The soft-spoken FIFA interpreter fell silent for a moment. But she held back her nerves. In the end, she said, retelling the words of man of the match Andrej Kramaric, Croatia showed who offended whom. Sunday night at Khalifa Stadium was brutal and harsh for Canada. The shame didn't end with the final whistle. Kramarić, whose two goals came in a 4-1 crushing loss to the Canadians, joined his manager Zlatko Dalic at the post-match table, where the last words, no matter what language you translate them into, were Croatian.
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The defeat meant Canada became the second team to be eliminated from Qatar in 2022, but technically the first to be sent home as the miserable hosts are already at home. From the most moral victory in defeat to Belgium, and then those fateful battle words on Wednesday, to the fact that it was all over by Sunday, it was a hell of a failure.
What role did Herdman's “Eff Croatia” comments play in all of this? Enough. A sufficient part so that they make up at least 20%, or even 25% of the general questions from the audience after the game with Croatia. But zoom out and look at the four days as a whole and you'll see a patch, if not a pattern. A sticky patch of naivety on the pitch, and then on the pitch that so abruptly halted Canada's return to the men's Football World Cup.
As harmless as they were, Herdman's words didn't help Canada. Why? Because they clearly helped Croatia. And the 2018 Football World Cup finalists, who were already performing at a higher level than the top competitors in the CONCACAF qualifiers, definitely didn't need to lift a leg. Of all the teams that can be given some sort of messageboard motivation, the gnarled veteran Croatian core coming out of a depressing stalemate with Morocco is not one of them.
Even the observation of Kramaric and Dalic without the help of an interpreter tells you this. It was written on their faces. Herdman said he did not regret his words and then made it clear that he did. He processed it all in real time, and as Wednesday had taught him, it could be risky.
“No, not at all, he replied when asked if he would like to use the f-word. As I keep saying, we are here to go as far as we can. We are here to change the mentality of the band. I could be a little more collected by stepping out of the crowd. This is my training. I'll take that for a chin.”
If the comments and ensuing taunts from the Croatian tabloids helped turn an already chaotic F group into an Eff group, Herdman's job was to put things in order. This has never happened in Canada on a Sunday at Khalifa Stadium. They flew out of the gate and Alphonso Davis made personal and national history by scoring the fastest goal in this Football World Cup and the first Canadian men's goal in any edition. The next 20 minutes were looking for a second. But they never settled down. This is what Croatia did. And naivety cost Herdman and Canada a second time.
Captain Atiba Hutchison is loved, big brother to the other 25 players here. He won his 100th match a couple of months before his 40th birthday. But when Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic pulled themselves together and then ran uncontrollably down the center, Hutchinson was passed around and intimidated. Porto's Steven Eustaquio was limping with an injury, but for inexplicable reasons both found themselves stranded and Croatia inevitably turned the tide. Hutchinson was partially or explicitly to blame for the Croats' three goals, but Herdman maintained that his captain was next level before admitting soon after that he could have made the change sooner.
“I think there is a small margin, he said. For me, this is an attempt to make tactical changes earlier. There was a point in that first half when Modric and Brozovic started to take our two midfielders apart and we needed to change tactics a little faster and maybe need a substitution a little faster. Perhaps it mattered. I must reflect. I'm a little raw at the moment.”
When he belatedly made changes, Herdman brought in rising star Ismael Kone and veteran Jonathan Osorio. A decade separates the two players, but what they have in common is that neither of them has ever played outside the MLS. And so they were sent into the decisive game of the Football World Cup to tame the Croatian midfield, created from Real Madrid, Chelsea and Internazionale. This is the moment to pause and realize how far Canada has come and how far they still have to go.
In this broader context, Herdman was certainly right when he said that he was proud of what they have achieved,we are here to make history. Davis' assault headbutt was a historic, momentary moment of Canadian heritage. But zooming in again didn't mean much. For more know about Football World Cup Football Tickets.
The team was not widely advised to leave the group, which was expected – and turned out – one of the least predictable and most competitive here. But in order for all this to end before the final group game. Herdman will regroup in Morocco on Thursday and hopes his side can influence how the group shakes up. But not too strong a word. This lesson has been learned
Mystery of ‘disappearing' Morocco goalkeeper solved
Confusion surrounded the Moroccan national team ahead of their shock Football World Cup victory over Belgium on Sunday, when their starting goalkeeper mysteriously disappeared shortly before kick-off. Yacine Bunu's name was listed on the team sheet and he lined up with his teammates for the national anthems just before kick-off.
He then spoke briefly to coach Walid Regragi, who then hugged him and turned to his substitute goalkeeper. Munir El Cajoui then stepped into action just in time to take a pre-match team photo before keeping a clean sheet in a surprise 2-0 victory over the much-loved Belgians. Regragui subsequently revealed that his starting goalkeeper was feeling out of sorts and asked to be substituted.
“He told beIN Sports: he got hit against Croatia, he was erratic. We tried until the last moment, but after the warm-up, just before the match, he did not feel very well and he had the honesty to give way to another. If you want to be on my team, you have to be 100 percent and Yasin understood this and gave his place to Munir, who played a great game.”
The latest change took the BBC's commentary team by surprise for much of the first half. BBC commentator Guy Mowbray was forced to apologize live before the break. One thing I should have noticed earlier, which I apologize for, is the change in target for Morocco at the start, Mowbray said.
Remember at the beginning when we saw the goalkeeper running? Seeing his number, it's number 12, El Cajoui, in the gate. Munir El Cajui. 31-year-old Bunou plays for the Spanish team Sevilla and played in the debut match of the Moroccan national team with Croatia (0:0). He was reported to have vision problems before the game against Belgium. Goals from Abdelhamid Sabiri and Zakaria Abouhlal were enough to give Morocco a key victory as the Football World Cup turmoil continued into the weekend.
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