Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic and Ivan Perisic have been left enraged over John Herdman’s comments that he told his Canada side to ‘F’ Sunday’s opponents. Dalic has demanded Croatia to be shown more ‘respect’, while versatile Tottenham star Perisic stated he ‘cannot wait’ to face Canada.

Maple Leafs manager Herdman delivered a passionate speech to his team after they fell to a 1-0 defeat to Belgium in their World Cup opener. And he knows Canada must get a result against the 2018 runners-up if they wish to have any chance of progressing into knockout stages.

Speaking after the defeat to Belgium, Herdman revealed he gave an X-rated team-talk to his players. Herdman, who guided Canada‘s women’s side to the bronze medal in both the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games, said: “I’ve just showed them they belong here. “I told them they belong here and we’re going to go and ‘F’ Croatia. That’s as simple as it gets.

“You know that’s our next mission now, I told them that I lost my first game at the London 2012 Olympics and we went on to win our first medal in 86 years. “So it’s how we respond now, and with that belief and we keep the brotherhood tight, we got a chance.”

And his comments have annoyed Dalic and Perisic, who made their feelings clear on Herdman and their upcoming opponents Canada. Addressing the issue in Croatia’s pre-match press conference, 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.” Sitting alongside Dalic, Perisic stated: “I second the head coach and I cannot wait for the match to begin.”