Sparks are set to fly tomorrow evening at the Khalifa Internstional Stadium as Canada as set to face off against Croatia in a vital fixture within match-week 2 of the World Cup.
As it stands, Canada sit rock bottom of Group F after their frustrating 1-0 defeat Belgium after Toby Alderweild’s over-the-top through ball was poorly managed by Herdman’s back-line, paving the way for Mitchy Batshuayi to find the back of the net and notch the sole goal in the fixture.
Despite the loss, Canada proved that they truly belong within the global stage as they created far more threatening opportunities. However, a poor penalty from Alphonso Davies and some misfired attempts from Jonathan David caused the Canadian national team to not salvage a single point from the match.
Meanwhile, Croatia currently sit level on terms with Morocco as the two nations were held in a stalemate in quite an uneventful and lack-luster scoreless affair.
Team News
As per Canada, Herdman was provided quite a scare when entering the tournament as Davies and Eustaquio were both potentially ruled out of the match. However, both stars were given the green light to take part in Canada’s long-awaited World Cup opener, providing the gaffer with a major sigh of relief. Following Canada’s encouraging display against one of the heavy weights of the tournament, Herdman hopes his side can provide a similar amount of quality and enthusiasm against the Croats.
Meanwhile, the only concern for Dalic’s side is Torino winger Nikola Vlasic, who suffered a worrisome muscular strain against Morocco. However, the amount of depth within the National team enables the boss to fiddle with his tactical setup and adjust to the situation with quite some ease as Atalanta’s Mario Pasalic can be an apparent option along the flanks.
Predicted Lineups
Croatia Starting XI: Livakovic; Juranovic, Lovren, Gvardiol, Sosa; Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic; Pasalic, Kramaric, Perisic
Canada Starting XI: Borjan; Laryea, Johnston, Vitoria, Miller, Davies; Buchanan, Hutchinson, Eustaquio, Larin; David
Julian Faustini I GWFN
