DOHA – After an opening 1-0 loss to Belgium, coach John Herdman had boldly predicted that Canada, who had not won a single World Cup game or even scored a goal, were “gonna eff Croatia” the 2018 finalists.
After being thrashed 4-1 by their 12th-ranked opponents on Sunday, Andrej Kramaric, who contributed a pair of goals to the victory, summed up the result: “In the end, Croatia demonstrated who effed who.”
While the 41st-ranked Canada may have been humbled, Herdman remained unbowed, making no apologies for his incendiary remarks – which caused a stir in Croatia – beyond grudgingly admitting he could have been a little more diplomatic.
“Not at all,” said the 47-year-old Englishman, when asked if he regretted his comments.
“There’s a respect there for Croatia. We’re here to push as far as we can as a team. I could have been a bit more composed coming out of the tunnel, but that’s my learning.
“I’ll take that on the chin, but from a mindset point of view, we showed in that first 25 minutes that little old Canada can compete with the best in the world. We showed we can compete.”
Back in the World Cup for just the second time and the first in 36 years, Canada came to Qatar with several objectives and they accomplished one of those on Sunday.
Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies scored Canada’s first-ever goal in a men’s World Cup with a header after just 68 seconds – the fastest goal of the tournament – at the Khalifa International Stadium.
From that point, however, it was one-way traffic.
Croatia not only responded to the early setback but also to critics questioning their lack of killer instinct after their dour opening draw with Morocco.
Kramaric and Marko Livaja found the net before the break to take the wind out of Canada’s sails, before Kramaric doubled his tally after the break. Lovro Majer netted in stoppage time to wrap up a victory that moved Croatia to the top of Group F on four points.
To seal their place in the last 16, Zlatko Dalic’s men now need only a draw in their final game on Thursday against third-placed Belgium, who are a point behind.
“We made a small step here, but we are far from our ultimate goal,” said Dalic.
“We played an extraordinary Canada, they were full of energy. They scored a goal in the first minute that gave them more energy and power, but we managed to stabilise ourselves.
“Croatia demonstrated power, strength and quality and nobody is happier than me about that.”
With Morocco, also on four points and vying for a spot in the last 16, the 56-year-old warned his side against complacency, saying: “We must not accept the possibility of taking only one point from the match with Belgium. We should not be carried away by euphoria.”
For Herdman, their match against Morocco on Thursday will present a final opportunity to get a maiden win before co-hosting the 2026 World Cup with the United States and Mexico.
“We’ve got a big game coming up against Morocco, a huge game for Canada in the sense that there is a whole lot for us to play for,” he said. REUTERS, AFP
