KEY TAKEAWAYS: Aggressive substitutions help the CanMNT rescue a point in World Cup opener vs. Bosnia
The CanMNT made history on Friday, as they battled from behind to earn a 1-1 draw against Bosnia & Herzegovina in their World Cup opener at Toronto Stadium.
With that, they were finally able to earn their first point in a men’s World Cup match, having failed to do so in their previous six attempts.
FT’ | DRAW IN TORONTO 🤝
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 12, 2026
Cyle Larin with the late equalizer to give the #CanMNT its first-ever point at a men’s World Cup ⚽️
🔴 Watch the POSTGAME REACTION LIVE on OS YT pic.twitter.com/2YXzUtRoEA
That’s huge, as it ensured that Canada’s tournament gets off to a good start - with this result, they can all but guarantee qualification to the next round with a victory against Qatar in their next match, and they can top Group B if they win both that Qatar match and their third group stage match against Switzerland.
Had they lost this first game, though, they would have immediately been behind the 8-ball in their quest to qualify for the knockout stages, showing why it was important that they at least earned a draw, even if they’ll be frustrated that they didn’t earn a win (ticking off that all-important milestone of a first World Cup victory in the process).
Yet, that’s the unfortunate side of this result for Canada. While they did well to earn a draw, given that they had never earned a point at this tournament, the reality is that they should’ve won this game.
Canada did everything in their power to try to make that happen, but they were let down by some haphazard finishing and some incredible Bosnian defending, which is why they weren’t able to see things over the line in the end.
Because of that, it’ll be fascinating to see how they can build off this performance.
If they play as they did in this game in the rest of this tournament, while cleaning up the areas of their game where they came up short, they have what it takes to really make some noise as a dark horse team. If not, they’ll rue that they weren’t able to turn one point into three in this game, as things will only get tougher for them from here.
Only time will tell.
With that in mind, here are three KEY takeaways from this one.
Cyle Larin busts Canada slump at the perfect time:
Cyle Larin has scored some big goals for Canada.
There’s the goal he scored to help Canada qualify for their first World Cup in 36 years in 2022 (and all of the other key goals he scored throughout that qualifying campaign). And the goal he scored to help Canada qualify for the Copa América in 2024.
None of those goals will have been as big as the one he found on Friday, however, especially considering the context of this goal and what it meant for the veteran striker.
For Larin, who had scored just one goal in his last 24 appearances for Canada heading into this game, this goal will have been a huge relief for him, and for good reason. Given that he hadn’t scored for Canada since October of 2024, a moment like this was a long time coming for him, and you could see the relief in his celebration, which certainly took aim at those who have criticized his recent form for Canada.
And it couldn’t have come at a better time for his Canadian side, who had looked on track to lose a game they had no business losing until Larin’s intervention. Before he had come on as a substitute in the 76th minute, Canada had lacked quality in front of goal, as they were unable to convert any of the chances they had generated up until that point.
Because of that, it was remarkable to see that within minutes of getting onto the field, Larin was able to provide a decisive action like this, which is exactly what head coach Jesse Marsch will have wanted to see from him when subbing him in.
CYLE LARIN TIES THE GAME FOR CANADA! pic.twitter.com/56YfnmtMQT
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 12, 2026
It won’t have been an easy decision to have left Larin out of the team for Marsch, so to see him respond the way he did stands out, as that’s what a coach will want to see out of a player who will have been smarting after being dropped from the starting lineup.
Yet, in a sense, it was fitting that Larin scored this goal, as it was typical of his story as a player. Often, his best moments have come when he’s been doubted and written off.
A career-best season at Besiktas only came after he had almost been sold by the club after a quiet first few years in Turkey. An excellent half-season at Real Valladolid only came after a disastrous half-season with Club Brugge. His recent excellent form with Southampton only came after a quiet loan spell with Feyenoord. For whatever reason, he’s always thrived in moments of adversity.
"I've had it for a while coming into this World Cup... just to shut everyone up 😘"
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 13, 2026
Cyle Larin on breaking his scoring drought with a HUGE goal for the CanMNT 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/tg9VM8fZdk
Now, it’ll remain fascinating to see what this goal means for the rest of this tournament.
Given Canada’s struggles in front of goal, you have to imagine Marsch considers starting Larin for their match against Qatar, but will he run back Larin’s partnership with Jonathan David given their struggles together as a pairing?
For example, considering the work Tani Oluwaseyi did in this game, could we see Larin start alongside Oluwaseyi, even if it means dropping Jonathan David? When seeing David’s form, as he’s got just one non-penalty in his last 12 appearances for Canada, it’s not an unreasonable discussion, but it’s still unlikely to imagine that happening.
Or, for what it’s worth, Marsch could continue to use Larin as a weapon off the bench. He did score three of his eight goals for Southampton off the bench, so it’s not an unreasonable proposition to keep him in a similar supersub role, especially if he can deliver more impactful appearances like this one later in matches. 
Jesse Marsch’s aggressive substitutions pay off:
Speaking of substitutions, however, credit has to be given to Marsch for the way he used his bench in this game, as it’s arguably the big reason why Canada were able to grind out a point despite going down a goal early.
In particular, what stands out about Marsch’s substitutions is both when he made them, and who he brought out of the game.
With his team trailing, he decided to turn to his bench in the 61st minute, as he didn’t waste much time in making substitutions.
But while it wasn’t surprising to see him do that, given that he was able to bring in the likes of Promise David, Ali Ahmed and Jacob Shaffelburg, who are all impact difference-makers (it can’t be forgotten that Ahmed, and perhaps even David, might’ve started this game had they not been coming back from injuries), it was more surprising to see who he took out in their place, instead.
The trio of players he took out were Jonathan David, Tajon Buchanan and Liam Millar, with the first two being quite surprising changes given how important they typically are to Canada, as Marsch usually isn’t one to take them out of a match early.
