Canada eliminated from World Cup after humbling loss to Croatia

A 4-1 defeat to the Croatians on Sunday means Canada is the second nation to exit the World Cup after suffering two straight losses.

Canada eliminated from World Cup after humbling loss to Croatia
  • Canada 1 (Davies 2’), Croatia 4 (Kramarić 36, 70; Livaja 44’, Majer 90'+4')
  • Canada becomes 2nd team to be eliminated at World Cup, after Qatar
  • Alphonso Davies scores 1st World Cup goal for Canadian men’s team

Canada's FIFA World Cup campaign in Qatar is over before it even had a chance to get going, coming to a screeching halt after only two games.

Alphonso Davies scored a historic first World Cup goal for the Canadian men’s team inside the opening two minutes, but the Reds couldn’t overcome the sheer class and quality of Croatia, suffering a sobering 4-1 loss on Sunday at Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan.

This second consecutive defeat means Canada is officially eliminated from the World Cup even though it has one group stage match remaining. In Sunday’s other Group F game, Morocco defeated Belgium 2-0 in Doha. With only one matchday remaining, Croatia and Morocco are tied for first place in Group F with four points apiece, ahead of Belgium (three points) and Canada (zero points). Canada faces Morocco at Doha's Al Thumama Stadium on Thursday, Dec. 1 (10:00 a.m. ET).

Davies’ goal inside the opening two minutes ended his team's lengthy World Cup goal drought. Canada previously suffered four shutout losses at the tournament, including three in 1986 in Mexico when it made its World Cup debut.