Opinion | This is Canada’s World Cup moment. Fear Croatia? Not any more

LUSAIL, Qatar—This will define them. Not forever and maybe not even for more than 96 hours, because if Canada’s men’s soccer team wins against Croatia on Sunday they still need to beat Morocco to do something that used to be unthinkable. A loss, however, means that match is a goodbye. After conquering CONCACAF, after bossing and losing to Belgium, this is really the moment. This is it.

“It’s going to be a defining moment for Canada in this World Cup,” said coach John Herdman, the day before Canada-Croatia in Group F. “It’s one of those do-or-die games that we have to perform in to stay in a World Cup. So, pretty excited to be honest here.”

It’s a pinnacle game. Herdman took over this Canadian team four years ago, and now it will face a nation that four years ago was playing in a World Cup final. Canada’s performance against Belgium has made them, for a few days, a new darling of the football world. It was total football, people said. Mexican coach Gerardo Martino was asked if they could upset Argentina and he said, “Why not? We all watched Canada versus Belgium. That first half was a clinic by Canada. So why not try? From my point of view, Canada has showed the best football after the first slate of games.”

“We believe in ourselves,” said Herdman. “And that’s the most important thing going into a match like that. There’s real belief built on a foundation of a body of work now. It’s a small body, so that’s what we’re building. But if you’re talking about Croatia — top, top, top, top football team, hell of a team. Hell of a test for this team. But we’re excited.”

Of course, Croatia is, too. They need to win as well, after drawing against Morocco. Croatian coach Zlatko Dalic blamed the result on the early start time messing with his team’s internal rhythms. And Croatia knows how well Canada played.

“This is a serious team,” said Dalic. “That’s a great team, and this great team demonstrated themselves against Belgium: high pressing, aggressive and they matched the Belgium actions … they employed great effort and great energy, and they deserved to win rather than to be defeated.”

And while Herdman’s “we’re off to eff Croatia” moment won’t make the difference, Croatia has noted that as well. They were not amused.

“The Croatian team deserves respect from everyone,” said Dalic. “We have proven by how we played, our conduct in the World Cup since the very beginning. We deserve respect and dignity.

“We respect everyone equally, and we expect opposing teams to respect us. We are worthy of their respect. And this way of putting words together is not a sign of respect. We are the runners-up (in 2018). It’s not Brazil, Spain or other countries. It’s us. We are worthy of respect.”

“I second the head coach,” veteran winger Ivan Perisic said very seriously, making what felt like eye contact with the entire room, “and I cannot wait for the match to begin.”

He didn’t bare his teeth, but it amounted to the same thing.

Canada, of course, is not disrespecting Croatia. Herdman spoke about how his son Jay did some training at Dinamo Zagreb when he was younger, and spoke rapturously of Croatian soccer development. He said it had influenced how he coached.

“I remember the first training session looking at the tactical cohesion of these 12-year-old kids,” said Herdman. “And I was like, wow, this is another level, and another level to what I’ve seen even in my times growing up in the academies in England, coaching there, just seeing a tactical acumen that I hadn’t seen in kids before. And (for) two years, my holidays were spent travelling to Croatia watching my son sort of understand that there’s just a completely different level in football — the hunger, the desire, every training session — and … you don’t realize how physical the game could be. So yeah, it’s was a hell of an experience.”

And that is what Canada is in for here. This is what you want.

Canada has to win a match against a soccer power that knows what greatness looks like, a team that will take Canada as seriously as a heart attack and intends to win. There has been significant turnover from that 2018 team, but Croatia will still unleash Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic and Mateo Kovacic in midfield, and the wolfish Perisic on the wing. And while Dalic says they deserve respect, he also says, “You can’t enjoy the old glories, the glory of the past. This is the moment, and we have to be at our best.” As Perisic said, “We are still Croatia, let’s be honest.”

Canada doesn’t have much in the way of men’s soccer glories. As midfielder Stephen Eustáquio put it, “We’re at a stage where our worry (used to be) to play Bermuda — with all respect to Bermuda, of course — but now we’re in a different level, and that’s because of (Herdman).”

And that different level means this is the match. Canada respects Croatia, but does not fear them, and that alone is a measure of how far they’ve come.

Herdman will change some things, surely. Canada will joust with a giant for 90 minutes and more on a Sunday evening in Qatar, and the last four years — all the work, all the moments, all the matches, all the drive — will culminate there.

“With all due respect to Croatia, they have a very, very good team,” said Eustáquio. “It’s going to be tough for us, but it’s gonna be tough for them as well … I think before the tournament, we were favourites to not do a good job in this group. And we showed that we can outplay Belgium, so anything can happen at this point.”

It’s amazing, really. But it’s true.

SHARE: