Following the sacking of Niko Kovač, which was caused due to a poor run in the Euro 2016 qualifying, Ante Čačić was appointed as head coach of the Croatia national team. His appointment was very controversial and left fans of the national team in shock. Croatia finished second in their qualifying group, securing a place in the group stages of Euro 2016 in France. Croatia enjoyed a memorable group stage run, topping their group after beating European champions Spain by a scoreline of 2–1 on 21 June, despite key-player Luka Modrić not playing due to injury problems. However, Croatian fans had earlier sparked controversy during a match against the Czech Republic, which finished 2–2, when flares were lit at the near end of the match. After beating Spain, Croatia were tipped as one of the favorites to win the tournament, but they were knocked out by future winners Portugal in the round of sixteen.