Canada's first World Cup point against Bosnia 1:1 in Toronto

Canada, who had to make do without star player Alphonso Davies of FC Bayern Munich, who had not yet fully recovered from injury, appeared unusually hesitant in the first half. Coach Jesse Marsch was blunt in his criticism of the first-half performance after the match: „Da waren wir zu zögerlich und haben nicht so aggressiv gespielt, wie ich das eigentlich wollte." The only notable Canadian chance of the first half fell to Jonathan David, whose shot from short range was too central to beat the Bosnian goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj, who plays for relegated Bundesliga side FC St. Pauli.

Canada grows stronger, Larin strikes

After the break, Canada noticeably raised the pressure. In the 53rd minute, Richie Laryea nearly equalized, but his shot was acrobatically tipped onto the crossbar by captain Kolašinac, a former Bundesliga professional, in the nick of time. „im letzten Moment rauschte Ex-Bundesligaprofi Sead Kolasinac heran und bugsierte den Ball artistisch an die Latte, von wo er ins Feld zurücksprang," a reporter described the scene. Shortly afterward, in the 66th minute, Tani Oluwaseyi headed a cross from substitute Jacob Shaffelburg, which Nikola Katić also cleared off the line.

The deserved equalizer was finally scored by substitute Cyle Larin, who had only come on in the 76th minute for Oluwaseyi. Three minutes later, Larin, a professional at FC Southampton, finished off an attack with a shot on the turn. The ball was decisively deflected off Katić's leg and found its way past the helpless Vasilj into the right corner. „In der 78. Minute spielten sich die Co-Gastgeber erneut bis in den gegnerischen Strafraum durch. Larin schloss ab und fand via Bein von Katic mit seinem Schuss einen Weg vorbei an Vasilj ins bosnische Gehäuse," the match report stated. „Larin, gerade zwei Minuten am Platz, glich mit einem abgefälschten Schuss aus der Drehung zum 1:1 aus (78.)."

In the closing stages, Canada even pushed for the win. In the sixth minute of stoppage time, the ball suddenly fell to Larin's feet at the edge of the five-meter box, but his finish was blocked by Bosnian defenders Tarik Muharemović and Katić. Referee Facundo Tello of Argentina, who had already officiated three matches at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, blew the final whistle shortly afterward.

Bosnia defends with everything they have

For the Bosnians, who had qualified for the World Cup under coach Sergej Barbarez via a dramatic playoff against Italy on penalties, it was a pure defensive battle after the break. „die Bosnier legten den Fokus fast ausschliesslich auf das Verteidigen der Führung," the APA noted. Veteran Edin Džeko, the 40-year-old striker from Schalke 04, was nursing a shoulder injury and only made the bench, and alongside him Haris Tabaković, formerly of Austria Vienna, was also missing with an ankle injury.

For Bosnia, 18-year-old Kerim Alajbegović, who will leave Salzburg this summer, came on in the 74th minute for his World Cup debut, making him the youngest Bosnian ever to play at a World Cup. „Nach 74 Minuten brachte Barbarez den scheidenden Salzburger Kerim Alajbegovic in die Partie, der mit 18 Jahren sein WM-Debüt als jüngster Bosnier feierte."

Atmosphere and setting: Bublé, Morissette and empty seats

The match was embedded in an elaborate opening ceremony in which the 48 World Cup teams were presented with flags in a parade. However, 90 minutes before kick-off, thousands of seats remained empty at the official opening party because fans were still gathering in downtown Toronto. It was only when five-time Grammy winner Michael Bublé performed shortly before kick-off that the stands filled almost completely. The celebrations were brought to a close by Alanis Morissette, who sang the Canadian national anthem „O Canada." Toronto, where everything else normally revolves around ice hockey, basketball and baseball, was thus hosting a World Cup opening match for the first time. A total of six matches will be played at the Toronto Stadium, the tournament's smallest venue with a capacity of 45,000, including the German clash against the Ivory Coast next weekend.

Canada faces Qatar in Vancouver on Friday night, while Bosnia-Herzegovina meet Switzerland next Thursday at 9:00 pm. On Saturday evening, Switzerland and Qatar round off the first round of Group B at 9:00 pm CEST in Santa Clara near San Francisco. „Neben den beiden Gruppenersten hat auch der Drittplatzierte noch eine Chance auf das Sechzehntelfinale," the APA wrote of the four-team group format.

Outlook: Qatar and Switzerland await

From a Canadian perspective, the point was of historic value. At their previous World Cup appearances in 1986 in Mexico and 2022 in Qatar, „Les Rouges" had been eliminated at the group stage without earning a point. They had lost all six of their World Cup matches before finally achieving their late salvation on Friday evening in Toronto. „Dank der späten Erlösung holte Kanada bei seiner dritten WM-Teilnahme den ersten Punkt überhaupt. Die bisherigen sechs WM-Partien hatten die Nordamerikaner allesamt verloren," the match report summed up.

Marsch, who has coached the Canadian team since 2024 and previously won the Austrian double twice with RB Salzburg, was satisfied with his team's reaction after the final whistle: „In der zweiten Hälfte war das von der ersten Sekunde an anders," the American said. „Wir haben noch alles in der Hand, das war ein wichtiger Punkt für uns. Wir müssen daraus lernen, und das schnell."