"We talked with the coach for a long time. We managed to find common ground. The coach wanted my presence. With my experience I'll do my best to help. I hope that we cooperate well. I'll be a link between the coach and the players," said Novaković.

In the last couple of days the Slovenian team was overshadowed by the mysterious absence of goalkeeper Jan Oblak, of which there has been much speculation. The Slovenian Football Association asked the media to refrain from asking the players about Oblak, in order for them to focus on the next two important matches. However, the question was asked.

Novaković was one of those who had to comment on the situation with Atletico Madrid's goalkeeper. "At this moment we don't need to talk about Jan Oblak. I was not involved from the beginning, so I don't know what's happening. As he said himself, let's wait and see what happens after this national team action," said the second best goal scorer in the history of the Slovenian national team.

This is how team captain Bojan Jokić commented the whole situation: "Jan is a remarkable guy and a professional. He knows best whether he feels any pain from his injury or not. I believe that he does feel pain. We wish for him to heal as quickly as possible and return to the national team, because we need him."

There have been rumors for several months now that the reason for Oblak not playing under coach Kavčič is the fact that he wasn't chosen to be team captain. "I think that's not the reason why he's not here. There's always only one captain, and it's always been like that in the national team," said Jokić.