For example, in David’s last 20 starts, he’s come out of a match earlier than the 75th minute just three times, and two of those times were in the 2025 Gold Cup group stage in games where Canada were leading by multiple goals (and the other time was a friendly against Wales last fall where Canada was up 1-0). Buchanan, meanwhile, has only come before the 70th minute twice in his last 14 starts, coming against Guatemala in the 2025 Gold Cup quarter-finals (a game where Canada was up a goal and down a player when the sub occurred) and in a pre-World Cup friendly against Uzbekistan (where most of the starters only went 45 minutes, anyways).
Because of that, it was quite shocking to see both come off, especially considering that Canada were trailing in such a massive game.
Yet, it was absolutely the right decision from Marsch, as the pair had struggled to impact the game to the level that they usually do. Because of that, it absolutely made sense to withdraw them, especially considering the quality of the players that Marsch was able to bring in off the bench.
Jonathan David has a big chance but it is saved by Nikola Vasilij. pic.twitter.com/C81F7M2FOF
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 12, 2026
Considering that two substitutes linked up for Canada’s equalizing goal, with Promise David finding Larin for that strike, Marsch’s bold moves paid off, in a big way.
That’s key, because Canada has sometimes struggled to use their substitutions to their best effect - Larin’s goal was just the seventh goal they’ve gotten from a substitute under Marsch.
With Canada’s growing depth as a team - Nathan Saliba, Niko Sigur, Jayden Nelson and Mathieu Choinière were all unused substitutes in this game, and Alphonso Davies isn’t even fully fit yet - there’s no reason why they can’t have more impactful contributions from their substitutes like they did from Larin.
To do that, however, Canada have to put their substitutes in positions to succeed, the way Marsch did in this game, as he can’t be afraid to turn to them early and often to help alter the state of a match.
And, just as importantly, he can’t be afraid in trusting those substitutes to replace some of Canada’s best players when they struggle. While it can be hard to take off players like David and Buchanan, as you know they can deliver a moment of magic even on a bad day, when you’ve got players ready to come in and deliver an impact off the bench, you can’t hesitate to bring them in, even if it’s at the expense of those bigger players.
Jesse Marsch speaks on the subs today and how the #CanMNT played during the second half 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/a3G0iS7NTJ
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 12, 2026
Plus, perhaps that’ll push them to come out and put stronger performances in the games to come, now that they know their positions as starters aren’t as secure as thought - one of the biggest advantages of having strong depth players is that they can push your starters to stay hungry and motivated.
Set-pieces haunt Canada, at both ends:
When looking back at the match, it’s fair to say that the only reason why Canada didn’t win was because of set-pieces.
In open play, Canada dominated Bosnia, and that’s no exaggeration - Canada held 61% of possession and generated 0.97 open play xG to Bosnia’s 0.02 (OPTA), showing that they were very good at both ends in that phase of the game. 
Here's the attacking momentum map from this game, showing that the CanMNT spent most of the match on the front foot (FotMob)
Of course, you can look at those numbers and suggest that they’re skewed because Canada spent almost 60 minutes in this game down a player, and that’s fair to say - Bosnia did sit back and protect their goal after taking the lead.
At the same time, that’s likely something that Bosnia would’ve done even had they not been leading. Typically, this Bosnian team hasn’t been one to hold the ball much, as they like to sit back and defend in a compact 4-4-2, slowing the game down with fouls (they finished this game with 20 fouls, for anyone curious).
And the reason they were able to sit back like that? Because they scored their goal via a set-piece, after many had spent all week talking about the danger they could pose to Canada from those sorts of situations.
That, however, to return to the earlier point, shows part of the reason why you can say Canada lost due to set-pieces. Up until that point in the game, they had looked like the better team, which is why that goal was so frustrating to concede.
While credit will be given to Bosnia for the way they scored that corner, as their delivery and movement were elite, it can also be pointed out how poor Canada was at defending that moment. First, they struggled to defend their near post, and then didn’t track any of Bosnia’s runners after they won that first flick-on, which made it far too easy for Jovo Lukic to score at the back post.
Jovo Lukic opens the scoring against Canada! pic.twitter.com/F2C60UnNvx
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 12, 2026
Knowing how good Bosnia are on those set-piece situations, that’s the sort of mistakes that you just couldn’t afford to make from a Canadian perspective. Otherwise, they didn’t do too bad in defending those set-plays, to be fair, as 0.64 of the 0.95 xG that Bosnia generated from set-piece situations came from Lukic’s goal, but that moment still stands out.
Plus, to further drive home the point that Canada’s execution on set-pieces were a big reason why they didn’t win, you can’t forget the opportunities they had to score at the other end, too.
Due to their strong work in possession, Canada were able to win nine corners and had several other dangerous free kicks with all of the fouls that Bosnia gave away - yet, despite that, Canada generated just 0.26 xG from set-pieces (which is less than what Bosnia generated on their set plays when you exclude their goal). Yes, a big reason for that is due to how well Bosnia defended those moments, no doubt, but considering the sheer volume of chances Canada had, they’ll have hoped to have generated a few more opportunities than they did in the end.
Had Canada been able to score from one of those set-pieces, that would’ve helped them cancel out the sting from conceding on the corner as they did, but instead, they were left to rue their inefficiency at both ends from dead-ball situations.
Of course, given how dominant they were from open play, you can also suggest that had they finished their chances from those situations, what they produced from set-pieces could’ve been irrelevant.
At the same time, given that Canada has been struggling to score from open play for a while now, it’s not as if their woes in that area came out of nowhere, whereas set-pieces were an area of the game where Canada felt like they’d more than hold their own in this game, even despite Bosnia’s dominance in that department.
