When they take the field against Bosnia-Herzegovina this Friday (12), at 4 pm, in Group B, in front of up to 40 thousand fans at BMO Field, in Toronto, Canada will try to achieve an unprecedented milestone: its first victory in a World Cup game.
The team is participating in its third World Cup — after 1986 and 2022 — and arrives at the tournament riding a good phase in its recent history. But, outside the stadiums, enthusiasm for the event is far from unanimous.
The Canadians arrive at the tournament as hosts and try to erase an uncomfortable record: in six matches played in World Cups in history, they lost all of them.
The last defeat came in 2022, in Qatar, when the team fell in the group stage. Now, together with the United States and Mexico, they are hosts and will host 13 games: six in Toronto and seven in Vancouver.
The scenario now looks different. Since the arrival of coach Jesse Marsch, in May 2024, the team has gained competitiveness and reached fourth place in the Copa América in the same year — Brazil came in sixth place in the tournament.
The campaign has raised optimism around a generation led by Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David, although Davies will miss the debut through injury.
On the other side will be one of the surprises of the European qualifiers. Bosnia-Herzegovina booked their place by defeating Italy in the playoff, winning 4-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
The result prevented the Italians from competing in the World Cup for the third time in a row and took the Bosnians back to the World Cup for the first time since 2014.
The classification turned a lowly rated team into a dangerous unknown for the hosts.
Veteran striker Edin Džeko, at 40 years old, remains the team’s main reference, which is banking on the experience of those remaining from the 2014 campaign to surprise again.
Despite the historical importance of the match, the atmosphere on the streets of Toronto is different from that observed in countries traditionally passionate about football.
“I’ll probably avoid going downtown on game days,” said Joyce Tong, 23, a resident of Mississauga, a city neighboring Toronto. She claims she does not follow football regularly and believes that the main impact of the World Cup will be the increase in movement on public transport.
“When there’s already a hockey or baseball game, the trains are packed. So I imagine what it will be like with the World Cup.”
The perception also appears in research. A survey by the Angus Reid Institute released this week shows that the majority of residents in the Toronto region say they have no interest in watching World Cup matches, while seven in ten consider that public spending, which according to the institute is estimated at around R$3.6 billion by the institute, on the tournament does not offset the expected economic benefits.
Even among those who show curiosity, football continues to lag behind more traditional sports in the country.
“Canada is known for hockey. A lot of people follow hockey, baseball or basketball,” said Harshil Vaidya, 30, a marketing specialist who lives in downtown Toronto, next to the Fan Fest area. “But, as we are one of the host countries and we have many immigrants, you can see people wearing shirts from various teams and following the World Cup.”
Vaidya says the city is already experiencing the tournament. Rehearsals for the opening ceremony, blocked streets and areas reserved for events have taken over the center in recent weeks. “It’s a little inconvenient for those who live here, but it’s also cool to live in a host city and feel that energy.”
The contrast helps explain a curious phenomenon. While Canada tries to consolidate its national team among the emerging forces of world football, a large part of the population seems to see the World Cup more as a major urban event than as a national passion.
The debut against Bosnia could be an opportunity to change that perception. After all, a victory would put an end to a historic 40-year fast and give the country its first celebration in a World Cup right in front of its fans.
