Marcelo Brozović, Ivan Perišić, Ivica Olić, Gordon Schildenfeld and Danijel Pranjić all scored to secure Croatia's victory over Norway and cling onto the top of the EURO 2016 qualifying Group H.
"We can be satisfied with victory and points gained, but I can not be satisfied with the first half, especially the first half an hour. Norway created too many problems for us, and we were not aggressive enough, not strong enough in duels, and we played too individually", said head coach Niko Kovač.
"Moreover, Norway closed Luka Modrić very well", he continued, "and waited for a chance in a counterattack, while we were on the brink of conceding. Brozović opener helped us to show our quality and I told the players that we have to do better in the second half, and we did".
foto: Drago Sopta/HNS
Even though Croatia celebrated, Kovač spoke once more of the first 30 minutes.
"Everything can be settled in the first half an hour. OK, I am satisfied with 5:1, but we can lose to stronger opponents than Norway at the very beginning. We are not in France yet and we have do put in a better performance against Italy in June in Zagreb".
A couple of words were shared on individual performances.
"Ćorluka is a key member of our defence, but Schildenfeld replaced him perfectly. Subašić was also one of the best, he deserved the best grade", concluded Kovač.
