Tottenham Hotspur wide man Ivan Perisic grabbed two assists for Croatia against Canada and earned praise from Micah Richards.
Croatia were hoping to avoid a shock against Canada but were stunned inside 90 seconds as Alphonso Davies headed John Herdman’s men in front.
That was as good as it got for Croatia though as Andrej Kramaric scored either side of a Marko Livaja strike.
Lovro Majer wrapped up a 4-1 win for Croatia, giving them a great chance of qualifying for the last 16.
Micah Richards hails Ivan Perisic assist
Canada’s athleticism caused major problems early on but Croatia’s experienced players took over and dominated the game.
Much of the focus will be on Luka Modric but wide man Perisic had a major impact on the game.
Perisic played a superb reverse pass to play Kramaric in for Croatia’s equaliser in the first half.
The Tottenham star then crossed for Kramaric to score his second and Croatia’s third after the break.
Perisic will have been desperate to find the net given his goal drought for club and country.
The 33-year-old has yet to score a single goal for Tottenham since joining from Inter Milan over the summer.
Perisic’s last goal for Croatia came over a year ago too, meaning he would love a goal at the moment.
The goals weren’t there for Perisic against Canada but he had a huge impact on the game with his two assists.
BBC pundit Micah Richards hailed Perisic for his first assist, claiming that it was a ‘special’ setup for Kramaric to score.
Tottenham fans have seen this from Perisic, with the veteran picking up seven assists in 21 games for Spurs this season.
The hope is that the goals will eventually come but whilst Perisic is picking up ‘special’ assists, Spurs fans will be happy.
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