By John Egbokhan
Crest-fallen Croatia Coach, Ivan Grnja watched helplessly as Nigeria’s Flying Eagles walloped his team 5-2 in a second group D game at Armenia on Wednesday night, a result that has made his job of qualifying the European side a more arduous task.

Despite the defeat, Gruja was still gracious to admit that they were beaten by a better Flying Eagles side with good quality, capable of overpowering any team on their day.

In his post-match comments captured by fifa.com, the Croatian coach said they gave the game their best shot but fell to their more competitive African foes. He added that there was nothing to be ashamed about the result.

“It was a good game and we tried our best to make a good comeback. We were the best against Saudi Arabia but we couldn’t win the match. Today we found an opponent with good quality and we couldn’t compete with their quality. They can beat any team with this form.

“The problem was the physical status of our players. Most of the players couldn’t compete in the game and that’s why we conceded quick goals towards the end of the match.

“Nigeria showed that they are strong and they have good players. We made several mistakes which affected us and allowed Nigeria to score five goals”, added Gruja.