In the first of two consecutive away European qualifiers, Croatia took a point in Azerbaijan, before travelling to Norway. What was missing in Baku, says head coach Niko Kovač, was only a better finishing touch.
"Croatia dominated through 90 minutes. We had our chances, but could not convert them. And if you don't score, you can't win. I can't blame the players, they fought well in this heat and it's a shame that at least one ball did not go in. That's football", he says.
Croatia now has to focus on Oslo and Sunday match with Norway.
"We wanted to win, did a good job on re-possession of the ball, and put in a maximum effort. Against Norway in Zagreb every shot was a goal, and now the ball did not want to go in. Azerbaijan defended well, yet we have breached that wall a couple of times. We were aware of Azerbaijan's development, they played bravely and did not surprise us", added Kovač.
"Considering the match in Norway, I took Modrić off the pitch since the midfielders do the most of the running. We will seek victory in Norway as well and see what happens. We'll do everything we can to win, and maybe there will be some changes in the first team. Mandžukić will surely re-discover his goalscoring form, the most important thing is that we continue to create chances", he concluded.
