Croatia 2-1 Canada: What’s your prediction?

Canada manager John Herdman said on Saturday his team was fired up for a test against 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia after the Canadians fell to Belgium 1-0 despite outplaying them.

Canada, taking part in their second World Cup, are still looking to score their first goal in the history of the men's tournament. They qualified for the tournament in 1986, where they crashed out at the group stage both winless and goaless.

Canada face Croatia, who drew Morocco 0-0 in their opener, on Sunday in what Herdman described as a "massive game"

"It's a hell of a test for this team. We are excited," Herdman told a news conference. "We have a hell of a match coming."

Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic said his team deserve respect as the runners-up of the last World Cup after Canada manager John Herdman said "we are going to eff Croatia" ahead of Sunday's clash.

"The Croatian team deserves respect from everyone. We have proven that by the way we play and by our conduct during the World Cup," he said.

Dalic said the Canadians, who are making their first appearance at the World Cup finals in 36 years, are a "serious team".

When?

27th November, 10:00 pm, Bangladesh time

Where?

Al-Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar,

Previous meetings:

* The teams have not met previously.

Key stats:

* Croatia reached the semi-finals in their debut at the World Cup finals in 1998. They featured in the final at the last edition of the tournament in 2018 but fell to France 4-2.

* Canada have never scored at a men's World Cup. In their first appearance at the finals in 1986, they crashed out at the group stage both goalless and scoreless.

* To reach the 2018 final, Croatia were the first team at a World Cup to come from behind in three successive knockout round matches.

* Canada topped the CONCACAF qualifying table, scoring more and conceding fewer goals than any other team.

Lineups

Croatia: Dominik Livakovic, Ivan Perisic, Dejan Lovren, Mateo Kovacic, Andrej Kramaric, Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic, Marko Livaja, Borna Sosa, Josko Gvardiol, Josip Juranovic.

Canada: Milan Borjan, Richie Laryea, Kamal Miller, Steven Vitoria, Alistair Johnston, Alphonso Davies, Stephen Eustaquio, Atiba Hutchinson, Tajon Buchanan, Cyle Larin, Jonathan David.

Prediction: Croatia 2-1 Canada

Following is a statbox on Croatia at the World Cup.

FIFA Ranking: 12

Odds: 50-1

Previous tournaments:

Croatia have appeared at five World Cups since breaking away from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, starting in 1998 in France and since then only missing out on South Africa 2010. They reached the 2018 final in Russia, beating England in the last four before losing 4-2 to France in Moscow. In 1998 they reached the semis and finished third after a 2-1 win over Netherlands in the playoff.

How they qualified:

Croatia lost their opening qualifying game away to Slovenia in March 2021 but went on to win seven and draw two, conceding a total of only four goals. They clinched top spot, and automatic qualification for Qatar, by beating Russia 1-0 in their final group game last November thanks to a late own goal by defender Fedor Kudryashov.

Following is a statbox on Canada at the World Cup.

FIFA Ranking: 41

Odds: 150-1

Previous tournaments:

Canada have appeared in only one World Cup, in 1986, having failed to qualify for other editions of the tournament. They lost their group stage matches against France, Hungary and the Soviet Union and failed to score a goal.

How they qualified

After a 36-year drought, Canada reached the World Cup for the second time with an emphatic 4-0 win over Jamaica on a frigid March afternoon in Toronto. They were the first CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) country to book a spot in the 2022 finals.