World Cup 2022 – Croatia-Canada 4-1, report cards: Kovacic, Modric and Brozovic professors, Alphonso Davies talent

Croatia’s report cards

Dominik LIVAKOVIC 6 – Saved from a shot by David from outside at the start of the second half, little else.

Josip Juranovic 6 – Bad start, with the nap on Davies’ goal and several inaccuracies. Turnaround with the action that leads to 2-1 for Livaja and grows in the second half.

Dejan LOVREN 6.5 – Sure and determined, he rarely misses the surgery.

Josko Gvardiol 7 – Very strong. Croatia has found a new defensive wall: a name to write down. The Leipzig defender has it all: physicality and speed.

Born in SOSA 6 – Ordered match: he is attentive in the defensive phase while in front he is rarely seen.

Luke MODRIC 6.5 – The flaw is the yellow card remedied a few seconds before leaving the field: who knows it might not turn out to be heavy. Just a big test. (From 88′ Mario PASALIC SV)

Marcelo BROZOVIC 6.5 – First half a little muted, he needs to pick up the pace after the long injury. He grows visibly in the second half and even goes close to scoring.

Mateo KOVACIC 7 – Among the most inspired of his. He never misses the play, he’s everywhere and leads his teammates in the offensive phase. Performance as a midfield professor. (From the 88th minute Lovro MAJER 6.5 – He finds himself in the right place for the 4-1 goal).

Andrei KRAMARIC 7.5 – The man of the match. A brace, a goal disallowed, a great opportunity at the start of the second half. Always in the right place. (From 73′ Nikola VLASIC SV.)

Marko LIVAJA 7 – Dalic bets on him and doesn’t disappoint: the 2-1 goal is beautiful, previously he had already gone close to the net. Smart move. (From 60′ Bruno PETKOVIC 6 – Touch very few balls).

Ivan PERISIC 7 – Two kiss assists for Kramaric, who takes and thanks. He doesn’t move from his lane and opens the chasms in between for his teammates. A rebus for anyone. (From the 88th minute Mislav ORSIC 6.5 – Intelligent and selfless in serving the assist for Majer).

Herds Zlatko DALIC 6.5 – Nice move by Livaja from the first minute: rewarded by the goal. The impression is that with this Croatia we need to work on continuity over the 90 minutes.

Canada’s report cards

Milan BORJAN 6.5 – He concedes four goals but comes out with a very high head: at least three excellent saves, one of which is super on Kramaric.

Alistair JOHNSTON 5.5 – He has the difficult task of trying to contain Perisic, in the first half when he is pointed he often gets away with it. Then he struggles.

Steven VITORIA 5.5 – He doesn’t pay attention to the shape and this can be a limitation in the long run.

Kamal MILLER 4.5 – He loses the rebound on the occasion of the 2-1 and makes a big mistake for Croatian poker. Lots of inaccuracies.

Richie LARYEA 6 – Created an interesting axis in the first half with Davies on the left. He also plays with courage, only to drop as the minutes go by. (From 62′ David HOYLETT 6 – Good entry into the field, in the final he tries to make himself dangerous).

Atiba HUTCHINSON 6 – Usual concrete and experience test: supports the defensive phase with dynamism. (From 73′ Sam ADEKUGBE SV)

Tajon BUCHANAN 6 – Assist for Davies and excellent ideas in the first half. He falls in the second half, but after the good performance against Belgium comes the confirmation: he’s a good player.

Stephen EUSTAQUIO 6 – Good job in the ball recovery phase, but his game only lasts one half even for a blow suffered in the final. (From 46′ Ismael KONE 5 – In fact, it does not enter the field).

Alphonso DAVIES 6.5 – Unmeasured talent. Regardless of the immediate goal: the Bayern player is by far the star of Canada. And he can become one of world football.

Cyle LARIN 5.5 – Starting shirt after joining Morocco. He plays as a reference up front, but without being able to sting. Comes out at halftime. (From 46′ Jonathan OSORIO 6 – Create a great occasion right away: great impact. Then he gets lost along the way.)

Jonathan David 5 – More is expected of someone like him. She kicks only once towards the goal, from outside in the second half. He plays between the lines but is seen very little. (From 72′ Lucas CAVALLINI SV)

Herd John HERDMAN 5.5 – Excellent start from his team, then betrayed by an insufficient defensive phase. But the problem seems cultural, rather than attributable to the coach.