Serbia should not be deterred by a possible hostile reception in Zagreb when they meet more fancied Croatia in their World Cup Group A qualifier next Friday and will enjoy the occasion, coach Sinisa Mihajlovic said.

The match in Dinamo Zagreb’s Maksimir stadium will be played under tight security as the bitter Balkan rivals lock horns for the first time as independent nations after the violent break-up of the former Yugoslavia.

Mihajlovic was confident that his players would rise to the occasion after defeats in their last two games against Belgium and Macedonia piled the pressure on him.

“The Croatians are clearly the better and more experienced side, they’ve been together for a very long time and have some world-class players who are instrumental for their clubs,” the 44-year-old coach told a news conference yesterday.

“We, on the other hand, are a young side awash with lads who may not know how good they really are and what they need is a breakthrough against a top side like Croatia to boost their confidence.

“We are going there to enjoy ourselves and my players need no motivational speech for this one, the opposition should bring the best out of them but we must stay calm and avoid burning out with anxiety before the regional derby kicks off,” he said.

Croatia top the group alongside Belgium with 10 points from four games each, while Serbia are a distant third six points behind them.