Moscow: Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic picked out Raheem Sterling as one of England's most dangerous players ahead of Wednesday's World Cup semi-final.

The 51-year-old coach, who has only been in charge of the national side since October, said: "I wouldn't say there are any glaring weaknesses - they are in the semi-finals, that says it all.

"They showed from the games I've seen so far that they play direct football and they are very fast. They are really good at set-pieces and their tall players are dangerous at corners.

"I think Raheem Sterling is an important player because he is really fast and his combination with Harry Kane is really dangerous. We are wary of Sterling."

He actually mentioned Sterling a second time, praising his pace and power, and said he and his coaching team would be analysing England more closely days and passing that information on to his players. "They dealt with Sweden relatively easily so we know they are going to be a difficult opponent and we respect them," he said.

"But we believe in our strengths, too. We don't fear England or anybody else."

On a more positive note, he looked forward to playing another attack-minded team in England after his side's relative struggles against the more defensive styles of Iceland, Denmark and Russia.

He also said Croatia took great heart from the form of "the World Cup's best central midfield pairing" Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic, with the latter playing "the best football of his career".

Croatia's run to the semi-finals may be a surprise to some, but Dalic said his players had long been among the best in the world and are ready to go down in history as another golden generation.

"Croatia has great players playing at the greatest clubs, but it is true we have not had good results at major tournament for decades," the coach said on Tuesday.

His players' club list reads like a who's-who of European elite players, with Modric and Mateo Kovacic at Real Madrid, Rakitic at Barcelona, forward Mario Mandzukic at Juventus, and Dejan Lovren at Liverpool among others.

"The results were below the level and quality of our players. Something had to change to get the results," Dalic said. "So we should not be surprised that Croatia are in the semi-finals given the quality of the players."

"This generation has been underrated for a long time because of their poor results, but they have shown their quality when it mattered at this World Cup, and it will go down as a golden generation like that of 1998."

Dalic has managed to get the best out of his players so far as they cruised through the group stage with three wins out of three games, including a win over Argentina. They then edged out Denmark and hosts Russia on penalties in the knockout stages to set up a semi-final with England.

The coach, however, will have to wait and see if defender Sime Vrsaljko, who played in four of their five games, will be fit for the match after picking up a knee injury.

"He has this niggle. We want those who are 100 percent match fit. I cannot tell you (if he will play on Wednesday)," Dalic said.

"He has minor issues but we have a huge game on Wednesday. Those players on the pitch must be perfectly fit. We have played five games, but being tired cannot be an alibi.

"We are in a World Cup semi-final. That is a great source of pride for us. This is what drives, that is our petrol," Dalic said. Reuters