Match Report
In the standings it was Croatia 2nd on 5 points, Canada 4th on 0 — separated by 5. Recent form told a different story for Canada: only 31st in the league over the last five rounds despite sitting 4th. Per game in the league, Croatia were scoring 1.33 and conceding 0.33, Canada 0.67 and 2.33, against a competition average of 1.25 goals per team per game.
Croatia had not lost in 11 games. Recent form was uneven: 13/15 points for Croatia, 7/15 for Canada.
The match was played at Yuanshen Sports Centre Stadium in Shanghai (capacity 45,857). Half-time and full-time told different stories: Croatia led 2-1 at the break, before 2 more goals closed it at 4-1.