"To all Brazilians I want to tell you the time has arrived," the last man to lead the country to World Cup glory said. "This is our World Cup. There are seven steps. We have to go up those seven steps but to start we have to think of the first step. We can't jump the seven steps.
"The first step is tomorrow against Croatia. After that we have six steps that we want to go up if we want to win the World Cup."
Croatia know how to stop Neymar, Brazil: Kovac
"We know how to stop Neymar and Brazil," Kovac said at his press conference. "Brazil is not only Neymar - they have a great team, but Croatia also have excellent players.
"All those in the team know how nice it is to play for Croatia and how much we love our people. We will leave our heart on the field."
The teams last met in the 2006 World Cup in Germany, with Brazil winning 1-0, but Kovac says his side will fight for a good result against the five-time world champions and vowed to attack throughout the game.
The coach continued: "In Berlin, we were not able to surprise them, but we will give our best. No surrender - we will attack Brazil! Just as we did in the Serbia friendly. Possession is very important because Brazilians do not like to run for the ball."