Croatia vs. Canada: In a key Group F match on Sunday night, Croatia beat Canada 4-1 after falling behind early.
Canada went into this game with a lot of confidence after their first World Cup match since 1986, when they played Belgium and played well but lost. It was clear right away, too, because Alphonso Davies rushed into the box and headed home Tajon Buchanan’s great cross, making him the first Canadian man to score at a World Cup.
With a bold 4-2-4 formation, the CanMNT kept their foot on the gas and had the Croatians on the back foot for about 10 minutes.
But experience won out, and every time Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, and the others got the ball, Canada fell further behind.
In the 36th minute, Andrej Kramaric, who had already had a goal called back, got behind the Canadian defence to meet Ivan Perisic’s through ball and shoot past Milan Borjan from a tight angle. This gave Croatia the win.
Canada was still reeling when, just before halftime, Marko Livaja swung a shot from a long way out into the bottom corner after Celtic fullback Josip Juranovic had made a driving run. This gave Croatia the lead.
Canada got some energy back when they switched things up at halftime, but John Herdman’s team just couldn’t find that attacking spirit that scared Croatia so much in the beginning.
The second-place team at the 2018 World Cup finished the game when Kramaric picked up the ball in the corner of the 18-yard box, cut inside, and swept the ball into the far corner. When Mislav Orsic and Lovro Majer punished Kamal Miller for making a mistake, they did more harm than good.
The game on Sunday put Croatia on top of Group F with four points, taking Canada out of the running for the round of 16.
Here are all of the ratings for the players at Khalifa International Stadium:
Ratings of the players for Croatia vs.
Croatia (4-3-3)
Dominik Livakovic, the goalkeeper, got a 6/10. He couldn’t do anything about Davies’ goal, but he made several important saves after that.
RB: Josip Juranovic – 7/10 – He could have been watching the ball when the first goal was scored, but Davies’s speed when he ran into the box was amazing. Did you do a good job set up Croatia’s second goal?
CB: Dejan Lovren – 5/10 – Didn’t like it at all to defend against that fast Canadian attack. At least he didn’t lose his cool on the ball.
CB: Josko Gvardiol (7/10): Handled things better than Lovren and helped Croatia get out by making some driving runs through the middle.
Borna Sosa, LB, got a 6/10 because he had trouble with Buchanan initially but eventually got the hang of him. Got forward well.
CM: Luka Modric, 7/10. He kept his cool in a very chaotic match.
Marcelo Brozovic, a central midfielder, got a 7/10 for being steady and using all of his technical and physical skills to give Croatia control.
CM: Mateo Kovacic, 9/10: Canada couldn’t handle Kovacic’s driving runs, which made the other team nervous and unstable all night.
RW: Marko Livaja, 7/10. He scored a great goal, but he didn’t do much else. As Croatia tried to get back on track, this was the obvious player to take off.
ST: Andrej Kramaric got a 9/10 because he kept his cool to finish two big chances. On another night, he might have been able to get more. Always a danger.
Ivan Perisic: 8/10, Classic Perisic. Worked hard to mess up Canada’s game and still had the energy to give out two assists.
SUB: Bruno Petkovic (60′, for Livaja) – 5/10 – He never really got into a groove.
Nikola Vlasic came in for Kramaric in the 73rd minute. I didn’t care about the game.
Mislav Orsic replaced Perisic in the 86th minute. He got a 7/10 because he pounced on a mistake by Miller to set up the fourth goal.
SUB: Mario Pasalic (86′, for Modric) – N/A
Lovro Majer came in for Kovacic in the 86th minute and scored a goal himself.
Canada (4-2-4)
Milan Borjan, the goalkeeper, got a score of 5/10. He made some good saves but was beaten three times and had a few other tense moments.
Alistair Johnston, 5/10: He needed more help from the people around him and often felt alone. Didn’t have enough control of the ball.
CB: Steven Vitoria (5/10): He fought hard but had trouble keeping up with how mobile Croatia’s forward line was.
CB: Kamal Miller (5/10): Miller is probably Canada’s best defender, but he made a terrible mistake in the last few seconds.
Richie Laryea (6/10): Early in the game, he put in a lot of effort, which made him lose steam quickly.
Atiba Hutchinson – 3/10 – His 100th cap didn’t go the way he wanted. The action often left behind the 39-year-old midfielder Hutchinson because he was so slow.
CM: Stephen Eustaquio – 6/10 – He was neat and effective with the ball, but as the first half went on, he was having trouble because of an injury. Replaced at halftime.
RW: Tajon Buchanan (7/10): He helped set up the first goal beautifully and was one of Canada’s best passing options all night with his speed and skill.
ST: Cyle Larin gets a 3/10 because he is not nearly as good at attacking as his teammates. Just barely got into the game before being taken out at halftime.
ST: Jonathan David, 5 out of 10 – Despite a good shot from far away, David’s night wasn’t his.
LW: Alphonso Davies – 8/10 – Made history when he scored the first goal for Canada at a World Cup. Continued to scare the life out of Croatia with his speed and skill but often made the wrong decision in key attacking moments.
Jonathan Osorio (46 minutes, for Eustaquio): 6/10. Did a good job of making the Canadian midfield calm again.
SUB: Ismael Kone (46′, for Larin) – 6/10 – The CF Montreal youngster gave a very mature and calm performance.
Junior Hoilett came on for Laryea in the 62nd minute, but he didn’t change the game.
Lucas Cavallini came on for David in the 72nd minute and barely touched the ball.
Sam Adekugbe came in for Hutchinson in the 73rd minute. He was neat with the ball.
