Despite trailing at the halftime, Croatia managed to defeat Russia in a friendly international.

"I believe that Croatia played well from the very beginning. Even in the first half, when we conceded, we had more opportunities and should have been ahead. We did not lose our heads and ended this calendar year with a victory over respectable opponent, and we can continue our work in good spirits", said Croatia head coach Ante Čačić.

Both coaches could start with experiments to see what are their options at the EURO 2016 in France next summer.

"I am sure that coach Slutski also used this match for the future and therefore Russia was not at the highest level, but we still had to be excellent for the entire 90 minutes. We had the idea how to defeat Russia and managed to win".

"We wanted to try out Mandžukić and Kalinić together in attack, Vrsaljko was fantastic with two assist, but I am overjoyed with the approach of the entire team. This was a proper competitive match, with Russia also playing well in some periods. To be honest, I would not like to face Russia in France", concluded Čačić.