World Cup 2022: Canada v Croatia

tomtidgewellNovember 26, 2022

Canada’s Maple Leaf will be on the pitch for the second time at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar on Sunday.

Returning to football’s biggest stage for the first time in 36 years, Canada surprised the skeptics with their opening match against Belgium. The team dominated the stats and made a presence, but in the end he lost 1-0.

Next up is Canada’s second European challenger, Croatia. Here’s everything you need to know before a do-or-die clash.

Watch the game live on CTV and TSN.

pre-match drama

Ahead of the game, head coach John Hardman has made headlines after making controversial remarks about how Canada will approach the next game.

“We’re going to attack Croatia,” Hardman said after Belgium. “It’s as easy as it gets.”

The statement sparked pre-match drama for both teams, with both national team coaches addressing the comments before kickoff.

Hardman then said he had no intention of disrespecting Croatia.

“I don’t have that much respect for the Croatian people and the national team,” he admitted.

Opponent coach Zlatko Dalic, on the other hand, insisted that he was not a fan and demanded more respect.

“The Croatian national team deserves respect from everyone. We earned it with our performance, our actions and our results,” he said. respects all people and expects them to treat us the same.

“We prepare and play football and play with dignity not only against Canada but against others. But we deserve respect.”

Can Canada put money in their mouth?

Player to watch

At the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Croatia made a shocking run to the final, led by captain and Golden Ball winner Luka Modric, but lost 4-2 to France. Despite high team turnover, the World No. 12 team remains a nation to watch out for.

Modric will be Canada’s biggest threat. The Real Madrid player is ready to pull the strings in midfield, can create goals out of thin air, takes set pieces and is an elite dribbler. Along with Modric, Mateo Kovacic is also a strong midfield presence and could serve as an outlet if Modric is man-marked.

Meanwhile, Canada’s Atiba Hutchinson has done a solid job of nullifying Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne in the previous game.

Additionally, forwards Ivan Perisic, Andrej Kramarić and Nikola Vlasic hope to finally find a scoring touch that Canada must recognize. At the same time, the 29-year-old Mislav his Orsic could be an unexpected threat as he played alongside Dinamo his Zagreb in the Champions League earlier this season.

Canadian rotation?

In an interview with the media on Saturday, when asked about a possible starting rotation, Hardman said the clash with Croatia “will require something different than Belgium and we have a full roster to choose from”. clarified.

Alphonso Davies played the full 90 minutes against Belgium after more than two weeks off injury, so fans may see him getting less time on the pitch.

Jonathan David may have missed or been out of the starting eleven as he was underwhelmed in the World Cup opener.

Off the bench against Belgium, Cyril Larin, Sam Adekbe and Liam Miller made promising cameos. All three players are key to Canada’s progress and will have more time to play against Croatia as they look to score their first World Cup goal.

form record

Heading into conflict, Canada lost to Belgium in the tournament’s opener, but had the highest expected goal percentage (3.35) of any team in the first round of a group stage game. The current record is 2 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses in the last 6 games.

Croatia, on the other hand, are unbeaten in their last six games and drew 0-0 with Morocco on Wednesday. In the World Cup wins against France, Denmark, Austria and Saudi Arabia, he scored eight goals and conceded just two in all matches.