Despite Alphonso Davies scoring Canada’s first-ever goal at a World Cup Canada was officially eliminated by Croatia after losing 4-1.
Canada Scores, but Is Eliminated from the FIFA World Cup
Canada Scores First-Ever Goal Thanks to Alphonso Davies
2' History is made! #CanMNT’s Tajon Buchanan finds Alphonso Davies, who heads the ball into the back of the net for the first-ever #WeCAN goal! #TSN#CROvCAN | 0-1 | #FIFAWorldCuppic.twitter.com/JD2kXDbbdt
— Last Word on Soccer (@LastWordSC) November 27, 2022
There were many storylines going into this match, who would score the first goal, how would Croatia respond to John Herdman’s post-game comments, and whether would they be able to get a result. The answer was no as even with Canada opening the scoring two minutes in, the Croatian response was emphatic and powerful.
Alphonso Davies who was Canada’s superstar at the World Cup scored the goal the country had been waiting for just a couple of minutes in as Milan Borjan’s goal kick found Tajon Buchanan who managed a superb cross that Davies headed in.
The stadium erupted with approximately 20,000 Canadian fans in attendance in a stadium that had a capacity of roughly 45,000. Croatia with all its experience hung in and in the 36th minute their patience and intense pressure paid off as Andrej Kramaric was able to beat Borjan to knot the game at one.
Croatia Took Over the Game
70’ #Croatia scores a third goal as the #CanMNT is now on the brink of elimination as Andrej Kramarić scored his second goal. #TSN#CROvCAN | 3-1 | #FIFAWorldCuppic.twitter.com/DqGh83ZsTs
— Last Word on Soccer (@LastWordSC) November 27, 2022
From there it was all Croatia as it seemed Canada had switched off and despite everything they tried to they couldn’t get past an experienced team that found a way to stop them. After the game, the Croatians were motivated by Herdman’s comments, and Kramaric spoke about it in his post-match press conference.
“I have to say thanks to the head coach of Canada,” Kramaric said. “I do believe he could have chosen better words to express himself and could have formulated it a bit differently and in the end, it was Croatia who managed to eff Canada.”
Kramaric is talking about the post-game comments Herdman said after losing to Belgium. This is a comment that Herdman re-confirmed in the media press conference before the Croatia game began.
John Herdman and Zlatko Dalic Post-Game Press Conference
Herdman said in his press conference that he has no regrets, “There’s a respect there for Croatia and we are here to push for as far as we can as a team and to change the mentality of the group and I could have been more composed but that’s my learning and I’ll take it on the chin but in those first 25 minutes we showed Canada can compete with the best in the world.”
Another story that came up was that after the game both Herdman and Croatia Zlatko Dalic did not shake hands and Dalic was asked about it.
” I did not see the other head coach,” Dalic said. “Whether I win or lose I always congratulate the winner and he wasn’t there, I guess that’s his way of doing things and he is a good coach but it will take some time to learn some things.”
What Alphonso Davies’s Goal Means for Canada Soccer and Game Against Morocco
READ MORE: Canada Versus Croatia Ends in Heartbreak
Davies who scored the goal was thrilled to score for his country despite the result and hopes he sent a message to his country who are behind him.
“I am very happy for the moment,” Davies said. “To get the first-ever World Cup goal for Canada and for me to keep dreaming to keep believing and I keep pushing.”
Herdman was also asked in an interview with TSN to talk about the goal and again you could see the emotion and the passion on his face.
“It’s something we all dreamed of and it’s something we all talked about going from East to West people in bars and people in front of their TVs at home with kids and this is what we came to do and to inspire and hopefully the relevance and inspire to do more.”
Canada faces Morocco on Thursday in its final game at the World Cup which can be seen on TSN and CTV as well as RDS for French viewers. That game will be on at 10:00 AM ET.
