Croatia coach Niko Kovac and captain Luka Modric have fallen out after picking up only one point in their last two Euro 2016 qualifiers in Azerbaijan and Norway.

Following Sunday’s 2-0 defeat by the Norwegians, Kovac accused his players of producing less than a fully committed performance but Modric was quick to differ with his boss.

“That’s the coach’s opinion but I am totally sure that every player out there left everything on the pitch,” Modric told Croatian media.

“No doubt, everyone is entitled to an opinion,” he said.

“We were poor and our game plan fell apart but we still tried our best. Unfortunately, things went in the wrong direction.”

The first signs of a rift between the two appeared in Friday’s 0-0 draw at Azerbaijan, when Kovac substituted Modric midway through the second half and the Real Madrid playmaker was clearly unhappy with the decision.

The 29-year-old said after the game he had no idea why he came off and added it was a question for Kovac, who has come under strong pressure from local media to step down after a pair of tepid performances.

The results left Croatia’s chances of reaching next year’s 24-team tournament in France in the balance.

They are third in Group H on 14 points from eight games, four adrift of leaders Italy and two behind Norway.

UEFA had deducted a point from Croatia’s tally for a racist incident in June’s 1-1 home draw with Italy. Their last two qualifiers are at home to Bulgaria and away to Malta.