Alphonso Davies scored Canada’s first-ever World Cup goal but they were knocked out by a Croatia side who signalled their intent with a 4-1 win.
Bayern Munich’s Davies leaped highest to score a bullet header after 67 seconds, registering the fastest goal of the tournament so far.
But Croatia rallied under pressure as Ivan Perisic slipped a ball through Alistair Johnston’s legs to allow Andrej Kramaric a simple finish to equalise after 36 minutes.
Eight minutes later, Marko Livaja finished from the edge of the area after Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic produced a trademark driving run through midfield.
Canada head coach John Herdman responded with a double change at half-time after seeing his side struggle after they took their lead
They improved a little in the second half, with Jonathan David testing Dominik Livakovic but Kramaric himself missed a good early chance.
Former Leicester City striker Kramaric put the game to bed after brilliantly taking down Perisic’s cross before curling in a finish in the 70th minute.
Kamal Miller’s error in stoppage time allowed allowed Mario Pasalic to play in fellow substitute Lovro Maher, the two-on-one giving goalkeeper Milan Borjan no chance.
The win sees Croatia move level with Morocco at the top of Group F, with Belgium in third after their 2-0 defeat to Morocco earlier in the day.
The final matchday pits Croatia against Belgium and Morocco against an already-eliminated Canada.
