Ahead of the Croatia-Canada match, Canada captain John Herdman’s statement remains the main topic, and a confirmed fiery confrontation is expected on Sunday.
| John Herdman’s words could galvanize Canadians, but Croatian newspapers took his statement with a bad name (Photo: AFP) |
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| The ominous title page |
The former Canadian coach John Herdman’s statement, which he revealed after the defeat to Belgium (0-1), he told his players, caused a great response. “Let’s kill the Croats.”His statement was picked up by the international sports press, but presumably the specialist was also aware this was going to happen, which is why many speculate that what he said was intended more to lighten the load on his players, such as Alphonso Davies, who missed the game. Penalty. Indeed, the Canadians may have been disappointed, because they played much more dangerously than their opponents, and Herdmann may have wanted them not to lower themselves, because looking at their performance, beating the Croats or advancing, seems impossible. Regardless, his expression could be considered tasteless. The Croatian press broke the fuse, for example, the local tabloid called 24sata, pinned Herdmann’s head on top of a naked body and then placed it on its front page (covering certain parts of the maple) leaf, which is considered symbolic. for Canada) with the question “Your mouth is big, but so are your capitals?” By the way, the captain’s wife showed the card, emphasizing that, apparently, her husband should practice more.
When a newspaper asked the next day the English coach if he had really said it, he did not back down, but added that he did not want to be disrespected… He was proud of their game and frustrated by the result, and it came out like that in the heat of the moment, and he continues in doing so. His goal is to lead his band as high as possible. The Croatian national team’s reaction was relatively diplomatic, for example, national team captain Zlatko Dalic, according to CBC, opined that“It is not good to say such things, but of course you have the right to do so. We have to show on the field that we are better.”
They deserve more respect, Dalic added, because they are the World Cup silver medalists after all.
The Croatian midfielder, Lovro Mager, was of the same opinion, stressing that he will not have sleepless nights from such statements. Perhaps the pressure will be greater on the Canadians, because if they lose, they will not be able to advance from the group. We are sure that the Croats will not mind if Herdmann is ridiculed for his words after the match, as well as the two very motivated teams that will face off on Sunday – the Canadians will probably go to the Croats with the same enthusiasm as they did to the Belgians. In the first round.
