be without Goran Sablic, who missed Saturday's 7-0 thrashing of Andorra through injury.

The Croatia boss believes the defender's absence may hamper their chances of coping with England striker Peter Crouch.

"Sablic is injured again, so he is out, which is a handicap for us," stated Bilic.

"In defence, it is important not to allow Crouch to get near the box, to let him collect the ball in the centre.

"Darijo Srna is also injured, it is almost certain he won't appear this Wednesday.

"We gathered some self-confidence in beating Andorra 7-0 on Saturday but facing England will be something completely different."