Euro 2012: ‘We have to believe’ says Giovanni Trapattoni

The Republic suffered a painful reintroduction to the game’s elite this evening as they were thoroughly outplayed to lose 3-1 in Poznan and leave themselves with a mountain to climb in Group C.

Defeat against Spain on Thursday could spell the end for Trapattoni’s men, who must realistically also get a result against Italy next Monday to stand any chance of progressing.

The Republic looked worryingly out of their depth in what was their first major finals appearance for a decade and first at a Euros since 1988.

But manager Trapattoni said: “We have to believe. This evening we met a strong team, technical – we knew that before.

“But every game in this Euro can be a surprise.

“The second goal was very important. I said to the referee, watching the television it was two metres offside. It was not like our other performances, in many games we have played better, we didn’t concede goals, tonight we conceded three goals.”

Croatian coach Slaven Bilic was understandably elated. “We don’t fear anybody,” he said.

“Maybe they were the better team in some moments but the overall impression is that we were the much better team,” he said.

“I was living for this for two years, the players felt this tension for the last two years, they showed they can cope with this tension and pressure, we’re strong as a team.”