Croatia put themselves squarely in contention for F in the FIFA World Cup, rallying from a 1-0 deficit to win 4-1, crushing Canada’s hopes of reaching the knockout stages.
Croatia administrator Zlatko Dali encouraged his side to show more’mental fortitude’ in their second trip of the competition after they frustrated in their 0-0 draw with Morocco in the main gathering match, delivering only six shots in total. Canada, on the other hand, was left rueing missed opportunities as they lost 1-0 to Belgium, in violation of the rules.
Motivated by their performance in the previous game, Canada wasted no time in scoring their first World Cup goal.
With just over a minute remaining, Tajon Buchanan’s circling cross from deep was met by a charging Alphonso Davies, whose pounding header had Dominik Livakovi gripping at flimsy air. Canada appeared to be on track to win the competition after scoring the first goal, but the Vatreni were awarded for their undeniably powerful going after play ten minutes before halftime.
First Andrej Kramari turned his body and tracked down the farthest corner from a tight point after Ivan Perii slid through a brilliant converse pass. Only eight minutes later, Zlatko Dali’s team began to lead the pack – an immediate run by Josip Juranovi put Marko Livaja in front.
