Croatia vs Canada: Les Rouges Confident Ahead of Croatian Test
Canada lost their opening game against Belgium on Wednesday evening, but there was a consensus that their performance warranted at least a point. They face Croatia on Sunday night in the second round of Group F instalments.
“I’ll tell yous this: I’m ******* proud of the performance,” were the words of John Herdman following their defeat at the hands of the Belgians. And he had every right to be proud.
Had Alphonso Davies converted his first half penalty, Herdman’s full-time team talk on the pitch may have taken a very different flavour.
While Les Rouges will be full of confidence heading into the game on Sunday, their opponents, Croatia, will be looking to improve on a lacklustre performance against Morocco in the other Group F game earlier this week.
“A bit of courage was missing on our side” said Croatian coach, Zlatco Dalic, following the disappointing 0-0.
Croatia only registered one shot on target in the whole game against Morocco, and they looked far from the fluid machine that they were at the last World Cup; a machine that took them all the way to the final.
With Croatia looking underwhelming at best, and Belgium narrowly edging a tight game against the Canadians, there might be an upset on the cards in this group.
Herdman and Dalic have already engaged in some back-and-forth, adding even more allure to Sunday evening’s result.
“I just told them they belong here and we’re going to go and ‘eff’ Croatia next. It’s as simple as that,” Herdman said previewing Canada’s next test.
In response, Dalic has said, “I’m not sure how nice it is to say something like that but it’s his right.”
Perhaps some mind games are what’s needed to ignite a spark in this group. With the Belgians being the only team to have a win on the board, progression out of the group will be hotly contested.
If Canada are to beat Croatia, they’ll need Tajon Buchanan to star as he did on Wednesday evening; the only thing missing from his electric performance was a goal. How he fares against VfB Stuttgart’s Borna Sosa may prove decisive.
Conversely, the Croatians will want Mateo Kovacic to offer more going forward than he displayed earlier in the week. While Luke Modric showcased his usual Rolls Royce-esque creativity, the Chelsea number eight struggled to make an impact against the Moroccans.
Nicola Vlasic will be hopeful of retaining his place despite being substituted due to injury against Morocco, while Canada are expected to be unchanged.
Canada proved on Wednesday night that they have the necessary constituents to compete with the best, and in Herdman, they’ve got a manager who seems as up for it as anyone.
Croatia will go out with a point to prove. With a midfield as strong as any in the tournament, and with personnel who regularly play in Europe littered throughout the squad, they still go into the game as favourites.
