Croatia absorbed an early blow before revving into gear at the World Cup with two goals from Andrej Kramaric securing a 4-1 victory over Canada on Sunday that moved them a point away from the last 16 and dashed their opponents’ knockout-stage hopes.
The 2018 runners-up had fallen behind after 68 seconds at the Khalifa International Stadium when Alphonso Davies thumped a header into the net. Still, a potentially grim evening turned their favor with two goals late in the first half.
After their dour opening draw with Morocco had instigated a post-mortem into whether this Croatia side lacked a killer instinct, Kramaric and Marko Livaja found the net before the break to take the wind out of Canada’s sails. (Reuters)
