Canada coach John Herdman explains what he meant by "F Croatia"
Canada coach John Herdman wasn’t trying to be disrespectful when he said the next mission for his squad was to “eff Croatia.”
He’s just setting the tone for his squad ahead of his group’s Group F matchup on Sunday.
“I mean, you say those things in an impassioned moment trying to inspire your team in a huddle, and when you’re asking a question what you said in the huddle, yeah, it’s what I said,” Herdman said of his comments to his players after a dominating effort in a 1-0 loss to Belgium in their FIFA World Cup opener.
“It’s not massively respectful to Croatian people and the Croatian National team. I understand very well where they’re at on the world stage. But in that moment, you take your men to that next place. You’re taking your team to that next place. We’re here to be fearless and to bring everything we’ve got to that game.”
John Herdman explains to Croatian media his “F Croatia” comment after Canada’s first loss at the #FIFAworldcup. pic.twitter.com/A4vQlezlfH
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 24, 2022
Croatian media asked Herdman on Thursday what he meant by the comments.
“I mean no disrespect to the Croatian team and the Croatian people, but at the end of the day, it’s a mindset that Canada is going to have to have if we’re going to have three points against one of the top teams in the world,” Herdman described. “And it’s the mindset we took to Belgium.
“We have to. It’s part of ‘New Canada.'”
“F Croatia”
John Herdman on what he told his players after Canada’s 1-0 loss to Belgium. pic.twitter.com/1HsVdEzz7Z
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 24, 2022
Canada, playing in its first World Cup in 36 years, sits at the bottom of Group F after one match.
Belgium leads with three points, while Croatia and Morocco have one point apiece after playing to a 0-0 draw earlier Wednesday.
Canada is No. 41 in the FIFA World Rankings. Croatia is No. 12.
“I don’t think it came from a disrespectful place at all,” Canadian centre-back Kamal Miller told media. “Our team, you see the way we carry ourselves, the way our captain speaks, the way Milan speaks, we’re based and founded off respect. We respect our opponents so much. We respect Belgium. We respect anyone we play and we know the type of team Croatia is. If the respect level is not there, it could go not a good way for us.
“The respect is definitely going to be there, but I think he and the way we’re feeling is that we’re going to go in with that mentality and give everything we have.”
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