Zlatko Dalic was sorry to see Belgium lose a "great coach" in Roberto Martinez as his departure was confirmed with Thursday's World Cup exit.

Dalic's Croatia held Belgium to a goalless draw at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, following Morocco through to the last 16 in Group F.

Martinez, who was out of contract after six years as Red Devils coach, announced he would be leaving his role in his post-match news conference.

"I think Belgium have lost a great coach," said Dalic. "I'm sorry he resigned."

Discussing his own future, the Croatia boss added: "My project is Euro 2024 and the Nations League Finals. When I finish these projects, then I'll think about how to proceed."

Although the 2018 finalists themselves missed out on topping the group, Dalic hailed the performance of his team.

"It would be selfish for me to single out individuals," he said. "They all gave everything of themselves."

Full-backs Josip Juranovic and Borna Sosa were more open to picking out individuals, each lauding 37-year-old player of the match Luka Modric.

Asked if the Real Madrid man was still one of the world's best, Juranovic replied: "Yes – [that answer] is short enough. He is the best midfielder ever."

Sosa added: "Of course, it's easy [to play with Modric]. The better players you have in your team, the easier it is to play.

"With Luka, one of the best players in the history of the sport, it is very easy."

Roberto Martinez has blasted the Belgian media for coverage of a "genius" French-based report detailing supposed unrest in the Belgium camp ahead of a huge World Cup match against Croatia.

Belgium lost 2-0 to Morocco in their second Group F game and must now defeat the 2018 finalists to be sure of advancing to the knockout stage.

The Red Devils' preparation for that fixture has been hampered this week by discussion of a rift within the team, first reported by RTL and L'Equipe.

Belgium's players subsequently came together for a meeting – "it wasn't a crisis meeting, as we might have heard from some quarters," insisted Timothy Castagne – as they aim to "show more solidarity" against Croatia.

Castagne added the reports had "exaggerated a lot" and he had "seen worse", before Martinez, appearing after the defender at a pre-match news conference, suggested his team now knew they were in Qatar "on our own".

"For us, nothing changes. The standards come from within," the coach said.

"We were not happy with our two performances. We got the result in the first game, but we were not happy with our performance.

"The second game was the first time we lost a game by two goals in a major tournament. You can imagine we were not happy with it. We had to react.

"Then you see the storm on the outside and realise maybe we were listening too much to the noise on the outside before the tournament.

"You have some outlets in Belgium who are quite happy to jump on fake news. That's quite astonishing. It's made the group quite aware that the least you listen to the noise from outside the better.

"It's the biggest sporting event in the world, and you can see there are many World Cups being played. Maybe a country like France did a very good job with a story that became the main talking point of some outlets.

"There is more desire to find negative news around this team, rather than getting the nation together, supporting this team, enjoying the talent of the best generation we ever had in Belgian football.

"Probably that was a lesson for all of us: we are here on our own. We are here to fight for what we believe. Hopefully the fans, the real fans of the Red Devils, can enjoy the process."

Pressed on his suggestion the story had come out of France and been intended to hurt Belgium, Martinez replied: "I've got too many things to do in camp to think about where this story comes.

"What is clear is whoever came up with it, whoever has done it has scored a great goal, an own goal for Belgium.

"If I'm an opposition and I can weaken another side and get them out of the World Cup, I would do that as a journalist, I would love to win my own World Cup. Whoever's done it is genius."

Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said his side would not be "fooled" by the reports around the Belgium team, adding: "I don't have an opinion on them and what's happening there.

"They are the second-best team in the world. That's all I care about. We are not focusing on any other aspects. We are focusing on Belgium, their quality.

"They cannot forget overnight how to play football. They are a top-notch team. They're number two, and we're number 12."

Andrej Kramaric thanked John Herdman for telling Canada to "'F' Croatia", saying his side "demonstrated who 'F'd' whom" in a 4-1 win.

Croatia dealt Canada their second defeat of this World Cup campaign, eliminating them from contention in Group F.

Canada had been unfortunate to lose their opener 1-0 to Belgium, and Herdman attracted attention afterwards for relaying what his message had been in the post-match huddle.

Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic responded by saying his team "deserve respect", and the 2018 finalists claimed to be motivated by Herdman's comments.

"I want to thank the Canada coach for the motivation," said Kramaric after scoring twice on Sunday. "In the end, Croatia demonstrated who 'F'd' whom."

The Croatia team could be heard celebrating nearby as Herdman took to the stage for his news conference, but he did not regret his comment.

"No, not at all," he said. "There's definitely a respect there for Croatia.

"As I keep saying, we're here to push as far as we can, here to change the mentality of the group. I could have been more composed coming out of the huddle, and that's part of my learning.

