Croatia striker Andrej Kramaric has pointedly responded to Canada manager John Herdman, sarcastically thanking him for helping provide the European nation with the incentive to win 4-1 at World Cup 2022.
After Canada's 1-0 loss to Belgium in their opening Group F game, Herdman revealed that he told his squad that "we're going to f****** take them [Croatia]" in their next fixture. This caused a stir within both the Croatian squad and the media, with outlets calling the comment disrespectful - clearly, Croatia's players thought the same.
Indeed, in his Canada post-match press conference, Kramaric highlighted Herdman's prior comments.
"I want to thank the Canada coach for the motivation" he said. "Croatia demonstrated who f'd whom."
After scoring their goals, some of Croatia's players also celebrated closely to Herdman, stood in his technical area at the Khalifa International Stadium. Herdman certainly riled them up, if nothing else.
Kramaric scored twice during Croatia's 4-1 win, the equaliser and the goal to make the scores 3-1. They are now top of the group heading into their final match against Belgium. A point would ensure they progress to the knockout stages, potentially knocking their European rivals out in the process.
Alphonso Davies scored the first goal of the game between Croatia and Canada after just 67 seconds - Canada's first goal at a World Cup finals. They have still been eliminated, though, losing both group games they've played so far. Morocco awaits in their final match.
"I am disappointed", Davies said. "It is not easy to take this loss. We did our best, fought every minute. This game is about winning, especially in tournament."
