Niko Kovač Named as New Croatia Coach
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
Former Croatia captain and current U-21 coach Niko Kovač has been named as the new coach of the Croatian national team. Kovač replaces Igor Štimac, who was sacked just hours after last night’s 2-0 loss to Scotland at Hampden Park by the Croatian FA.
Kovač first test in charge will be against either Sweden, France, Romania or Iceland in the World Cup qualifying playoffs for a place at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil next summer. Croatia and Kovač will find out on Monday who they will face in the November matches.
Štimac now goes into the record books as the worst manager Croatia has had in its history. The former Derby County and West Ham centre-back collected only 17 out of a possible 30 points in the World Cup qualifying campaign, with 5 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses. Štimac, who started his reign in charge of Croatia with a disappointing 2-4 loss at home to Switzerland, ended his stint, which saw Croatia drop from 4th to 18th in the FIFA rankings, with a loss.