"I think we showed in the first 25 minutes that little Canada can compete with the best in the world.

"I don't think we gave [Croatia] an easy night. They deserved it, but we made them work for it."

According to Dalic, Herdman's "learning" should also include coming to terms with losses, as he suggested he had not heard from his opposite number following full-time.

"Whether I win or lose, I always like to congratulate the winner," Dalic said. "But he was not there, and that's his way of doing things.

"He was obviously mad. He is a high quality coach, but it will take him time to learn some things."

The evening had started so positively for Canada, who led through Alphonso Davies' second-minute header – their first World Cup goal in their fifth finals match.

"It was an amazing, amazing feeling," said captain Atiba Hutchinson. "We've wanted that for our country for a very long time.

"I always dreamt of playing in a World Cup. To see the ball hit the back of the net was great.

"In that moment, you want to continue to push on from there, and you have that feeling that this day is going to be for us. Today, it wasn't to be."

Canada's 1-0 defeat to Belgium was "statistically", according to John Herdman, "a winning performance" – and it is easy to see why he thinks that.

Canada attempted 22 shots, twice as many as their previous World Cup record (11 versus USSR in 1986), with their attempts worth a combined 2.6 expected goals.

Belgium's chances were worth 0.8 xG, but they crucially scored through Michy Batshuayi.

Canada still have not scored a World Cup goal from 50 shots. No team have played more finals matches (four) without ever finding the net, while only Bolivia have previously failed to register in their first five such fixtures.

Another "winning performance" against Croatia will count for little if they cannot end that drought.

"It's those behaviours that we'll continue to work on," coach Herdman said. "That's what the players see in the review meeting [after the Belgium game].

"And we've got to close some gaps going into this meeting with Croatia, who are a hell of a team."

That more measured praise of Croatia was slightly at odds with Herdman's emotions immediately post-match, when he called on his Canada players to "'F'" their next opponents.

"The gentleman expressed himself that way, that is his right," responded Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic. "I won't dwell on that. We have to speak on the field.

"Everyone has their own way of expressing themselves. I just don't know how nice it is to say something like that. I will discuss it with the players. It can only motivate us."

It is easy to see why Herdman might have been confident, though, if he had taken in Croatia's goalless draw against Morocco.

The 2018 finalists had just five shots in that match, their lowest total in a single World Cup contest. They averaged 16.1 shots per game in Russia.

Still, Canada have lost each of their first four World Cup games and will be eliminated if that sequence continues against Croatia.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Croatia – Josko Gvardiol

Not many Croatia players stood out against Morocco, but Gvardiol was one. He set Croatia World Cup records for passes attempted (115) and completed (102), although he might have more work to do defensively in this encounter based on Canada's first display. It is an opportunity to impress for a man linked with a host of Europe's leading clubs.

Canada – Jonathan David

Alphonso Davies may have passed up Canada's clearest chance from the penalty spot, but David will similarly rue a wasteful opening display. He had seven shots against Belgium, all from inside the box, but missed the target with each of them. It was only the second example since 1966 of a player taking all of his seven shots from inside the area yet failing to trouble the goalkeeper (also Italy's Paolo Barison against North Korea in 1966).

PREDICTION

Even in defeat, Canada were one of the more impressive performers of the opening round of matches, but they are still facing the finalists from the last World Cup – and the supercomputer's forecast bears that out.

Croatia are 47.0 per cent favourites, according to Stats Perform's AI model, with Canada given a 27.0 per cent chance and the draw rated a shade more unlikely at 26.0 per cent.

Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic has lashed out at World Cup organisers and Canada boss John Herdman, stating his side "deserve respect".

The 2018 World Cup finalists opened their Qatar 2022 campaign with a goalless draw against Morocco in Group F, which kicked off at 1pm local time on Wednesday.

Speaking ahead of his side's next match however, Dalic hit out at FIFA, suggesting his team should have been handed a cooler, more favourable late-day slot for their match as incumbent runners-up.

"The fact that we played the first match at 1pm disturbed our rhythm," he stated. "I attribute our lack of energy in that first match to the early kick-off.

"The fact that Croatia plays at 1pm is not respectful. England, Spain, France and Brazil are not playing at that time. We are the runners-up in the [last] World Cup. This is not the attitude towards Croatia that it should be."

Dalic previously struck a more neutral tone over opposite number Herdman's comments, where he said his team must "F" Croatia after a narrow defeat to Belgium, despite arguably outplaying their European opponents.

However, he proved more angered by the words this time around, reinforcing again: "Croatia deserves respect from everyone. We have earned it with our games and results. 

