Croatia coach Niko Kovac urged his players to regain their 'lost focus' after he signed a contract on Thursday to manage the team until the end of the their Euro 2016 campaign.
Former international midfielder Kovac, who replaced the sacked Igor Stimac, impressed at the helm of the Under-21 side with four wins out of four at the start of their Euro 2015 qualifiers.
His first priority will be to help Croatia qualify for next year's World Cup finals in Brazil after they barely clinched a playoff berth.
"Our immediate task is to reassure the players that they have the quality to get there and we have to make an objective assessment why we had a sharp dip in form in the home straight," Kovac told a news conference.
"They are all top players and the problem is in their heads, as they seem to have drifted and lost their focus when the going got tough," said the 42-year-old stalwart, who scored 14 goals in 83 international appearances.
Croatia, who were level with eventual group winners Belgium halfway through the campaign under Stimac, took only one point from their last four games and limped across the finish line to reach next month's two-legged playoffs as one of the eight best runners-up from nine groups.
Croatia are one of the four seeded teams in the playoffs and Kovac is unlikely to make sweeping changes for the Nov 15 and 19 doubleheader. They will face either France, Sweden, Romania or Iceland, with the draw taking place in Zurich on Monday.
But he will be determined to eradicate the glaring chinks in the armour which saw Croatia lose both games against Scotland and their home match against Belgium after scraping a 1-1 draw at neighbours Serbia.
"We have to put things right tactically and I will explain to the players how I see football and what they need to do in a short time-frame to make sure we are in top form for the playoffs," Kovac said.
"I will visit as many of them as possible in the meantime to see that their minds are in the right place."
The Croatians will be at home in the return leg and Kovac appealed for their fans, who only half-filled the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb for last Friday's 2-1 loss to Belgium, to throng the ground in the decisive battle.
"I am convinced the fans have not abandoned us and they need to show up in numbers for the playoff because the pressure will be enormous no matter who we play and the lads will need all the support they can get."
Former international midfielder Kovac, who replaced the sacked Igor Stimac, impressed at the helm of the Under-21 side with four wins out of four at the start of their Euro 2015 qualifiers.
His first priority will be to help Croatia qualify for next year's World Cup finals in Brazil after they barely clinched a playoff berth.
"Our immediate task is to reassure the players that they have the quality to get there and we have to make an objective assessment why we had a sharp dip in form in the home straight," Kovac told a news conference.
"They are all top players and the problem is in their heads, as they seem to have drifted and lost their focus when the going got tough," said the 42-year-old stalwart, who scored 14 goals in 83 international appearances.
Croatia, who were level with eventual group winners Belgium halfway through the campaign under Stimac, took only one point from their last four games and limped across the finish line to reach next month's two-legged playoffs as one of the eight best runners-up from nine groups.
Croatia are one of the four seeded teams in the playoffs and Kovac is unlikely to make sweeping changes for the Nov 15 and 19 doubleheader. They will face either France, Sweden, Romania or Iceland, with the draw taking place in Zurich on Monday.
But he will be determined to eradicate the glaring chinks in the armour which saw Croatia lose both games against Scotland and their home match against Belgium after scraping a 1-1 draw at neighbours Serbia.
"We have to put things right tactically and I will explain to the players how I see football and what they need to do in a short time-frame to make sure we are in top form for the playoffs," Kovac said.
"I will visit as many of them as possible in the meantime to see that their minds are in the right place."
The Croatians will be at home in the return leg and Kovac appealed for their fans, who only half-filled the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb for last Friday's 2-1 loss to Belgium, to throng the ground in the decisive battle.
"I am convinced the fans have not abandoned us and they need to show up in numbers for the playoff because the pressure will be enormous no matter who we play and the lads will need all the support they can get."
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire