Canadian defender Alistair Johnston knew something was up when he saw Tajon Buchanan unleash a cross pass into Croatia’s penalty area.
“We have our own language — we call it a ‘goal ball’,” explained the CF Montreal defender, who is capable of doing as much as Buchanan.
“As soon as the ball leaves your foot, you know there’s a good chance it will end up in the back of the net,” continued Johnston, who has been rumored to send him to Glasgow Celtic. As soon as he left his foot, I said to myself: “goal ball”. And “Fonzie” took advantage of it. What moment. You could feel that energy. I believe if you were watching your GPS at the time, then you would have seen that each of the players reached their cruising speed, their top speed, as they rushed towards the pennant at the corner of the field (to celebrate the goal of ‘Alphonso Davies). It was just a feeling of relief: “Ah, we’ve finally made it. We finally scored in the most prestigious tournament on the planet, and we have our place among them”. »
“Of course, we would have liked the rest of the game to live up to that moment, conceded Johnston, but it was special and I’m sure it will be etched in the memory of all of us. »
Davies’ net — the first in Canadian history at the Men’s World Cup — was the country’s highlight on the pitch at Khalifa Stadium on Sunday. Croatia, 12e in the world and World Cup finalist in Russia four years ago, scored twice late in the first half, before adding two more after the break en route to a 4-1 win. As a result, Canada was eliminated from the 32-team tournament.
Forget the past
Canada, 41e in the world, became the second team to be eliminated from the World Cup, after host country Qatar. Representatives of the maple leaf will face Morocco, 22eclosing their tournament on Thursday.
Canadian head coach John Herdman’s message for the occasion is quite simple. Forget the past, learn from your mistakes and focus on Morocco.
“Thousands of people are proud of us in this country, and we must continue to hold our heads up high and make them proud,” said Johnston. This is the World Cup. The objective is to make your country shine in front of the whole world. »
Monday was a particularly emotional day for the players as their family and friends were able to visit them at the Canada training centre.