"Nobody will f*ck us": Croatian media, team are taking jabs after World Cup win over Canada
Canadian men’s national soccer team coach John Herdman didn’t make too many friends from Croatia at the FIFA World Cup this past week.
After Canada fell 1-0 to Belgium in their opening group stage match, Herdman told TSN that the mission for his team was to put their focus on the next game and “F” Croatia.
Herdman made an attempt to walk back the comment, though the initial phrase clearly struck a nerve amongst his rivals.
“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 clarified the following day. “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.”
Croatian newspaper 24sata flipped the narrative back on Herdman, printing a “Nobody will fuck us” headline after yesterday’s match, a 4-1 win for Croatia.
Our friends at the Croatian tabloid that made such a stir about Herdman’s comment: I am told the headline reads, Nobody Will Fuck Us. pic.twitter.com/sIctyiWf3y
— Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur) November 27, 2022
It was the second cover in a week from that tabloid taking aim at Herdman, with another edition featuring a scantily clad image of the coach covered up with red-and-white maple leaves.
Croatian tabloids seem quite unforgiving towards Herdman, putting him on the cover despite Dalić's claim that 'Croatia will speak on the pitch'.
"You have the mouth (tongue)", this one says, next to the, well, stripped Herdman. "But do you have the balls as well?" pic.twitter.com/Z7b4Ncdomk
— Juraj Vrdoljak (@JurajVrdoljak) November 25, 2022
Sunday’s defeat was a devastating loss for Canada, who were eliminated from the World Cup as a result. And it appears the tabloid wasn’t the only one poking fun at Herdman.
“Croatia demonstrated who F’d whom,” Croatian forward Andrej Kramaric told the media after beating Canada at the World Cup on Sunday. “I want to thank the Canada coach for the motivation.”
Despite no longer having a chance of moving on, Herdman’s Canadian roster still has one game to play, as they take on Morocco on Thursday.
“I’m proud we fought until the end, I thought we had good chances. And you know, there was a little bit of luck in some of their goals and a thought out we could have had a goal, another one,” Herdman told TSN following the Croatia match. “In moments, they showed they could compete on the world stage. In order to score our first goal and have that moment with the fans, knowing that people back home [from east to west] were celebrating somewhere, it was a great moment.”
Now, let’s see if anyone in Morocco has any opinions on Herdman…
Follow Channels and Categories