As reported by TSN, Canada coach John Herdman defended remarks he made to his squad following their World Cup opener against Belgium on Wednesday, a 1-0 defeat. Despite the score line, Canada dominated the game but failed to take their chances, leading Herdman to attempt to encourage his team in a huddle at full time ahead of their next game with Croatia. The English coach explained:
“I mean, you say those things in an impassioned moment trying to inspire your team in a huddle… It’s not massively respectful to Croatian people and the Croatian national team. I understand very well where we’re at on the world stage, but, in that moment, you enter that next place and you try to take your team to that next place, we’re here to be fearless and to bring everything we’ve got to that game. I mean no disrespect to the Croatian team and Croatian people, but at the end of the day, it’s a mindset that Canada is going to have if we’re going to take three points against one of the top teams in the world. And it’s the mindset we took to Belgium. We have to, it’s part of ‘New Canada.’”
GWFN
