Canada Held to Stalemate in First World Cup Game on Home Soil
- Timothy Belin
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
Credit THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kobain via Yahoo News Canada
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
World Cup co-hosts Canada needed a late equalizer to secure a deserved point in their opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The visitors opened the scoring against the run of play in the 21st minute and held their hosts at bay for much of the encounter. With two goal-line clearances in the second half, it looked for a long time that luck was not on Canada’s side today, but super-sub Cyle Larin earned his team a point in the 79th minute.
The two teams at Toronto Stadium could hardly have qualified in a more opposed fashion to each other. As one of the three hosts, Canada knew of its place in the tournament since winning hosting rights in 2018. On the other hand, Bosnia was one of the last countries to book its place for the cup. The small Balkan country secured their ticket at the expense of four-time champions Italy after a dramatic playoff win on penalties barely more than two months ago.
The two relatively inexperienced World Cup participants – Canada are making just their third appearance on the world’s brightest stage, while for Bosnia it’s only their second – did not waste time in getting their feet under them. The hosts won a corner a mere 38 seconds into the match, while the visitors fired over the bar following a deep free-kick three minutes in. Though Bosnia showed a dangerous counter-attacking threat, the script was quickly made clear. A very energetic Canada possessed a majority of the ball, while a resilient Bosnian defence kept them at bay.
Jonathan David got the first big chance of the game after a failed clearance. The Juventus forward ran onto the loose ball at the top of the box but could not place his shot either side of Nikola Vasilj in goal.
The Canadians were made to pay for their striker’s profligacy moments later. In the 21st minute, Bosnia and Herzegovina won a corner. Sead Kolasinac’s wicked delivery found the head of Jovo Lukic for the go-ahead goal, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead against the run of play. It was the striker’s first goal for his country in only his fourth international appearance.
The referee called for a mandatory water break seconds after the game’s restart, giving Jesse Marsch the opportunity to re-motivate his team after the sucker punch. Ten minutes later, they nearly leveled matters. Tani Oluwaseyi showed great strength to spin his defender and go through on goal. Unfortunately for the striker, his attempt to find the top corner saw him send his chance well over from close range.
Canada continued to push for the equalizer, but repeated big blocks and body-on-the-line defending by their opponents kept them at bay. At the break, the hosts had nine corners to Bosnia’s one, but only one shot on target to their visitors’ two.
The second half started much like its predecessor. After barely 20 seconds, Jovic tried to double his tally with a shot from distance. Though hit with power, it was straight at the goalkeeper.
Canada responded with a big chance of their own barely a minute later. Oluwaseyi showed great feet to once again find space in the box. His dangerous low cross just needed a touch to be tapped in, but Vasilj was the first to it to clear his lines. Vasilj and Oluwaseyi renewed their battle seconds later as the striker ran onto a long ball over the top, only for the keeper to wipe him out on the edge of the box as he punched the ball clear. The two men hit the deck following the collision, but both managed to continue after a brief breather.
The further the match progressed, the stronger Canada’s dominance became. Twice they were denied by goal line clearances, the first an incredible last-ditch deflection by Kolasinac onto his own crossbar after Richie Laryea’s shot had gone through the keeper’s legs, the second a header off the line by Nikola Katic.
But, in the 79th minute, the dam finally broke.
After some quick movement near the edge of the box, Promise David flicked the ball up for Larin. The Mallorca forward took one touch to cushion the pass, showed great strength to spin his defender and volleyed a powerful shot into the side netting. Upon review, it looked like Larin’s shot benefited from a deflection off a Bosnian defender to take it past Vasilj, but the Toronto crowd could hardly care less as they celebrated their nation’s first World Cup goal on home soil.
As the “Ole Ole” chants rang out from the sea of red in the stands, the Canadians on the pitch pushed for a winner. Going into six minutes of stoppage time, they looked most likely of the two teams to claim the three points, but Bosnia continued to demonstrate a threat on the counter. One final last-ditch block in the sixth minute of stoppage time encapsulated a pulsating affair and ensured Bosnia left Toronto with something to show for their efforts.
With Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina likely competing for second place in Group B behind group-favorites Switzerland, the point will have done little for either’s chances of securing that coveted knockout spot. Bosnia play Switzerland next on June 18, knowing any sort of result could be crucial to their chances of progressing past the group stage for the first time in the young nation’s history. Canada have similarly never made it to World Cup knockouts, and their game against Qatar later that same day will likely be a must-win should they harbor any hopes of changing that record.
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