Croatia 4 – 1 Canada

Croatia came from behind to knock Canada out of the World Cup with a 4-1 victory in their Group F clash.

Alphonso Davies opened the scoring for Canada after just two minutes – with their first-ever World Cup goal at the fifth attempt – but two goals from Andrej Kramaric either side of a Marko Livaja effort turned the game on its head. Substitute Lovro Majer then added a late fourth.

It left Canada pointless and heading home already ahead of their final group game against Morocco, with their first venture in the tournament since Mexico in 1986 being brought to a premature end.

For Croatia, it left them top of the group, knowing now that a point in their final game against Belgium on Thursday will be enough to see them progress.

Croatia come to life as Canada crash out

Canada’s big moment finally came after two minutes. Davies had seen a penalty saved in their opening defeat against Belgium, but he wasn’t to be denied again as he rose in the box to power home a header from Tajon Buchanan’s cross – notching the fastest goal of the World Cup so far.

There were question marks over Croatia’s energy levels after their draw against Morocco, but they showed all their experience to turn the game around before the break.

First it was Kramaric on 37 minutes, who latched onto a smart reverse pass from Ivan Perisic before finding the far corner from a tight angle. Then it was Livaja just before the break, as he picked up a pass from Josip Juranovic before driving a low pinpoint finish inside the near post from the edge of the box.

On 70 minutes, Kramaric scored again to put the result beyond doubt, bringing down a cross from Perisic with a fine touch, before sending a low effort into the bottom corner.

And in stoppage-time the icing was added firmly to the cake for Croatia as a mistake from Kamal Miller allowed Mislav Orsic a free run on goal, before he squared for Majer to roll the ball into an empty net.

Player of the match – Mateo Kovacic

Kramaric will take the headlines for his brace yet it was Mateo Kovacic’s energy and endeavour that dragged Croatia back into this game. Early on it looked as if they wouldn’t be able to live with the legs of Canada, but his ball-winning efforts and driving runs turned the game in his side’s favour.

Outshone for so long for his country in a midfield alongside Luka Modric and the now-retired Ivan Rakitic, it was a superb display.

What does the result mean?

The result puts Croatia top of Group F on goal difference ahead of Morocco, who beat Belgium 2-0 earlier in the day. Both of those sides are on four points, with Belgium on three.

Canada are bottom of the group without a point and cannot progress.

Post-match Opta stats

• Croatia have avoided defeat in four of the last five World Cup games in which they conceded the first goal (W2 D2), with all five games coming since the start of the 2018 edition.
• Canada have lost all five of their World Cup matches to date – only El Salvador (6) have played more games in the competition while losing on each occasion.
• Ivan Perišić has been directly involved in 16 goals at World Cups and EUROs combined (9 goals, 7 assists), six more than any other Croatia player.
• Atiba Hutchinson made his 100th appearance for Canada in this match, becoming the first player to reach this milestone for the men’s team.