Soccer-Croatia deserve respect, coach Dalic says after Herdman's remark

Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Croatia Press Conference - Main Media Center, Doha, Qatar - November 26, 2022 Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic and Ivan Perisic during the press conference REUTERS/Gareth Bumstead

AL RAYYAN, Qatar (Reuters) - Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic said his team deserve respect as the runners-up of the last World Cup after Canada manager John Herdman said "we are going to eff Croatia" ahead of Sunday's clash.

Speaking after Canada lost 1-0 to Belgium in their opener despite outplaying the second-ranked team, Herdman said in an interview: "I told they (the players) belong here and we're going to go and eff Croatia. That's as simple as it gets."