By Adamo Marinelli
November 28, 2022
Despite controlling the majority of their first World Cup match in 36 years against Belgium, Canada failed to secure a point in a 1-0 loss after conceding a goal in transition right before halftime, which proved to be the eventual winner.
After Morocco stunned Belgium with a 2-0 win in match day two, Canada needed a win against Croatia - or a draw at the very least - to keep their hopes of qualifying for the round of 16.
Canada got off to a fantastic start against Croatia and made history after Alphonso Davies headed home a stellar cross into the box by Tajon Buchanan to give Canada their first-ever goal at a World Cup and a 1-0 lead less than two minutes into the game.
Canada’s dominance continued for the first 20 minutes, they controlled possession, created many chances, and were great defensively, pressing Croatia and limiting their scoring chances. Unfortunately, Canada couldn’t maintain their excellent style of play for the entire game.
However, there is a reason why Croatia is the 12th best team in the world according to FIFA’s latest rankings and there is a reason why this team was a finalist at the 2018 World Cup.
From the 25th minute on, Croatia completely took control of the game and dominated the rest of the way. Croatia’s midfield trio of Luka Modric, Matteo Kovacic, and Marcelo Brozovic completely controlled the possession, pressed very well forcing Canada to make errors with their passes, and were key in transition, setting up their lethal front three with several quality scoring chances. They also limited Canada’s quality scoring chances and creativity in the final third in the second half.
All four of Croatia’s goals came on the counterattack. Coming into the match, Canada knew the talent and speed of Croatia’s midfield and how lethal it could be but still couldn’t stop it.
After forcing Canada to make a mistake, an errant pass, or after taking the ball away from Canada, Croatia used their speed to advance up the pitch, catching Canada’s backline pressing too high, which led to open spaces for Croatia’s forwards to line up an open shot.
Canada’s defence started to break down in the 26th minute when Croatia appeared to tie the game on a counterattack, but the goal was ruled out for offside. However, it didn’t take much longer for Croatia to equalize for real.
Croatia was the faster, more composed, more experienced, and more talented team. They showed how easily they could seamlessly transition from defense to attack, generate numerous scoring chances and goals in transition, control possession, and the pace of the game.
In the 36th minute, great ball movement by Croatia’s midfield drew Canada’s midfield and backline slightly upfield to press, but Kovacic slotted a ball beautifully to Ivan Perisic on the left wing which drew in Alistair Johnston and left Andrei Kramaric wide-open to slot in the equalizer to the bottom right corner of the net.
Eight minutes later, a determined run up the pitch by Josip Juranavic forced multiple Canada defenders to vacate their positions and move toward him. Kamal Miller missed his tackle, Juranavic slotted a crisp pass between the two remaining defenders, and Marco Livaja calmly controlled the ball before beating Borjan in the bottom left corner to take a 2-1 lead into halftime.
Canada had no choice but to move forward and attack in the second half, knowing they needed at least a draw to keep their round of 16 hopes alive. Canada created some brilliant chances early in the second half, but Canada could not capitalize on their opportunities. However, moving up the field created even more chances for Croatia on the counterattack and Milan Borjan made a handful of tremendous saves early in the second half to keep the game 2-1.
In the 70th moment, Modric was able to use his speed and ball control to create some space and chipped a brilliant pass to Perisic on the left flank, who then cut inside and crossed it across the box to Kramaric who found himself unmarked on the back post with plenty of time and space to control the pass before scoring with a well-placed strike to give Croatia a 3-1 lead and in essence the win.
In stoppage time, Kamal Miller misjudged his positioning after trying to intercept a pass from Modric, instead, it found its way to Mislav Orsic who dribbled it to the penalty spot before passing to substitute Lovro Majer who scored Croatia’s fourth goal on a 2-0 counter attack, sealing their 4-1 win.
Canada did have their moments of brilliance in this game, however, they were outclassed by a stellar Croatian side; the better team won. Canada had a few chances to score another goal, but couldn’t capitalize. On the other side, if it weren’t for Borjan, it could’ve easily been 6-1 or 7-1.
Canada won the possession battle by a slight 52-48 percent margin, but Croatia outshot Canada 13-8, had 10 shots on target to Canada’s two and had the better midfield. The speed and skill in Croatia’s midfield and the effectiveness of their transition attack propelled them to victory.
Despite not qualifying for the round of 16 and despite losing their first two games at the World Cup (even though they should’ve taken at least a point against Belgium), Canada scored their first-ever World Cup goal which they’ve waited 36 years for, and still have one more chance for their first ever win at a World Cup when they play Morocco on Thurs. Dec. 1 at 10 a.m.
All in all, it was a tremendous accomplishment to return to a World Cup and they will set their sights on improving their squad before they co-host the 2026 World Cup with US and Mexico.
