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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Joe Callaghan in Doha

Naivety cost John Herdman and Canada dear in the World Cup’s Group of Eff

John Herdman and his team pay tribute to Canada fans after their loss to Croatia
John Herdman and his team pay tribute to Canada fans after their loss to Croatia. Photograph: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

The softly spoken Fifa translator paused for a moment. But she held her nerve. “In the end,” she said as she relayed man-of-the-match Andrej Kramaric’s words, “Croatia demonstrated who eff’d whom.”

Sunday night at the Khalifa Stadium was a cruel, chastening one for Canada. The ignominy didn’t end at the final whistle. Kramaric, whose two goals came in an emphatic 4-1 Canadian defeat, was joined by his manager Zlatko Dalic at the post-match top table where the final words, no matter which language you translate them into, were all Croatian.

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