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World Cup: Croatia’s Kramaric bags double to dump Canada out


Andrej Kramaric Croatia Fifa World Cup

Football Soccer – Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup – Group F – Croatia v Canada – Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar – November 27, 2022 Andrej Kramaric of Croatia celebrates scoring his second goal three REUTERS/Paul Childs

DOHA-Croatia suffered an early blow ahead of their return to the World Cup with Andrej Kramaric’s two goals, delivering a 4-1 win over Canada on Sunday, putting them one point ahead of the last 16 and dashing hopes. hope for the knockout round of the opponent.

The 2018 runners-up fell behind by 68 seconds at Khalifa International Stadium when Alphonso Davies headed into the net, but a possibly grim evening turned in their favor with two goals late in the first half.

After their dull opening draw with Morocco provoked an autopsy on whether the Croatian squad lacked killer instincts, Kramaric and Marko Livaja scored before the break to take it down. down the sails of Canada.

Kramaric doubled the lead after the break and Lovro Majer scored in injury time to seal the victory to help Croatia rise to the top of Group F with 4 points. They now need just a draw in Thursday’s final game against third-placed Belgium, one point behind, to secure a place in the knockout stages.

Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said: “We have taken a small step here but we are far from our final goal. “Croatia has shown strength, power and quality and no one is happier than I am about that.”

After two losses, Canada’s group stage elimination was confirmed, leaving them to face Morocco, also with 4 points, in the final match.

Croatia’s nudges started the game after Canada coach John Herdman said his team would “knock out” them, a poignant comment that certainly provided the script for teammate Zlatko’s talk. Dalic.

However, the early stages of the competition saw Canada as the one who was given the rocket before the match.

They took the lead with the tournament’s fastest goal to date and their first at a World Cup, after drawing in their only previous appearance in 1986.

A long save from the keeper finally made it to Tajon Buchanan, who delivered a superb cross from the right flank into the box where Davies rushed like a speed train to get ahead of him and hit him. head bravely into the net.

“It was a great start and a proud moment, especially for the fans in the stadium and those back home. We had to celebrate something we had been waiting for a long time,” Herdman said.

completely superior

The Canadian pierced the Croatian midfield with Davies’ speed and dexterity, creating a nightmare for the Croatian.

However, that was half of the two halves, as Croatia – outnumbered in the early stages – finally moved into the game.

They did get the ball into the net in the 26th minute thanks to Kramaric’s strike just because the lineman’s flag cut their celebration short, but it was only a temporary compensation for Canada.

Croatia equalized in the 36th minute when Ivan Perisic, an increasingly influential player on the left wing, passed the ball to Kramaric, who hit the far corner for the first time.

They took the lead eight minutes later when a beautiful set-up from behind ended with Livaja kicking his right foot into the net from the edge of the box.

Herdman made changes at halftime in an attempt to regain the initiative and substitute Jonathan Osorio made a shot shortly after the game restarted.

Kramaric made a great save by the keeper, while Canada closed in as Jonathan David’s shot was well saved by Dominik Livakovic.

However, their hopes of regaining the game were dashed when a pass from Perisic on the left was dominated by Kramaric, who switched the ball to his left foot and sent the ball deep into the bottom corner of the goal in the 70th minute. .

It wasn’t until the injury time that Croatia unleashed the final blow when Mislav Orsic broke through and unselfishly cleared up for Majer to finish close to the wall.

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