Two goals inside the first 36 minutes laid the platform for Croatia's victory against qualification Group 6 rivals Kazakhstan. Home dominance Niko Kovač and Luka Modrić put Slaven Bilić's team in total control at half-time, their victory being confirmed with eleven minutes remaining when Mladen Petrić added a third in Zagreb. Croatia were dominant throughout, restricting Arno Pijpers' Kazakhstan to few opportunities, and could have been heading into Wednesday's fixture against England on the back of a greater winning margin. Olić display Croatia captain Kovač opened the scoring with a header from Darijo Srna's left-sided corner after 13 minutes. The hosts continued to press and the second goal arrived 23 minutes later as the impressive Ivica Olić delivered a ball from the right which Ivan Klasnić laid into Modrić's path for the Tottenham Hotspur FC schemer to rifle a shot underneath the Kazakhstan crossbar. The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, with Croatia again supreme and they claimed their third when Olić dummied Ivan Rakitić's pass for Petrić to slot past Kazakhstan goalkeeper David Loria.