A Croatian tabloid have responded to CanMNT head coach John Herdman by trolling him with a naked picture on their front page.
Canada were one of the surprise packages in the first round of World Cup group games, as although they lost 1-0 to Belgium, they were the much better side throughout the 90 minutes. Herdman's side had 21 shots during the match, including a penalty which was saved by Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Herdman was emotional after the final whistle, and sent a warning to Croatia by claiming that Canada were going to "f*** them up" in their second group game. And in response to his comments, he's been brutally mocked by Croatian tabloid 24 Sata.
Canada gained a lot of respect in their first World Cup game since 1986, as they humbled a Belgium side that currently sit at No.2 in the FIFA rankings. Belgium scraped a 1-0 victory after Michy Batshuayi scored against the run of play, and if Canada were more clinical they easily could've caused an almighty upset.
Herdman was frustrated after the final whistle as his side had missed a big opportunity, but he was also proud over how far they'd come as a group. And with adrenaline running through his veins, he called out Croatia - their next opponents.
"I told them (Canada) they belong here and we’re going to go and eff--- Croatia," he said with a smile in FIFA’s official post-game pitchside interview. "That’s as simple as it gets."
But in response to his comments, the Croatian tabloid have put a naked mock-up image of Herdman on the front page, covering his manhood with a Canadian flag in the shape of a maple leaf. The front page was also accompanied with the slogan: "You have the mouth, but do you have the balls as well?"
Croatian coach Zlatko Dalic also gave his views on Herdman's comments, as he said: "I’m not sure how nice it is to say something like that but it’s his right. "I think we need to show on the pitch that we’re better."
Herdman was approached by a Croatian reporter on Thursday, who asked: "Did you really say after last night’s match that you were going to F-word Croatia? And if you did, is that underestimating Croatia... as runner-up of (the) last World Cup?"
But Herdman didn't back down from his comments, although he did admit they were said in the heat of the moment. "Great question," he said. "And yeah, I did. You say those things in an impassioned moment, trying to inspire your team in a huddle. And when you’re asked the question what you said in that huddle, yeah, it was what I said.
"It’s not massively respectful to (the) Croatian people and the Croatian national team. I understand very well where they’re at on the world stage. But in that moment, you’ve taken your men to that next place. You’ve taken your team to that next place — that we’re here to be fearless and to bring everything we’ve got to that game.
"I mean no disrespect to the Croatian team and Croatian people, but at the end of the day it’s a mindset that Canada’s going to have if we’re going to have three points against one of the top teams in the world. And it’s the mindset that we took to Belgium. We have to. It’s part of ‘New Canada'," he added in reference to his ongoing project.
