CROATIA vs CANADA | FIFA WORLD CUP QATAR 27 Now 2022
About the match
Croatia is going head to head with Canada starting on 27 Nov 2022 at 16:00 UTC at Khalifa International Stadium stadium, Doha city, Qatar. The match is a part of the World Cup, Group F.
Despite an eye-catching Nations League campaign which propelled them to a spot in the four-team finals, not many had Croatia down as contenders to match or even better their runners-up finish at the 2018 World Cup, and their feelings were justified on the opening day.
Croatia were arguably fortunate to come away from their showdown with Morocco with a point to their name, having just five shots in the entire game and relying on the staunch defensive work of Dejan Lovren at the other end of the field to preserve their clean sheet.
Zlatko Dalic has admitted that his side “lacked courage” in their opening stalemate with the African nation, but that point is good enough to see them occupy second place in the Group F standings after one game, edging out third-placed Morocco on fair play points for the time being.
Shaking hands on a point with Morocco did at least stretch the Chequered Ones’ unbeaten streak in all tournaments to seven matches, while they have only suffered one defeat in their last 17 since Euro 2020, highlighting their stellar defensive acumen that has seen them concede just twice in their last 540 minutes of football.
However, Croatia have previous when it comes to back-to-back games without scoring at the World Cup – failing to fire in either of their opening group games at the 2006 tournament – and Belgium were forced to use route one tactics to break down upcoming opponents Canada.
The chance to step up and become a World Cup hero for his nation passed Alphonso Davies by on matchday one, as the Bayern Munich man saw a 10th-minute penalty kept out by Thibaut Courtois before Canada launched wave after wave of pressure on Roberto Martinez’s side.
Belgium held firm, though, and a long ball over the top for Michy Batshuayi to chase ended with the Fenerbahce attacker finding the back of the net on the stroke of half time, and the valiant efforts of John Herdman’s men ultimately counted for nought.
Nevertheless, the Canucks could take plenty of encouragement from their performance against the golden generation of Belgium, although that result already leaves them bottom of the standings in Group F, and their hopes of a last-16 berth will be dashed if results do not go their way this week.
Thirty-six years on from making their only previous appearance at the World Cup, Canada remain winless and goalless at the tournament after four matches – already the most of any nation in history – and Herdman is now out to ensure that his side do not match El Salvador’s record of six straight losses.
Posting just three shots on target from their 22 attempts against Belgium shows the area that Herdman must address, but the Canada boss has controversially warned that his crop will “F Croatia” as they prepare to meet the 2018 runners-up for the very first time.
