After outplaying No. 2-ranked Belgium in the first match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but still coming out on the wrong end of a 1-0 defeat, Canada coach John Herdman made a statement on national television he probably wishes he could have back.
He was asked what he told his team in the post-game huddle after the heart-wrenching loss, he was perhaps a bit too honest sharing that he told them “we’re going to go and ‘eff’ Croatia” in the second match.
That comment made its way all the way to Croatia and Canada’s opponent made it clear to everyone that they heard it after beating Canada 4-1 to eliminate them from the World Cup.
“He gave us extra motivation — us and all of Croatia,” Croatia forward Andrej Kramaric said after their win. “Thanks to the Canadian coach. He could have expressed himself in a better way. Croatia did what he thought they would do to Croatia. Thank him for that.”
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Herdman’s comment drew a lot of attention heading into the Croatia match.
It wasn’t taken too kindly by Croatia, as the country ran a tabloid mocking Herdman and firing back by saying, “You have the mouth. But do you have the balls as well?”
Croatian tabloid 24sata has hit back at Canada coach John Herdman after he said, “We’re going to go and ‘F’ Croatia…”
The headline reads, “You have the mouth, but do you have the balls as well?”🍁 pic.twitter.com/kKqbydldBF
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) November 26, 2022
Croatia, led by Kramaric’s two goals, took it to Canada for a majority of their Group F match. While Alphonso Davies scored 63 seconds into the contest, Croatia rattled off four unanswered goals to earn three points and send Canada crashing out.
The 2018 World Cup finalists didn’t shy away from condemning Herdman, taking shots of their own to the Canadian side.
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“It’s not something pleasant, but we’ve been through too much to pay attention to vulgar comments from people who don’t matter to us,” Croatia forward Bruno Petkovic said.
Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said that he went to find Herdman after the game and shake his hand, but he could not find the Canada coach. He also gave his two cents on Herdman’s fiery remark about his squad.
“He’s a good coach, he is professional, but he has some things to learn,” Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said.
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Herdman admitted before the Croatia match that he should have used different words coming off the Belgian match. After the game, he owned up to his mistake even further, although he said he did not regret it.
“There is a respect for Croatia,” Herdman said after the Croatia loss. “We are here to push as far as we can. I could have been a little bit more composed coming out of the huddle [vs. Belgium]. I will take that on the chin.”
Canada head coach John Herdman speaks following Canada’s elimination: #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/SnPyBKR8ie
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 27, 2022
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