World Cup 2026: Canada Comes Back to Tie Bosnia in Home Opener

Victory in a World Cup match still eludes Team Canada after their opening game against Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Coming from behind, the cohost team made it out of its June 12 contest in Toronto with a 1–1 draw, a feat that still earned them their first-ever World Cup tournament points.

Both teams put on a 90-minute display of speed and physicality to the more than 43,000 fans in attendance and millions watching around the world. 

But that physicality resulted in a slew of fouls for both sides. Officials dealt 10 fouls to Canada, including two yellow cards, and 20 fouls to Bosnia, including three yellow cards. 

One of those infractions proved detrimental to Canada.

Despite attempts made by the home team early in the first half, it would be Bosnia who found the back of the net first. The Dragons turned a free kick into a corner kick, which sent the ball bouncing off the heads of Sead Kolasinac and Jovo Lukic on its way across the goal line 21 minutes into the game. 

It was Lukic’s first-ever World Cup goal, and Canada conceded the first goal in six of its seven total World Cup matches.

For the next 57 minutes, the Bosnians put on a defensive display. 

Canada held possession of the ball for more than 60 percent of the match, took nine corner kicks, and had nearly twice the number of accurate passes than their opponents. Yet, its attackers were constantly kept outside of the penalty box by the disruptive work of Bosnia’s middle four and back four. 

This shutdown was capped by Kolasinac, the team captain, as he got past his own goalkeeper to kick the ball away right at the goal line. Kolasinac is also one of only two remaining players from Bosnia’s 2014 World Cup team, which was Bosnia’s last appearance in the tournament. 

Through blocked shots, defending headers, and more winning duals for possession overall, the Dragons held the Canucks to four shots on goal. 

However, the home team would finally find a way to get on the board. As the game wore on into the second half, Canada’s coach Jesse Marsch began strategically making substitutions that gave his team a renewed boost of speed late in the game.

Tournament regulations limited him to replacing five of his 11 players, and one of his chosen substitutions was forward Cyle Larin. He replaced starting forward Tani Oluwaseyi 76 minutes into the game, and two minutes later, on his first possession of the ball, the Toronto native evened things out and reignited the energy of his home crowd. 

The 1–1 score went unchanged through the end of the game, handing Canada its first-ever World Cup tournament point. Bosnia earned the same. 

During the group stage, three points are awarded for wins, one point is awarded for a tie, and zero for a loss.  

The top two teams in each of the 12 groups, as well as the best eight overall third-place finishers, will advance to the elimination round. 

Canada has never made it out of the group stage before, but its coach and fans remain hopeful that they can make a push for the championship this year. 

Before the game, Canadian singer Michael Buble sang “Bring It On Home” at centerfield, as if to give his fellow countrymen his own jazz-pop styled call to action.

Canada’s home draw follows Mexico’s home win against South Africa in Mexico City on June 11, and precedes the U.S. home opener against Paraguay in Los Angeles on the evening of June 12.

But all three have begun pursuit of a dream that has not been fulfilled in 30 years. The last host country to win a World Cup was France in 1998.