Corluka relishing Brazilian opener

Vedran Corluka believes Croatia’s FIFA World Cup rivals would jump at the chance to open the tournament against Brazil.

Niko Kovac’s men kick off their campaign against the hosts on Thursday, with Cameroon and Mexico completing the line-up for Group A.

While admitting his side face a tough start to the competition, defender Corluka is relishing the opportunity to feature in the curtain-raiser.

“We have positive jitters,” he said. “We play the opening match with the host and there is no team that would not want to change with us.

“There are always desires and expectations, but we need to be realistic and say that we are in a tough group and we have the same opportunities as Cameroon and Mexico to reach the second round.

“We have a team to do this and we can achieve it.”