Kovač dismissed by Croatia

Niko Kovač has been dismissed as Croatia coach after a meagre haul of one point from two September fixtures left them third in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying Group H.

A 0-0 draw in Azerbaijan and 2-0 loss in Norway meant Croatia fell behind their Nordic opponents and lost ground on leaders Italy. Croatian Football Federation (HNS) president Davor Šuker announced the decision to end Kovač's reign of just under two years on Wednesday morning, with the replacement scheduled to be appointed by 21 September ahead of October's decisive qualifiers against Bulgaria and Malta.

"Nobody could have predicted these kind of results in the last two matches," Šuker said. "We made our situation complicated and we were not long ago first in the group. This was a unanimous decision by the executive board members.

"When Niko Kovač heard the decision he accepted it like a gentleman. We didn't talk about other candidates. We know it's very important for the Croatian people to go to the EURO. We have already made history in France [finishing third at the 1998 FIFA World Cup] and I hope we will go through these crises and get to France again. All Croatian coaches are under observation, we will find a man who will take us to the EURO."