Canada's men's national team scored their first FIFA World Cup goal but ultimately fell 4-1 to Croatia on Sunday in their second group stage match at Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar
The result eliminated the team from progressing to the knockout rounds of the tournament.
Canada opened the scoring two minutes in, as wingback Tajon Buchanan crossed the ball into the box for former Whitecaps FC academy graduate Alphonso Davies, who headed home Canada's first-ever goal in World Cup history.
Davies, who signed a Homegrown contract at the age of 15 with Vancouver in July 2016, tallied 12 goals as well as 14 assists in 47 starts and 79 appearances across all competitions for Whitecaps FC. The wingback was then transferred for a club-record fee to German Bundesliga side FC Bayern Munich after the conclusion of the 2018 season.
Despite Canada taking the early lead, Croatia found their equalizer in the 36th minute through forward Andrej Kramarić.
Croatia continued to press and took the lead eight minutes later as forward Marko Livaja powered his effort past Canadian goalkeeper Milan Borjan to give his side the 2-1 advantage.
At the start of the second half, Canada searched for the equalizer, with midfielder Jonathan Osorio and forward Jonathan David both coming close to finding the net.
However, Croatia would further extend their lead in the 70th minute as Kramarić scored his second of the match to make it 3-1.
Midfielder Lovro Majer also added another goal in stoppage time at the end of the match to give Croatia a 4-1 victory, eliminating Canada from progressing to the knockout stages.
Canada will now hope to close out their World Cup journey in strong fashion in their final group stage match against Morocco on Thursday, December 1 at Al Thumama Stadium in Al Thumama, Qatar, with kickoff set for 7 a.m. PT. You can catch the match live on TSN.
