Canada had just lost the first men's World Cup match they had played in 36 years, outplaying Belgium for much of a 1 -- 0 defeat and an emotional John Herdman revealed in the on-field interview what he had just told his players during a post-game huddle. I told them they belong here. The coach said with a smile that we were going to go and eff Croatia, attempting to avoid a televised profanity. It's as simple as it gets. His words reverberated all the way to Zagreb as Sunday's Croatia-Canada game approached. Croatia s 24 Sata 24 Hours tabloid ran a full-page photo of a naked Herdman with Maple Leaf flags over his mouth and private parts and a headline that translated to '' You have the mouth, but do you have the balls as well? When you say those things in an enpassioned moment in an attempt to inspire your team in a huddle, and when you ask the question what you said in that huddle, yeah, it was what I said, Herdman said the following day. It is not hugely respectful to the Croatian people and the Croatian national team. I understand where they are on the world stage. He added that you took your men to that next place in that moment.
Canada has played only four men's World Cup games in their history and are still searching for their first goal. The Canadians had 21 shots against Belgium's nine on Wednesday but conceded a 44th minute goal to Michy Batshuayi from a long pass on a counter. Alphonso Davies had a chance to put Canada ahead in the 11th minute, but his penalty was saved by Thibaut Courtois.
Herdman said that we know exactly what our slingshot is and we have to be ready to attack it across different games because the cover is off from Canada. I think people come into this game, the next games respecting us a little bit more. At 39, the captain, Atiba Hutchinson, the only member of the current squad alive when Canada lost all three games at the World Cup 1986, could make his 100th international appearance on Sunday. Julian de Guzman is second with 89. The midfielder Jonathan Osorio is looking forward to facing the 2018 World Cup runners-up. After the Belgium match, he said we like to play the best. We are excited for the challenge.