Canada will aim to vindicate coach Jesse Marsch’s bullish claims about their squad by claiming their first World Cup win as they face Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday.
The tournament co-hosts are in the rare position of being favourites for a World Cup game, with the Group B contest in Toronto seen as a clear opportunity for Canada to make history.
Even a draw would see Canada break new ground. They have lost all six of their previous World Cup finals fixtures, finishing bottom of their group in 1986 and four years ago in Qatar.
But Marsch clearly has huge confidence in this squad, which he labelled “the best squad Canada’s ever had“.
Living up to that claim against Bosnia will not be an easy feat.
Bosnia showed great resilience in qualifying for the tournament through the UEFA play-offs, coming from a goal down in the semi-final against Wales and in their final with Italy to win both ties on penalties.
They are looking for just their second win at a World Cup finals, having previously beaten Iran 3-1 in 2014 in their only previous appearance since the country gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1992.
Though friendly draws with North Macedonia and Panama in their warm-up games hardly served as inspiring results, Bosnia head into the game with an impressive run of form in competitive fixtures, losing just one of their last 11 (W5, D5).
Yet the optimism for Canada that they can change that stems primarily from their defence.
Since exiting the Gold Cup in the quarter-finals last year, Canada kept a clean sheet in eight of their 10 matches.
And forward Promise David believes that strong foundation at the back makes the task simple for Canada.
“I think when the whistle blows, goals have to come — not will come, they have to come,” David said.
“We’re not really under any pressure because we know our back line can keep zeros. But yeah, it’s just on us to score one.”
Team news for Canada v Bosnia-Herzegovina
Canada could be without captain Alphonso Davies due to a hamstring strain, while defender Moise Bombito (leg) is expected to miss out.
Bosnia are likely to be without Haris Tabakovic (ankle), while veteran striker Edin Dzeko is a doubt after missing training on Tuesday with a shoulder issue.
Predicted line-ups for Canada v Bosnia-Herzegovina
Canada: Crepeau; Johnston, de Fougerolles, Cornelius, Laryea; Buchanan, Eustaquio, Kone, Millar; David, Larin
Bosnia-Herzegovina: Vasilj; Burnic, Gigovic, Muharemovic, Memic; Celik, Basic, Bajraktarevic; Mahmic, Demirovic, Bazdar
Where to watch Canada v Bosnia-Herzegovina: TV and online streams
Canada v Bosnia-Herzegovina kicks off at 8:00pm UK time on Friday. It will be broadcast on BBC One in the UK and will also be available to watch on the iPlayer and on the BBC Sport website.
Stats for Canada v Bosnia-Herzegovina
- This will be the first meeting between Canada and Bosnia.
- Each of the last six competitive Bosnia games have seen both teams score.
- Canada have scored only two goals in their previous six World Cup finals games.
- Jonathan David will score his 40th goal for Canada if he finds the net.
- Edin Dzeko scored six goals for Bosnia in qualifying. He has netted in five of his last eight competitive internationals, while Haris Tabakovic has scored in three of his last four.
Prediction for Canada v Bosnia-Herzegovina
Canada will see this as a winnable fixture in front of what will surely be a raucous home crowd. However, Bosnia proved themselves a tough nut to crack in the UEFA playoffs and should have enough to get something.
Prediciton: Canada 1-1 Bosnia-Herzegovina
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