Croatia 4-1 Canada: Canada Eliminated While Croatians Earn First Win
Canada are out of the World Cup after losing 4-1 against a Croatia side that looked far better than their previous showing.
Alphonso Davies had Canada ahead in the second minute of the game heading home a cross from Tajon Buchanan.
Croatia responded towards the end of the half with Marko Livaja equalising before Andrej Kramaric put Croatia ahead.
Kramaric extended Croatia’s lead in the second half, and a Kamal Miller mistake gifted Lovro Majer a fourth in added time.
Canada opened the scoring inside two minutes. An inviting cross from a lively Buchanan was met by a thumping header from Davies.
John Herdman’s strong words in midweek must have galvanised his team, and Les Rouges were dominant in the opening 20 minutes; Buchanan and Davies the standout players.
However, Croatia slowly grew into the game, and Livaja – in his first start for Croatia at the tournament – gave the Canadian defence a warning in the 34th minute with an effort he sent wide.
That warning was ignored. A minute later, Kramaric equalised for the Croatians. After some neat work from Mateo Kovacic, Ivan Perisic played a line-splitting reverse pass to the striker, who then provided the finish from a tight angle.
Livaja put Croatia in front in the 43rd minute. Another spell of intricate passing gave Livaja space on the edge of Canada’s penalty area before he rifled a shot into the bottom corner capping off a frenetic first half.
Canada came out fighting early in the second half – Johnathan Osario’s effort on 48 minutes very nearly brought them level.
But despite their efforts, in the 69th minute Croatia put the game out of Canada’s reach. A cross from Perisic was brought down and dispatched expertly by Kramaric for his second goal of the evening.
As Canada pushed for a goal in added time, a mistake from Miller in defence allowed Mislav Orsic through on goal. He then selflessly squared the ball to Majer who finished into an empty net.
An impressive performance from the Croatians meant Canada’s stint on the world stage would be a brief one. They’ll play Morocco next, but the result tonight means that game won’t mean anything for them.
The result of that game, however, will affect the rest of the group. Croatia face Belgium next, and they’ll be looking to top the group ahead of the knockout rounds.
