Alphonso Davies scored against Croatia on Sunday to give Canada its first goal at the men’s World Cup.
A Tajon Buchanan cross found Davies flying through the air and the Bayern Munich star headed home just two minutes in to give Canada a 1-0 lead.
But Croatia scored twice late in the first half to take a 2-1 lead. Andrej Kramaric beat Canadian goalkeeper Milan Borjan in the 36th minute and Marko Livaja followed with eight minutes later.
Canada failed to score or earn a point in its first trip to the tournament in 1986, following three first-round losses to Mexico.
Davies looked like he was going to end the scoring drought in the 11th minute of Canada’s opener Wednesday against No. 2 Belgium at Ahmad Bin Al Stadium, but his penalty was saved by Belgium goalkeeper Thibault Courtois.
The Canadians, ranked 41st, ended up losing 1-0 despite outshooting Belgium 21-9 (each team had three shots on goal). Forward Jonathan David led Canada with seven shot attempts, none of which were on target.
Alphonso Davies celebrates after scoring to give Canada a 1-0 lead over Croatia on Sunday. (Getty Images)
Canada needed to secure at least one point against No. 12 Croatia to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout round alive.
Canada has offensive weapons in Qatar. Cyle Larin entered the tournament with a Canadian men’s record 25 goals, while David had 22, Lucas Cavallini 18, Junior Hoilett 14 and Davies 12.
Midfielder Jonathan Osorio, who entered Sunday’s game with seven goals for Canada to his credit, said scoring in Qatar was just a step toward a bigger goal.
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Host Andi Petrillo is joined by former Canada Soccer player Jimmy Brennan ahead of the Canadian men’s national team’s upcoming match against Croatia at the World Cup.
“Of course it will be very special for the country when we get our first goal,” he said ahead of the tournament. “You’re going to be remembered forever for sure. But I don’t think that’s really the focus. The focus is to get the first win. That’s what we’re hoping for.
“For us it doesn’t really matter who scores as long as someone does and we can win the game. I think people are more eager for the first win than just the first goal.”
The first strike was one of Canada’s first team goals in Qatar, however.
Croatia outscored their opposition 14-9 at the 2018 World Cup, losing 4-2 to France in the final. But they were hampered in their opening Group F game on Wednesday, playing 22nd-ranked Morocco to a 0-0 draw.
INITIATIVE ALIGNMENTS:
Canada: Milan Borjan, Richie Laryea, Kamal Miller, Steven Vitoria, Alistair Johnston, Alphonso Davies, Stephen Eustaquio, Atiba Hutchinson, Tajon Buchanan, Cyle Larin, Jonathan David.
Croatia: Dominik Livakovic, Ivan Perisic, Dejan Lovren, Mateo Kovacic, Andrej Kramaric, Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic, Marko Livaja, Borna Sosa, Josko Gvardiol, Josip Juranovic.
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