Commenting on Turkey's pairing with Croatia in the EURO 2012 play-offs, Turkey head coach Guus Hiddink said: "Our job will not be easy."

"Portugal and Croatia were the two strongest teams from Pot 1. Croatia established themselves a high reputation in Europe thanks to performing on a good level in international tournaments for many years. Since their independence, they were able to reach the finals on six occasions out of the eight qualifying campaigns they had in those major competitions" he continued.

"From the times when I was in charge of Russia in EURO 2008, I still have fresh memory of the quarter-finals match between Turkey and Croatia where the winner was decided through penalties. It was a very challenging game. I do think the two play-off ties in November will be at least as challenging as that match played three years ago. Morever, I believe Croatians will treat those games as a rematch." the Dutch coach added.

Reminding that Croatia is being coached by Slaven Bilic for more than five years, Turkey head coach told: "We will play against a team who have a settled playing strategy and squad and performing well under a dedicated coach's guidance. Our job won't be easy"

"Turkey have undergone a transition period during the qualifying campaign, yet we managed to keep our competitive attribute. We haven't reached play-offs easily. Players should know the value of the point where they stand now and perform as expected in the last obstacle before the finals. By match date, our national team players will get into a very competive level step by step as they have to play more league and high-profile European club competitions matches. We'll pick the ones who are fully match-fit and try to gather our squad as early as possible for Croatia games."