Both nations knew a win in this game was imperative to give
themselves the best chance of advancing to the quarter-finals, and Bilic's team
showed greater confidence and deserved to take all three points.
They now go into Thursday's game against Italy knowing victory will guarantee a place in
the last eight and a date with one of the teams from the group involving England and France .
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| Jelavic celebrates scoring with coach Bilic |
"I was expecting this kind of result," said Bilic,
who will leave his role with the national team after the tournament to take
charge of Lokomotiv Moscow. "We were preparing for this victory. We knew
everything about this Irish team.
"We knew we were the better team, but you never know
before the match. I can just congratulate players from both teams. The match
was very good. I'm completely satisfied with the way we played. We were really
strong in midfield.
"I respect the Irish team. The Irish team didn't lose
for the last 14 matches, they were in a group with Russia ,
they drew 0-0 in Moscow
- this means they are a strong team. We played very well and we beat a strong
team. From the first minute of the match, I was really sure, really confident.
"We were the better team on the pitch and it would have
been really hard not to win this match.
"We were dreaming about this position. Probably, one
victory will be enough to go to the quarter-finals."
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