"I will not pay attention to any comments. We will get ready and play football and be dignified towards Canada as well as towards others. But we deserve respect."

Herdman, meanwhile, is relishing the chance to face Croatia, adding: "It's a hell of a test for this team. We are excited. We have a hell of a match coming."

Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic believes his team lacked "courage" as they were held by Morocco in their World Cup opener, with Luka Modric offering a similar opinion.

The 2018 runners-up were big favourites to claim an opening-day win that would have been big step towards progression from a group that also features Belgium and Canada.

While Croatia enjoyed just shy of 65 per cent of the ball, they only managed to craft two clear opportunities at Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday.

The first, a prodded Nikola Vlasic effort, was saved well by Yassine Bounou at the end of the second half, and just before the break Sofyan Amrabat made a vital block to keep Dejan Lovren's attempt out of the bottom-left corner.

Nevertheless, their accumulative expected goals figure of 0.66 highlighted a general lack of attacking authority, which Modric was eager to point out.

"We'll be better, we need to adopt a more proactive attitude and pass the group, that's our primary objective, to qualify," Modric told reporters.

"We had a great defence, what we were missing was a goal. We'd have had more luck if we'd had a more proactive attitude."

It was put to Dalic that Croatia underwhelmed considering their greater share of possession and he did not disagree.

He added: "You're right when you say that regarding ball possession and control. Our opponents were good, compact, and faster than us sometimes.

"They were behind our midfield and wingers, so we had a problem with making [attacking] passes.

"We should've gone forward more. We were afraid of counters, we were cautious about mistakes and indecisive.

"A bit of courage was missing on our part. We had control but not enough opportunities or decisiveness. We didn't go forward as much as we wanted to."

Perhaps predictably, Croatia's journey to the 2018 final was soon brought up, but Dalic felt it was irrelevant to start comparing the two squads and insisted Wednesday's disappointment will not alter their ambitions of going far.

"We cannot draw comparisons between the two generations," he said. "It's difficult to draw comparisons between the generation of four years ago and this.

"We know we have competence and we are prepared to fight. We will not be deterred and won't be stopped in our ambition. We are moving on; tomorrow is another day and that's it. This is going to be a tough tournament, for sure."

A point certainly appeared a better result for Morocco than it did for Croatia, even if the Atlas Lions are still searching for their first World Cup win since 1998.

There rarely looked to be any danger of Morocco stealing a victory, though, with Dominik Livakovic in the Croatian net barely troubled.

Morocco coach Walid Regragui disagreed with the suggestion his side lacked bravery, however.

"Not exactly because we wanted to win, but the strategy worked. We played like a European team. Morocco managed to create chances, and in fact we played a balanced way, a solid way, and it was difficult for Croatia.

"It was not fear. We see that this was only our first match. Maybe we could've played better, but we take every match as it comes, and still I know we should be in possession more and adapt to each opponent.

"I think the possession was 65 per cent for them, but I think when we had it we were more efficient. We'd have preferred that we had a different outcome but still I think we did well."

Recent history suggests the outcome of Croatia's World Cup Group F opener against Morocco on Wednesday will give a good indication as to how far they can go at Qatar 2022.

After all, Croatia have lost their opening match in three of their five appearances at the World Cup, and on those occasions they failed to get out of the group.

In the two exceptions, they found themselves among the last four, with Zlatko Dalic guiding Croatia all the way to the final four years ago, ultimately losing to France.

While they may have been a little 'Jekyll and Hyde' in nature in the past, there is undoubtedly an underlying feeling of confidence ahead of the matchday one encounter with Morocco at Al Bayt Stadium, the scene of Qatar's 2-0 defeat to Ecuador on Sunday.

Much of the 2018 squad is no longer in the picture, but they still came through qualifying with relative ease and earlier this season topped a Nations League group also featuring Les Bleus and Denmark.

"We just need to take it game by game," striker Marko Livaja said.

"For us, our focus needs to be on the game against Morocco, where we'll need to give 100 per cent, and I think we have really good chances to repeat something similar to what we did in Russia."

Andrej Kramaric added: "We have quality and we can repeat the result from Russia, but it's stupid to talk about it and announce it.

"It's important that we pass the group, and then we'll see what happens."

However, Morocco will believe they can cause a stir after coming through their own qualification campaign in emphatic fashion.

The Atlas Lions won all six games in the second round of the CAF section, scoring 20 and conceding just once – both of which were the second best in the entire round.

They then thrashed the Democratic Republic of Congo 5-2 on aggregate in the third and final stage of qualifying, making them the only team to progress with a winning margin of more than one goal.

