Croatia star Kramaric aims dig at Canadas Herdman after World Cup tie

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Croatia forward Andrej Kramaric has revealed that Canada manager John Herdman’s pre-match comments ‘motivated’ his side after their World Cup clash on Sunday. Croatia won the match 4-1, and Kramaric was quick to point out that it was not the scoreline that Herdman had promised in the run-up to the game.

Canada’s defeat means that they have been knocked out of the World Cup, though they have finally opened their account at the major tournament for the first time in their history. Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies was the man of the moment, heading past Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic after just two minutes.

But Croatia didn’t panic, with Kramaric equalising after 36 minutes and then Marko Livaja putting the European outfit ahead on the cusp of half-time. Kramaric then grabbed a brace before Lovro Majer made it four late on.

FIFA Player of the Match Kramaric revealed after full-time that Canada boss Herdman telling the press that his side would ‘F Croatia’ was counter-productive and infuriated the opposition. He explained: “These are words that have motivated the whole of Croatia. I want to thank the coach of Canada for the motivation.

“He could have chosen better words. He could have formulated it a bit differently. In the end, Croatia demonstrated who f***ed whom.” Croatia’s win puts them top of Group F on four points, ahead of second-placed Morocco on goal difference – with Belgium in third.

After his side’s elimination, Herdman was asked whether he regretted his rallying call to his troops that angered Croatia, to which he replied: “No, not at all. There is a respect for Croatia, we are here to push as far as we can. I could have been a little bit more composed coming out of the huddle and I take that on the chin.

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“I did not see the other head coach after the match. When I win, I congratulate the winner but he was not there, that is his way of doing things. He is obviously mad and it will take some time for him to learn some things.”

Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic was not there to shake the hand of Herdman when the full-time whistle sounded, perhaps still aggravated by the opposition manager.

In his pre-match press conference, he said that his side deserves to be respected by everyone after their second-place finish in the 2018 World Cup and that Herdman’s statement was anything but respectful.

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