Croatia coach Zlatko Kranjcar believes they can take inspiration from Australia's last-minute win over Japan when they face the Asian nation on Sunday.

The Socceroos were trailing Japan 1-0 until three goals in the last 10 minutes secured a dramatic turnaround and a 3-1 win.

"I saw the game and saw the mistakes Japan made in the last 10 minutes," Kranjcar told a news conference.

"We look forward to taking advantage of them even earlier than Australia did."

After a 1-0 defeat to tournament favourites Brazil in their opening game, the coach also realises the match in Nuremberg is make-or-break for his players

"We said before it will be the key game in the group," he added.