Their record at the World Cup is not spectacular, having only ever got out of their group once (1986) in five previous qualifications.

But this will be their second successive appearance at the tournament, a feat they have only accomplished once before, and head coach Walid Regragui clearly has talent at his disposal.

Arguably chief among them is Hakim Ziyech, who provided a reminder of what he is capable of with an outrageous goal from inside his own half in a 3-0 pre-tournament friendly win over Georgia last week.

The Chelsea midfielder, back in the fold after falling out with the previous coach, will be a key leader on the pitch and rallied the troops ahead of the tussle with Croatia.

"We know what we have to do to make everyone proud," he told Morocco's official YouTube channel. "I think for everybody it's a big stage now to show what we are capable of as a team and as a country.

"We are preparing properly. I think we were up to it against Georgia. We feel good, there is a good feeling within the team."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Morocco – Youssef En-Nesyri

While much of the focus will be on talents such as Ziyech and Achraf Hakimi, En-Nesyri will have a lot of the goal-scoring burden on his shoulders. Whether he can cope with that pressure is another matter.

The striker did net against Georgia last week, but generally the Sevilla player has been out of form for 18 months. He has not been helped by injuries, but he has also been wasteful, with his four non-penalty goals in 33 LaLiga games since the start of last season being significantly under his 7.2 non-penalty expected goals (xG) return.

He does have World Cup experience, though, and he will be aiming to become the first Moroccan player to score at two different editions after netting four years ago in Russia.

Croatia – Marcelo Brozovic

Dalic has routinely spoken about how Croatia will focus everything on making the most of their strength: the midfield.

Brozovic has established himself as one of Europe's best deep-lying playmakers over the past four years, and his work allows Luka Modric to push up slightly higher.

Although he has missed a chunk of the season with Inter through injury, Brozovic is averaging the third-most successful passes (60.1) and fourth-most interceptions (1.7) per 90 minutes among Serie A midfielders this term (minimum 350 minutes played), highlighting what he can offer on and off the ball.

PREDICTION

While Morocco certainly have players capable of troubling Croatia, the latter are unsurprisingly clear favourites for this clash.

According to Stats Perform's AI model, Dalic's side have a 47.8 per cent chance of starting their campaign with a win, despite their patchy past record in World Cup openers.

A draw is rated at 27.4 per cent, putting the likelihood of a Morocco win at a marginally lower 24.8 per cent. Nevertheless, it does suggest the Atlas Lions have a credible chance of at least getting a result.

Didier Deschamps has left France's training camp following the death of his father, French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet has announced.

Training sessions on Tuesday were run by assistant boss Guy Stephan, while a tweet was posted of the team gathering for a moment's silence.

Les Bleus are preparing for four Nations League fixtures this month, the first of which is against Denmark on Friday before a Croatia double-header sandwiches a clash with Austria.

Le Graet said: "It is with great sadness that I have heard of the passing of Didier's father. Didier went to join his relatives and I assure him of my friendship and my support in this ordeal."

Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic has also left his team's base after his father also died.

Dalic had led training on Tuesday before being informed of the news.

"We received this news with great sadness about Zlatko's father's death," Croatian Football Federation president Marijan Kustic said.

"We express our deepest condolences to Zlatko and his family and tell him that the entire Croatian football family is standing by him in this difficult time."

Croatia face Austria on Friday, with their France fixtures coming either side of a trip to Denmark.

Croatia and Scotland face a must-win showdown at Hampden Park in Euro 2020 Group D – something that is not ideal for Zlatko Dalic's side.

In five previous meetings with Scotland, Croatia have never won (D3 L2). They have only faced world champions France (eight times) and reigning Euros kings Portugal (seven) more often without tasting victory.

But Scotland have been hit by a COVID-19 positive for Billy Gilmour after the Chelsea midfielder's man-of-the-match showing in the 0-0 draw with England.

That game at Wembley engendered a feelgood factor around Steve Clarke's squad, despite the fact they remain without a goal or a win in their two matches at the tournament so far.

Indeed, despite the impressive work overall of front two Che Adams and Lyndon Dykes last time out, Scotland have failed to score in five of their past eight matches at major tournaments (W1 D3 L4), with their 30 shots at Euro 2020 all fruitless.

"There’s been a good mood around the camp since we played England," Clarke said.

"I think the performance more than the result is what pleased us. We needed something from the game to make the last game the cup final it is, and we’re all looking forward to it."

Like Scotland, Croatia's haul of one point from two games means victory and hoping to finish as one of the four best third-place teams looks their most likely route through.

