PLAYER RATINGS: Croatia ends Canada’s knockout stage hopes in a dominant come-from-behind 4-1 win

Canada’s World Cup dream has come true after tonight’s 4-1 defeat in Qatar against Croatia.

After a very early goal from Alphonso Davies, Croatia stepped up their game from the 15th minute and scored four unanswered goals to record their first win of the tournament.

Andrej Kramaric was able to grab a brace – including the first goal to tie the game and the third goal to extend the lead. Marko Livaja’s goal just before half-time kicked things off and helped them top Group F.

After the exciting confrontation Sports mail rated the players of both teams.

Canada (4-3-3, later 4-4-2)

Milan Borjan – Six saves is phenomenal work by the keeper, but conceding four goals hurts his rating. Not all goals allowed were his fault, but he still had to fish the ball out of his net four times 6

Alastair Johnson – Spent a lot of time on the back foot or sprinting to get back on the defensive this game. Stopped Perisic at times, failed to stop him at others 5

Steven Victoria – Looked slow to come back at times. A nutmeg from Juranovic through his legs led to Livaja’s goal to make it 2-1. 5

Camal Miller – also seemed slow to come back after set pieces and committed a foul that gave Croatia a goal. However, he turned in four recoveries, two interceptions and eight clearances. 5.5

Richie Laryea – Looked much more at home when they started the game with the 4-3-3. However, when he was switched back to LB, his momentum seemed to diminish. 6

Stephen Eustaquio – Ended the first half with a perfect passer rating and continued to probe the Croatian backline. His off-field substitution when Canada needed a goal was a confusing decision. 6

Atiba Hutchinson – His 100th cap will be one to forget. Hutchinson looks exactly like a 39-year-old and played sluggishly and at times stumbling. He seemed exhausted at half-time, but stayed out until after a third goal. However, his warrior spirit and playing through what looked like an injury is to be commended. 6.5

Tajon Buchanan – The dynamic dribbler showed himself in the first half and grabbed an assist. After that, however, he was no longer able to crack the Croatian rearguard. 6

Alphonso Davies – Scoring the first goal at a Men’s World Cup in your country’s history is no mean feat. While unable to score more goals, he was by far the biggest offensive spark for Canada. 7

Jonathan David – Better than his brother – combined well with other attackers in the first half but did too little. 6.5

Cyle Larin – Worked tirelessly against the Croatian defense, but didn’t give much for it. 6.5

Substitutes

Ismail Kone (on for Larin 46 mins) – Passes played that impacted what little the Canadian offense produced. 6

Jonathan Osori (on for Eustaquio 46 mins) – Generated some good passes and chances, but couldn’t find the net. 6

Junior Hoilette (on for Laryea 62 mins) – Got three shots off, but only one was on target and not blocked. 5

Lucas Daniel Cavallini (on for David 72 mins) – Was brought in to try and find a goal and failed. 5

Sam Adekugbe (on for Hutchinson 72 mins) – Completed all the passes he made, but didn’t have enough time to prove how good he really is. 6

Manager

John Herdman – His substitutions made sense and helped to give players the team they needed. A choice to switch to a 4-4-2 did not improve things for the offense. His choice to omit Hutchinson was confusing. Herdman’s ‘F’ Croatia comment will haunt him for a while. 6

Croatia (4-3-3)

Dominik Livakovic – Was only asked to make one save and conceded that goal to Davies early on. He didn’t have much to do tonight thanks to those before him. 6

Joseph Juranovic – Offensively, he jabbed an assist to Livaja to help Croatia up. Defensively, he was able to keep the wings safe against players like Davies. 6

Dejan Lovren – The centre-back duo made Livakovic’s job easy by blocking shots from reaching him and stopping the build-up before it got going. 6

Josho Gvardiol – The 20-year-old made the center of the park a nightmare for the Canadian strikers. He was fantastic today. 6.5

Born Sosa – Spent most of the game shutting down Buchanan and shaking up the Canadian offense to the point where it was useless. 6.5

Luka Modric – The captain stepped up and worked incredibly hard. He may not have caught an assist for his scoresheet, but he was there and in anyway. 7.5

Marcelo Brozovic – Played well defensively, allowing Modric and Kovacic to shine in the front. 7

Mateo Kovacic – Made 93 percent of his passes, scored nine times and created four chances in a masterclass. 8

Andrew Kramaric – By far the best player in the game. He constantly threatened the Canadian goal while on the field and his brace was the basis for four unanswered goals. 8.5

Marco Livaja – His goal gave Croatia a 2-1 lead. Dangerous for most of the game. 7

Ivan Pericic – He was a perfect partner for Kramaric, who gave the striker two assists that night. 7.5

Substitutes

Bruno Petkovic (on for Livaja 60 mins) – The pressure to score fell off his shoulders as that third goal went in. Had little effect on the game. 6

Nikola Vlasic (on for Kramaric 73 min.) – On the right wing, Vlasic had little success against Davies, among others, but he didn’t make a serious mistake. 6

Lovro Major (on for Kovacic 86 mins) – Nailed a fourth to cement victory for Croatia.

Mario Pasalic (on for Modric 86 min) – Didn’t have time to impress this game.

Mislav Orsic (on for Perisic 86 mins) – A perfect pass found Majer’s feet as Orsic added to the reasons why he should be watched to start.

Administrators

Zlatko Dalic – Dalic put his team in a position to succeed after dropping the lineup. With a midfield as talented as this, it’s hard to imagine they could lose the battle in the middle of the field. 7