It’s a moment generations of soccer fans from Canada and Bosnia have been waiting for. We hope that a sell-out crowd at Toronto Stadium will be lustily singing along to “O Canada!” as the The Reds / Les Rouge take the pitch against Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Group B at High-Level
Group B is arguably one of the weakest, featuring host nation Canada, fellow red-and-white team Switzerland, Gulf petro-state Qatar and the scrappy Bosnia & Herzegovina. There are no traditional European powerhouses, no CONMEBOL wrecking crews or flashy, physical African sides.
This means two things. One, Canada has a very good chance to advance. Two, any of the other sides have a very good chance to advance.
Canada’s Moment
Soccer historically has been a third-class sporting citizen for the Great White North, but in the past decades its popularity has swelled. The 26 players wearing the maple leaf crest understand how important a positive showing is for the future of their sport. Now they must use that pressure to fuel a strong group stage run. Their first job: secure Canada’s first ever points in a World Cup. And their second: Move into the knockouts.
Head coach Jesse Marsch is the right man to keep this side focused. A young but wily coaching veteran who spent years with the Red Bull stable of teams (New York, Salzburg and Leipzig), he also led Premier League side Leeds United for a year.
Injury Woes
Captain Alphonso Davies, easily the most recognizable face of the team, is struggling with a hamstring injury, and is listed “day-to-day.”
I don’t think he’ll appear in this match; his presence is too important and Marsch will hope he recovers by the next tie.
Dynamic winger Marcelo Flores, one day after being named to the Canada final squad, tore his ACL in the Concacaf Champions Cup. He’s been replaced by Jayden Nelson, a 23 year old who plays for Austin FC. Moïse Bombito, a center-back with Ligue 1 side Nice, is also out with a muscle injury.
Who to Watch
Canada’s biggest concern, outside of those key injuries, is a lack of offensive firepower. They’ve scored six goals in their last five, but the spotlight is clearly focused on striker Jonathan David. His season at Juventus was disappointing, but he is the current record goal-scorer for the Canucks and will be expected to add to his tally of 39.
Be sure to key and eye on Ismaël Koné. The former-Marseilles (now Sassuolo) midfielder’s partnership with LAFC’s Stephen Eustáquio is critical to keeping Canada forward-looking and in possession. Two other LAFC players should also feature. Winger Jacob Shaffelburg will streak up the left side to whip in crosses, while Mathieu Choinière will be the enforcer in front of the box. High likelihood of a yellow card for him.
Bosnia & Herzegovina
It would be easy (and foolish) to dismiss Bosnia. Ranked 65th in the world by FIFA, this steely squad is as resilient as they come. Every player plies their trade outside of Bosnia: six in Germany and three each in neighbors Croatia and Italy. To qualify they had to defeat Wales and Italy in the UEFA Playoffs. In each match, they scored late to equalize, held out in extra-time, then emerged triumphant in the penalty shootout.
Who to Watch
It’s impossible to miss Bosnia’s captain and legend Edin Džeko. At 6’4”, he towers over most other players. He’s also one of the oldest field players, turning 40 in March and with a professional career going into its 23rd season. He not only scored the 89th minute equalizer against Wales, he also scored the opening goal in Bosnia’s only World Cup victory, a 3-1 win over Iran during the 2014 tournament. Doubtless he’s looking to repeat either feat.
But Bosnia has a fleet of vibrant young talent who are eager to make their mark as well. Salzburg’s Kerim Alajbegovic is only 18 but recorded 9g/3a in the Bundesliga last season. Only 21 years old, PSV winger Esmir Bajraktarevic should be considered extremely dangerous. He was born in Wisconsin, he trained with the New England Revolution before moving to the Netherlands.
Recent Form
The good news: Canada hasn’t lost in their previous five games. The bad news: they’ve drawn three of those ties, to Ireland, Tunisia and Iceland.
Bosnia is arguably worse. They’ve suffered five straight draws, though two of those were during the aforementioned UEFA Playoffs against Wales and Italy
So neither side is coming into this fixture with any real sort of momentum outside of an eight game unbeaten streak. They’ve also never faced each other, in friendly or tournament competition. All this makes predicting a winner tricky.
