Canada's World Cup dreams face first test as injury-hit hosts meet Bosnia

Toronto: Canada will carry immense pressure into their World Cup opener when, in perhaps the most seminal moment in the country's soccer history, they face Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday in front of a partisan home crowd with both teams seeking a first-ever knockout stage berth. Canada's quest for respectability on the global stage has been nothing short of painful, and six defeats from six matches across the 1986 and 2022 tournaments tell the story of a nation still searching for its World Cup identity. But coach Jesse Marsch's revolution has injected fresh belief into a program that, less than two months after he took over in May 2024, advanced to the semi-finals in their Copa America debut before being sent home by reigning World Cup champions Argentina. Marsch's blueprint for World Cup success has hit an early snag, however, with a mounting injury list threatening to derail Canada's golden opportunity to thrust soccer further into the mainstream of the country's sporting and cultural landscape. Captain Alphonso Davies, who scored Canada's first-ever goal at a World Cup, will watch the Group B opener from the sidelines at Toronto Stadium with a hamstring injury suffered during Bayern Munich's Champions League semi-final last month. The Davies blow is compounded by the loss of Marcelo Flores, the Mexico-turned-Canada midfielder whose switch of allegiance was seen as a coup for the World Cup co-hosts. A knee injury suffered in May has ruled Flores out entirely, while defender Moise Bombito's recovery from a broken leg appears to have stalled after lasting just 30 minutes in a warm-up against Uzbekistan. With Davies expected back for group stage clashes against Qatar and Switzerland, the burden of carrying Canadian hopes falls largely on Jonathan David, the nation's all-time leading scorer with 39 goals, who must spearhead an attack desperate to end years of World Cup frustration. Maxime Crepeau, who last week was named Canada's starting goalkeeper, will finally get his World Cup moment after missing the 2022 edition with a broken leg suffered during the MLS Cup Final 15 days before that year's tournament kicked off in Qatar. Standing in Canada's way right out of the gate is a first-time meeting with Bosnia's battle-hardened Dragons, who are back on the biggest stage after their penalty shootout heroics against four-time champions Italy secured a second World Cup appearance. Veteran striker Edin Dzeko, one of only two remaining players from Bosnia's debut World Cup appearance in 2014, will be captain and father figure to a youthful squad who are being tipped to make a big impression at the tournament. The vast experience of Dzeko, Bosnia's all-time leading goalscorer by a considerable margin and one of a World Cup-record eight players aged 40 or older selected to play at the tournament, will be crucial in the team's bid to escape the group. Defender Sead Kolasinac is the only other returning member from the country's last World Cup appearance.