Croatia hits back at Canada’s Herdman after FIFA World Cup win
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Croatia defeated Canada 4-1 to eliminate the Canadians’ chance at advancing to the knockout stage at the FIFA World Cup Sunday in Qatar.
After the match, Croatia’s Andrej Kramarić – who scored two goals for his side in the victory – circled back to John Herdman’s “eff Croatia” quote from earlier in the week.
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When asked if Croatia was motivated by what Herdman said, Kramarić didn’t hold back.
“I want to thank [Herdman] for the motivation. In the end, Croatia demonstrated who effed whom,” he said through an interpreter.
"I could've been a little composed coming out of the huddle, but that's my learning, I'll take it on the chin,” Herdman said Sunday of his original comment.
He said on Saturday his post-match comments may have been "a little too honest."
Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic told reporters he did not see Herdman after the match but said Canada’s coach has some learning to do.
"Whether I lose or win, I always see the other coach. He was not there and that’s his way of doing things. He’s obviously mad. He is a good coach, he is a quality professional. It will take some time for him to learn some things,” he said.
Alphonso Davies opened the scoring for Canada right out of the gate by heading home a Tajon Buchanan cross in the second minute. But Croatia scored two goals near the end of the first half and kept the pressure on in the second with two more, cruising to a victory that put them in a tie with Morocco atop Group F.
Marko Livaja and Lovro Majer had the other two goals from Croatia in the victory.
"When [Croatia] scored that second goal, I thought that was a turning point because we had to come out after the game. And this team are absolute killers in transition. This is a team where you give them that little inch, they'll take you on," Herdman said.
Despite the loss, Herdman said he was proud of Canada's effort through their first two games.
"A lot of pride in that performance, I thought in moments they showed they could compete on the world stage. Obviously to score our first goal and have that moment with the fans knowing that back home, east to west, that people were celebrating somewhere. It was a great moment," he said.
Canada plays Morocco in their final World Cup game on Thursday.
Watch Canada's game vs. Morocco on Thursday at 10am et/7am pt on TSN.