Croatia coach Slaven Billic is set to ring the changes for his side’s final Group B match against Poland.

With a last eight spot already secured, Billic is set to start Dario Simic and Ivan Klasnic, while five players are a booking away from suspension.
Leo Beenhakker, the Poland coach, says the need to win may force him to juggle his starting line-up.
Beenhakker is without the injured Jakub Blaszczykowski and Maciej Zurawski, while Ebi Smolarek may be dropped.

Smolarek, who led Poland’s attack with nine goals in qualifying and came into the tournament with huge expectations, but has so far disappointed at the finals.
For Croatia, Luka Modric, Darijo Srna,Josip Simunic, Robert Kovac, Ivica Olic and Mladen Petric have all received one yellow card and could be rested to avoid missing the quarter-finals.

Klasnic should come in up front, becoming the first player to take part at a European Championship after a kidney transplant.

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In January 2007, the German-born Klasnic suffered kidney failure and, after the striker’s body rejected the kidney donated by his mother he again underwent surgery to replace the rejected kidney with one from his father.
Nine months later, the 28-year-old made returned to football with his club Werder Bremen.
Croatia won Group B by beating Austria and Germany in their first two matches and Bilic will turn to 32-year-old defender Simic, a team-mate of his at Euro ’96 and the 1998 World Cup, as key players are given a breather.
“Simic has been a backbone of the squad for a decade and it’s only right that he leads the team on to the pitch against the Poles,” said Billic.
“It would be madness to field first-choice players who are on one yellow card and we also have a few with minor knocks and bruises who need a break.”
Simic, who will be making his first appearance at the finals, said: “I hope I will put 100 matches in a Croatia shirt under my belt at this tournament, it would be a perfect farewell if I decide to retire from international football.
“It’s a real bonus that we reached the last eight with a match to spare because it means the first-choice players get a week’s rest while others get a chance to make an impact.”

Head-to-heads
These nations have met each other in four friendly matches. Croatia won their first two encounters, which were followed by a draw and a Poland victory.
Their last run-in was a warm-up friendly for the 2006 Fifa World Cup on 3 June 2006, when Poland won 1-0 in Wolfsburg, with a goal from Ebi Smolarek.

Team facts – Poland
Need a victory to have a chance of progressing to the quarter-finals. They must hope Austria beat Germany and then defeat Croatia by a bigger margin than Austria’s. This means Poland need to win by at least a two goal margin.
Coach Leo Beenhakker is still waiting for his first victory as an international head coach in nine matches at major championships. Four matches with Holland (1990 Fifa World Cup), three with Trinidad and Tobago (2006 Fifa World Cup) and the two group phase matches with Poland at Euro 2008 have not produced a victory.
Team facts – Croatia
Qualified for the quarter-finals as group winners and will meet either Czech Republic or Turkey in Vienna on Friday, 20 June.
Slaven Bilic’s side have thereby equalled their best ever performance in European Championships. In 1996, the Croatians managed to reach the last eight with Bilic present as a player.
The last debutants to survive the group phase in 1996.

Undefeated in their last five international matches, following a 3-0 friendly defeat against Netherlands in February.
Player facts – Poland
On 12 June, Roger Guerreiro became the third Brazilian-born player to score in a European Championship match, since Portugal’s Pepe (7 June) and Deco (11 June) had become the first and second respectively. Roger also became the first player to score for Poland in a European Championship match.

If selected, Poland midfielder Mariusz Lewandowski will come face to face with his Shakhtar Donetsk team mate Darijo Srna.
If Lewandowski recovers from injury in time and plays, he will win his 50th cap for Poland, having made his international debut on 10 February 2002 (Poland – Faroe Islands 2-1).
Marcin Wasilewski, Mariusz Lewandowski, Ebi Smolarek, Jacek Krzynowek and Jacek Bak will be suspended for a possible quarter-final match if they receive a second yellow card.
Player facts – Croatia
Robert Kovac, Josip Simunic, Luka Modric, Darijo Srna and Jerko Leko have all received a yellow card and will be suspended for Croatia’s next match should they receive another.
Defender Dario Simic is still waiting to become the only Croatian player to have appeared in all three of their European Championship campaigns. If he takes the field, Simic will also collect his 99th cap for Croatia.

Big Match Stats source: Infostrada Sports