Ivan Perisic 'cannot wait' to get stuck into John Herdman's Canada after the Maple Leafs' boss told his players to 'F' Croatia... as Zlatko Dalic calls for greater respect for his side who are 'second in the world'
- Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic wants his side to be shown more respect by opponents
- Ivan Perisic was quick to echo his manager's comments ahead of the fixture
- It comes after Herdman told his players to 'F' Croatia in their next group game
- Both Croatia and Canada will be looking for their first wins of the competition
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Croatia veteran Ivan Perisic claims he cannot wait to get stuck into Canada following their coach John Herdman's controversial comments this week.
Canada boss Herdman revealed he told his players 'go and "eff" Croatia' in an on-pitch huddle following their hard-fought defeat to Belgium in their World Cup opener on Wednesday.
The word 'eff' was widely assumed to be an abbreviation for an obscenity and it sparked furore in the Croatian media, with one newspaper mocking up a picture of a naked Herdman on its front page.
Croatian boss Zlatko Dalic wants more from his side after their poor 0-0 draw with Morocco
Perisic and Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic, who led his side to the World Cup final in 2018, have not been impressed by Herdman's remarks, and accused the Englishman of disrespect at a press conference to preview Sunday's Group F encounter between the two teams.
Addressing the issue first, Dalic said: 'The Croatia team deserves respect from everyone. We have proven that by the way we have played and our conduct during the World Cup.
'We are the runners-up, second in the world. We respect everyone equally so we expect our opposing teams to respect us. This way of putting words together is not a sign of respect.'
Tottenham midfielder Perisic, sat alongside Dalic, added: 'I second the head coach and I cannot wait for the match to begin.'
Herdman has also received huge backlash for his comments from the Croatian media, with tabloid 24 Sata (24 Hours) running the fullpage photo of a naked Herdman with Maple Leaf-shaped Canadian flags over his mouth and manhood.
John Herdman called for Canada to 'eff' Croatia after their 1-0 defeat to Belgium
The picture was accompanied by a headline that translated to: 'You have the mouth, but do you have the balls as well?'
'I told them they belong here. And we're going to go and eff Croatia,' Herdman said after the Belgium defeat with a smile, using a single letter to avoid a televised profanity. 'That's as simple as it gets.'
His words reverberated all the way to Zagreb and Sunday's game has now got that extra spice to it.
Versatile veteran Ivan Perisic admitted that he 'cannot wait' to face Herdman's Canadian team
'You say those things in an impassioned moment trying to inspire your team in a huddle, and when you're asked the question what you said in that huddle, yeah, it was what I said,' Herdman explained the following day.
'It's not massively respectful to Croatian people and the Croatian national team. I understand very well where they're at on the world stage. But in that moment, you've taken your men to that next place,' he added.
Croatia daily tabloid newspaper 24 Sata (24 Hours) ran the photo of a naked Herdman
Croatia opened their campaign with a goalless draw against Morocco and Dalic admits his team must improve.
He said: 'This will be a difficult match. We have to adopt an aggressive stance, as it will be more difficult than against Morocco. Canada are a tough team.'
Herdman, the County Durham-born former Sunderland youth coach who previously coached the Canada national women's side, has tried to brush off the brouhaha over his comments.
He said: 'We've been on a media blackout since November 14, so there's not much we see in the media, but when you get a text from your wife telling you you need to start working out before you get home, you know something's going on!
'We're super-excited for a huge, huge match. Our team are bright and clear ready to go, and it's going to be a defining moment for Canada in this World Cup.
'It's one of those 'do or die' games that we have to we have to perform in to stay at a World Cup.'
Perisic's Croatian team-mates will expect a better result after the drab affair with Morocco
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