Key events
13 min In comes the free-kick from the left … Lukic can’t make clean contact with his header. Once again, though, it’s Bosnia who get to it first in Canada’s box.
11 min All a bit nervy and scrappy at the moment. A wayward pass from Oluwaseyi has Canada retreating and Johnston takes down Memic … it’s a yellow for the right-back.
10 min Millar has another chance to throw long from the left … but Bosnia deal with it well at the front post.
8 min Johnston pings the ball down the line for Buchanan to chase … but the man-mountain Kolasinac is up for the battle.
6 min De Fougerolles gets plenty of love from the crowd after shielding the ball away from Lukic to win Canada a goalkick.
5 min Bosnia have another free-kick, this time from the right. It’s taken short before Basic whips into the area … Lukic rises for a header that travels well wide.
4 min There’s already a rather manic energy to this, months of pent-up energy getting released.
3 min The rehearsed corner – sent in low – doesn’t cause any bother. Kolasinac is fouled by Johnston over on Bosnia’s left, the free-kick comes into the area … and the ball drop nicely for Memic … he blasts high. There were plenty of shirts in front of him, but that was a decent chance.
1 min Millar sends in a long throw for Canada from the left … and it leads to a corner. Eustaquio to deliver …
Peeeep!
Canada decked out in red; Bosnia in white with blue sleeves. The co-hosts get us going – history is made.
Alanis Morissette – yep, that’s right – sings the Canadian anthem.
The players make their way out of the tunnel – the full squads have emerged. Looks a gorgeous day in Toronto.
The BBC coverage has cut away from Bublé. I. Am. Fuming.
Here’s Bublé. This is what we’ve been waiting for. Go on, my son.
Rebekah Voss writes in:
The first World Cup game I remember was a minor game that you probably haven’t heard of … this casual affair between Brazil and Germany in 2014. I was nine at the time and hadn’t heard of soccer before (look, I’m from a rather rural area of America, okay?) and I was starstruck. Thomas Müller and Toni Kroos made scoring look so easy and Manuel Neuer was just fantastic. I thought he was a god out there. My classmates and I played soccer sometimes during recess and I opted goalie each time. I wasn’t half bad at it, seeing as I’m a head taller than most. It was my dream when I was younger of one day meeting Manuel Neuer and blowing him away with my goalie skills. Funny what kids think of, right?
As I’ve grown through the years, I’ve become an avid fan of the beautiful game. I follow every Bayern game and I’ve got a couple of Müller shirts — my prized possession is my 2014 World Cup kit with Müller on the back. I’m dreaming of getting a Neuer shirt one day if I can find one for cheap enough.
All of this to say is, I was originally so excited when I first heard the World Cup was coming to America. Arrowhead Stadium’s only five-ish hours from my place and I was set on getting to go there. But the prices made it impossible to justify, and honestly, looking at the state of our country and all of the idiocy and callous cruelty that Trump and his henchmen are causing, I’m rather glad I’m not contributing to this bread and circus. But I have this silly little dream that maybe my countrymen will get their heads out of the dirt and see the beauty of this sport – and the beauty of other people who may not look or talk or think exactly as they do, but are still human beings with a capacity for creativity and kindness and all the little things that make us human. Funny what kids think of, right?
Ben Fisher
Still no sign of Bublé, worryingly, though no doubt he’s saving himself for the grandest and glitziest of entrances. Freed from Desire is blaring for now.
Away from football, another World Cup has kicked off in England:
Juventus’ Jonathan David is up front for Canada and their record goalscorer with 39 in 77 games:
This Today in Focus ep is worth a listen.
Alphonso Davies, still on the mend, wasn’t expected to be in Canada’s XI for their opener. Bosnia’s biggest name, Edin Dzeko, is on the bench.
Forget the World Cup just for a sec … some news from Scotland.
The teams
Canada: Crépeau, Johnston, De Fougerolles, Cornelius, Laryea, Buchanan, Koné, Eustáquio, Millar, Jonathan David, Oluwaseyi
Subs: St. Clair, Goodman, Jones, Waterman, Choinière, Larin, Shaffelburg, Bombito, Davies, Ahmed, Osorio, Sigur, Promise, Saliba, Nelson
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Vasilj, Dedic, Katic, Muharemovic, Kolasinac, Bajraktarevic, Basic, Tahirovic, Memic, Demirovic, Lukic
Subs: Jurkas, Zlomislic, Mujakic, Hadzikadunic, Gigovic, Bazdar, Dzeko, Sunjic, Hadziahmetovic, Burnic, Alajbegovic, Radeljic, Tabakovic, Malic, Mahmic
A fair few empty seats for this ceremony …. though we’re still waiting for Bublé.
Miss yesterday’s opening ceremony? Don’t worry, we’ve got another in the works. Yep, Michael Bublé is one of several performers about to grace the Toronto Stadium.
Partey to miss Ghana’s World Cup opener after Canada visa refused
Here’s more on that breaking story:
The Athletic is reporting that Thomas Partey will not play in Ghana’s opening game after his visa application to Canada was refused. The Black Stars face Panama next week in Toronto before playing England in Boston and Croatia in Philadelphia.
Ben Fisher
It is a brilliant atmosphere at Toronto Stadium, with Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina supporters drinking in the occasion. Canada fans marched to the ground en masse, some high-fiving the Bosnian supporters who got stuck amid the traffic, flares and chants the order of the day. It was a sticky morning in the city, with no discernible evidence of a historic match taking place, but that has all changed with a couple of hours until kick-off. There was an a cappella version of O Canada, of course. There is pedigree among the media corps, too, with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Owen Hargreaves, who was born in Calgary, both in the building. There were suggestions in Bosnian media that they may have more fans in attendance, but Jesse Marsch was in no doubt on the eve of the game. “That stadium is going to be red, not blue,” he said, matter-of-factly.
All you need to know about the two sides:
Here’s what Jesse Marsch has had to say in the buildup, heralding the multiculturalism of his squad. Welcome words from the former Leeds manager.
From the moment I stepped into the environment with this team, I was incredibly impressed by how much they loved each other, how much they were drawn to each other and how much, even though there were differences, their back stories had similarities: first and second-generation Canadian, Portuguese, French, Jamaican, Colombian, Scottish …
Preamble
Mexico’s had its turn; off we roll to Canada, hosting the men’s World Cup for the very first time. That’s history already guaranteed but Jesse Marsch will want more from the day, particularly when he’s assembled a team that reached the semi-finals of the 2024 Copa América and have lost just one game in normal time in the last year. A point would be significant for Canada – they’ve played six World Cup games and lost them all – but this really is their time to make a splash and get to the knockouts.
Up first: Edin Dzeko’s Bosnia and Herzegovina. Yep, he’s still knocking them in at 40, part of the side that ground their way through the qualifying playoffs, breaking Welsh and Italian hearts, back at the World Cup for the first time in 12 years. Time to ruin the Toronto party, too? We’ll see at 3pm local time. Or 8pm in BST money (5am Saturday AEST).
