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Croatia's national team coach Niko Kovac has been relieved of his duties, announced the Croatian Football Federation.
N. Kovac has been leading the national team for the past two years and was the team's coach at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where the Croats secured one victory and were eliminated in the knockout stage.
At the beginning of the qualification cycle, the Croatian national team was leading their group and seemed on their way to Euro 2016, but draws against Azerbaijan and a loss to Norway significantly complicated their plans to qualify for the summer European championship.
Furthermore, after those matches, N. Kovac took responsibility and blamed the players, stating that they "did not put in enough effort."
"Based on a unanimous decision of the federation, we have decided to terminate contracts with Niko Kovac and his entire coaching staff," said federation president Davor Suker in a press release.
"We spoke to him as two true friends. He accepted this decision like a gentleman."
