Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic sent Canada a message Saturday at the World Cup. And he didn't need the F-word to deliver it.
Dalic offered up a stern statement when asked about John Herdman's emotional words after Canada's 1-0 loss to Belgium on Wednesday.
Croatian forward Ivan Perisic then backed up his coach, saying simply: "I second the head coach and I cannot wait for the match to begin." Canada needs to secure at least a point if it hopes to have any chance of reaching the knockout round. A loss Sunday and the Canadians can finish with no more than three points while Croatia ups its total to four. And no matter what happens in Sunday's match between No. 2 Belgium and No. 22 Morocco, one of those teams will have at least four points.
The Canada coach, who had already addressed the issue on Thursday, tried to laugh off the reaction he had sparked in the Croatia camp. But he maintained his words to his players in the post-game huddle after Belgium were simply "to remind them that there's another task ahead."" hell of a test. Hell of a test for this team," he added. "But we're excited."
Despite that talent, Croatia had its hands full with No. 22 Morocco in its tournament opener, playing to a scoreless draw in a game that saw each team put just two shots on target.
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