Kovač: "Very lousy performance, Norway deserved to win"

Niko Kovač's men lost to Norway 2:0 and made their way towards EURO 2016 in France a lot more difficult. In October, Croatia will need two victories and a Norway defeat in Italy to secure qualifying birth.

"Croatia was non-existent, not counting the first ten minutes of the second half. This was a very lousy performance, Norway was better in every way. We knew what to expect, but did not perform accordingly. He who plays with a lot of courage and desire can win the match, and Norway proved that. I congratulate them, they have deserved to win", said Croatia head coach.

"However, we can still reach our goal in the final two matches, but only if we show the right attitude, as we did in the first six games in this group. We have to finally realize that great players from great clubs have to prove themselves on the field. We have all failed in Norway, and I take all the responsibility, but the question remains why has this happened. I have never surrendered, and I will not surrender now", continued Kovač.

"Norway has shown us, in a brilliant performance, what it means to play for each other, to fight like lions, to run from the beginning until the very end. We have missed all that", he concluded.

Croatia captain Darijo Srna sent a message to the fans.

"It is difficult to find an explanation after such a defeat. We can only apologize, keep our head high and try to win both October encounters. It is now too late to change anything and we are ready to listen to the deserved criticism. However, this is not the first time Croatia is in a difficult situation, and we are all to blame", he said.

Copyright by Croatian Football Federation. Quoting text from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to HNS as a source and providing direct link to the original content at hns.family. Re-use of the photographs is not permitted.