18.06.2010

Another very important game is ahead of us – this time we'll try to beat the USA. In their first World Cup 2010 match, the USA team did a good job. It was a matter of prestige as well, of something more, as there is always some sort of an additional tension present in matches between England and the USA. On the pitch we were able to see the good and the bad sides of our next opponent. We've also got all the necessary information from our expert staff, which will come very handy once the match itself has started. We won't be changing our style and we'll try to play a compact defence. We'll stay as close to one another as possible, so our opponents won't have much room. We would like our play to kick off more smoothly and the ball to move faster. We need to be more focused and more precise than in the match against Algeria. We are being honest with ourselves and are well aware of how we played in the first match. We are eager for progress and we want to make a step forward in building up and developing our performance. What mattered most in our opener match was to win, which gave us additional energy. But this time we want to jump a step higher.

The rumour has it they have been looking down on us in the USA. We don't care much about this supposed American underestimating. The way they see us is entirely their problem. We do however need to understand that they are a big nation. While this is only our second World Cup, they have been taking part in it from the very start, which makes them so sure they would make it into the knockout stage. I find the way they are thinking perfectly legitimate and normal, but we are just as aware of our own qualities. We have to do everything in our power to show them they are wrong. To prove we are a nation with a big heart! On behalf of the whole team I would like to promise all our fans, both those who are wholeheartedly supporting us in South Africa , as well as those who are keeping their fingers crossed for us in Slovenia, that we'll do everything we possibly can to make them happy again. We’ve never been the calculating sort of a team, but we do always strive for all three points and this time it's going to be no different.

We still feel comfortable in Sandton, although the weather's a bit worse now and the temperatures are between 10 and 12 degrees Celsius. The atmosphere in Africa is very special - we can feel the positive energy all the time. South African fans support other national teams as well, including ours. After the match against Algeria, the hotel staff along with some local people welcomed us back at the hotel with their traditional singing and dancing. Sometimes I get the feeling there's always something positive in the air. People in South Africa are extremely relaxed and very friendly, which makes us happy. Security is a special matter though. The police and security are everywhere you look. You will probably find it interesting to hear that on the way to our training sessions we are always escorted by seven or eight police cars. On the way to a match, even more of them. We don’t stop at any traffic lights on the way there, it all goes very fast straight to the stadium accompanied by a police patrol. We aren't used to it, so we were feeling a bit strange in the first couple of days, but after a while the police and the security became a part of our everyday life and we’re now perfectly used to having them around.

In cooperation with the news publisher Dnevnik.