(Doha) You saw the game. You spilled your fresh grapefruit juice when Alphonso Davies scored Canada’s first World Cup goal, just 68 seconds into the game. You believed in the chances of victory for the first half hour of play. off the handbrake, they’ve scored four in a row, and boom, the Canadiens are already out.
I’ll come back to that in a moment.
But first, a word about what you didn’t see.
The confrontation which continued behind the scenes, after the game.
No beatings, no rififi, no scuffle, but a lot of insolence. The Croats got their money’s worth by ridiculing Canada’s head coach John Herdman, who said on television last week that his players were going to “EFFE the Croats”.
“I want to thank the Canada coach for motivating us,” laughed Andrej Kramarić, who scored twice. “In the end, Croatia demonstrated who EFFE who. »
Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalić also stung Herdman. He reproached him for not coming to shake his hand after the game, as tradition dictates. Indeed, Herdman headed straight for the center of the field, where his players were saddened by their defeat.
“No matter the result, said Dalić, I always like to congratulate the winner. But he wasn’t there. It’s his way […] He was visibly angry. He is a high quality coach, but it will take him time to understand certain things…”
Playing with matches, Herdman set the fire, and got burned. When asked by a BBC reporter if he regretted his comments, Herdman initially said no, before making an act of contrition. “I could have been a little calmer coming out of our caucus. I took one on the chin. I will learn from this. »
Herdman also had to defend questionable tactical choices. In particular that of having left captain Atiba Hutchinson too long in the meeting. The veteran tore on his defensive folds. “The plan was to remove it around the 55e minute. He told me that he wanted to continue, that he wanted to keep us in the game thanks to his leadership. »
Afterwards, we can still not blame John Herdman for having escaped the cover on Andrej Kramarić or Marko Livaja. He was not on the playing surface, where the Canadians lost the game. He was not in midfield, where his troops were unable to contain the talented Croatian trio of Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic and Mateo Kovacic.
The difference in skill was evident, especially in the matchups between Canadian defensemen and opposing forwards. The Croatians were a much stronger opposition than anything the Canadians had faced in the CONCACAF qualifying tournament. In fact, the region’s four teams – Canada, USA, Mexico and Costa Rica – have won just one of their eight games here. Their total goal differential? -12.
In the defeat, there was still a positive. Alphonso Davies scored Canada’s first ever World Cup goal when he deflected a perfect cross from Tajon Buchanan with a pretty header. “I don’t think we made it easy for them tonight,” commented John Herdman. Maybe the Croatians are celebrating right now, and it’s great for them. They scored four goals, they deserve it. But I think there was a lot of pride in our performance. I think there were times when Alphonso Davies, Tajon Buchanan, Atiba Hutchinson, Junior Hoilett and Jonathan Osorio, all young men who grew up in Canada, showed up, and were competitive. »
The youngest, those who will still be there for the 2026 cycle, will learn a lot from this defeat, and more generally, from this World Cup. “We didn’t come here just to participate,” said Alistair Johnston after the match. On this point, it is mission accomplished. The Canadians did no damage, but they made a name for themselves. They got an idea, too, of their value. of their strength. of their weaknesses. Of what they will have to improve, in the next four years, to move on to the next round.
Canadian players are proud. Ambitious. Receptive. The heart of the team is still young. The golden generation is just beginning its cycle. Four years ago, Alistair Johnston, Kamal Miller and Tajon Buchanan were playing college. On Sunday, they were all in the starting lineup. In four years, they will still be in their prime, just like Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David, Stephen Eustáquio and Ismaël Koné. Other young people – unknown at the moment – will join them, inspired by what has just happened.
The future is bright.
And maybe in four years, in a World Cup hosted at home, the Canadians will be strong enough to crush their opponents.