Ireland v Croatia: Facts and figures

Facts and figures ahead of Sunday's Euro 2012 Group C match between Ireland and Croatia.

Facts and figures ahead of Sunday’s Euro 2012 Group C match between Ireland and Croatia at the City Stadium in Poznan,Poland:

* Ireland have lost only once in six meetings with Croatia,a 1-0 defeat in Zagreb in the Euro 2000 qualifiers in 1999.

* Ireland come into the tournament on the back of an exceptional run of 14 unbeaten games in which they have conceded only three goals. Their last defeat came more than a year ago when they went down 3-2 in Dublin in a March friendly against World Cup semi-finalists Uruguay.

* Ireland travel well. Their last defeat in a competitive match outside their own country goes back almost five years to a 1-0 defeat by the Czech Republic in Prague in a Euro 2008 qualifier in September 2007. They have played 13 successive competitive matches away without a loss.

*Croatia have lost just three of their last 20 competitive matches in the World Cup and Euro 2012 qualifiers.

*Croatia,playing in their fourth Euro finals,had the most unlucky of exits at the last tournament in 2008. After winning their three group games,including a 1-0 victory over hosts Austria,they seemed destined for the semi-finals when they led Turkey 1-0 in extra time. But a last-gasp equaliser was followed by a defeat on penalties.

*Croatia’s best tournament performance remains the 1998 World Cup finals where they beat Germany 3-0 to reach the semi-finals only to lose 2-1 to hosts and eventual champions France.