"I want this Croatia side to have support from the public, they deserve that, they deserve it for everything they've done for Croatian football," Dalic said. "As long as we have a chance to qualify, we need support."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Scotland – Scott McTominay

Gilmour's absence leaves a question mark over how Steve Clarke will use McTominay for this crunch clash. The Manchester United player reverted to a place in the back three against England, where he was a calming influence – his 54 touches more than any other Scotland player. When he featured in central midfield for the 2-0 defeat to the Czech Republic, no team-mate bettered McTominay's two tackles or three interceptions.

Croatia – Ivan Perisic

Mario Mandzukic and Ivan Rakitic are sorely missed and Luka Modric might be straining for the memory of his Ballon d'Or-winning form, but Croatia still have Perisic to fire their hopes of progress. The Inter winger's blistering strike to snatch a 1-1 draw against the Czechs kept them above water in the competition. It also made him the first Croatia player to score at four different major tournaments, with eight goals in such matches overall.

KEY OPTA FACTS

– None of the five matches between Croatia and Scotland have produced more than two goals.
– Scotland have only lost one of their past nine matches at Hampden Park, their opening reverse against the Czech Republic. They last suffered consecutive defeats there in 2019.
– Croatia have won only two of their previous 11 international matches across all competitions (D3 L6) and are winless in their past four (D2 L2). Scotland are looking to avoid failing to score in three consecutive competitive matches for the first time since three games between November 2003 and October 2004.
– Nikola Vlasic is the sole midfielder with five or more goals and five or more assists in each of the past three campaigns in the Russian Premier League. The only other player to do so in the competition is Zenit striker Artem Dzyuba.
– Andrej Kramaric is one of the three players to have scored 10 or more goals in each of the past five Bundesliga seasons, alongside Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry.

Croatia face the Czech Republic in Glasgow on Friday aiming to avoid a defeat in their second match of a major tournament for the first time in their history.

Zlatko Dalic's side lost 1-0 to England in their opening Euro 2020 match last weekend and face likely early elimination if results go against them in the second round of Group D games.

The omens are good for Croatia, though, having won six and drawn four of their 10 previous matchday two games at the European Championship and World Cup.

That includes a 2-2 draw with the Czech Republic at Euro 2016, though three points will be the target for the 2018 World Cup runners-up in this latest meeting at Hampden Park.

An improvement will be required from Croatia following their loss to England, which made it eight defeats in their last 14 games.

"We have to do better in attack," Dalic said after the defeat at Wembley. "It won't be easy against the Czech Republic and Scotland, but I'm optimistic.

"Against Belgium and England we didn't win, but we weren't crushed. We need a win to give us confidence. One good win with one or two goals would really open us up."

Croatia could lose three games in a row for only the third time ever, also doing so in June 2006 and March 2021, and they come up against a Czech Republic side in good form.

Jaroslav Silhavy's charges beat Scotland 2-0 in Glasgow thanks to a Patrik Schick double and will be through to the last 16 if they beat Croatia, but the Czech head coach is anticipating a difficult test.

"They have players who like playing the ball, combine and build up attacks from the back," Silhavy said.

"If they have a good day, they will be very tough opponents for us. I still consider them among two favourites of our group and we are the third ones behind."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Croatia – Ante Rebic

A number of Croatia's big-name players failed to show up against England, but Rebic did at least look a threat at times. The Milan winger was the only Croatia player to have more than one shot, albeit failing to score from all three attempts.

Rebic has just three goals in 39 international appearances, scoring from one of his last 31 shots since netting against Argentina at the 2018 World Cup, so an improvement will be required in front of goal.

Czech Republic – Patrik Schick

Schick's double against Scotland included an incredible strike from 49.7 yards, making it the longest-range goal recorded in all European Championship games going back to 1980.

The Bayer Leverkusen forward had five of his side's seven shots on target – the most a Czech Republic player has managed in a match at a major tournament. He has now been involved in 10 goals in his last nine starts for his country.

KEY OPTA FACTS

– The Czech Republic have never beaten Croatia (D2 L1). Their three previous meetings have produced 12 goals, an average of four per game.

– Croatia and the Czech Republic have met once previously at a major tournament – in the group stages of Euro 2016. The game ended 2-2, with the Czechs coming back from 2-0 down to secure their only point of the group phase.

– Croatia have not lost consecutive games at a European Championship tournament since 1996, with those losses coming against Portugal in Nottingham and Germany in Manchester.

– Just one of the Czech Republic's last 19 group-stage games at major tournaments has ended in a draw (W9 L9), with that coming against Croatia at Euro 2016.

– Including games as Czechoslovakia, only twice before have the Czechs won both of their opening two group-stage games at a major international tournament (World Cup 1990 and Euro 2004).