BILLERBECK, Germany -- Serbia-Montenegro coach Ilija Petkovic will quit the national team after the World Cup.

"I will resign when we return home," Petkovic told The Associated Press on Saturday following his team's humiliating elimination from the tournament.

The announcement came after Serbia-Montenegro's 6-0 loss to Argentina on Friday that ranked as the worst in World Cup history for the national team.

Also quitting the team will be captain Savo Milosevic, defender Mladen Krstajic and midfielder Predrag Djordjevic, who announced their retirements from international play even before the World Cup began.

Serbia-Montenegro yielded only one goal in 10 qualifying matches, but conceded seven in its first two Group C matches against the Netherlands and Argentina. The Serbs play Ivory Coast on June 21 and still haven't scored at the tournament.

Friday's loss was the worst for the former Yugoslavia at the World Cup. There was a 6-1 semifinal defeat against Uruguay in the first edition in 1930.

The team last qualified for the World Cup in 1998 as Yugoslavia, and was knocked out in the second round. Serbia-Montenegro's appearance in Germany is the national team's 10th trip to the World Cup, but the first -- and last -- under that name. Montenegro voted for independence in May.

"I will be the biggest fan of Serbia or Montenegro if they qualify for another World Cup," Petkovic said. "The defeat against Argentina was painful, but football goes on."

He described the loss as "a debacle," but also blamed unnamed "strategists" back home for denouncing his game plans at the World Cup as too defensive.

He said that he was sorry for "disregarding my own principles" when he started more offensively against Argentina.

"I'm sorry that I didn't close down the defense in my way," Petkovic said.

The Serbs were in disarray against Argentina, with problems ranging from injuries to key players to squabbles over tactics and skirmishes between players at training sessions.

Petkovic conceded "the atmosphere within the team wasn't good, as it always is when a team is losing matches."

He also said that the breakup of the country contributed to the early exit.

"All teams at the World Cup sing their national anthems, but ours is booed," Petkovic said. "It's hard to play in such an atmosphere."

Serbian fans detest the old communist-era Yugoslav song "Hey Slavs!" and regularly booed it, leaving players shifting with unease.

Petkovic said his players will have to forget their two losses at the World Cup, and turn to the match against Ivory Coast in Munich next Wednesday. National team officials have threatened players with unspecified "financial penalties" if they don't take the game against the Ivorians seriously, team spokesman Aleksandar Boskovic said.