TORONTO – The ride to BMO Field isn’t new for most Canadian men's national team players. However, it was different on Tuesday.
CanMNT players were glued to their phones in traffic as Bosnia & Herzegovina triumphed over Italy in a penalty shootout. The historic win made the Balkan nation Canada’s opponent for their 2026 FIFA World Cup opener on June 12 at Toronto FC's home ground, rounding out Group B.
That all unfolded hours before Canada settled for a 0-0 draw with Tunisia after severe storms delayed kickoff by 90 minutes.
“It wasn’t your typical bus ride,” Orlando City goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau said after the match.
“The World Cup is approaching very quickly... Bosnia is going to be a very tough opponent. Every game is going to be a war.”
Strong showing
In front of a raucous crowd and late into the night, Canada dominated the run of play against Tunisia, but failed to finish any of their 14 shots.
The Eagles of Carthage, meanwhile, missed a clear-cut chance saved by Canadian winger Liam Millar, and couldn’t beat Crépeau on four shots.
While Canada have scored just twice from open play in seven games and didn’t earn any penalty luck, as they did in a 2–2 draw with Iceland to open the March window, the performance was a step forward.
Marsch made six changes to his starting XI, with former CF Montréal midfielder Ismaël Koné and newly-committed dual-national winger Marcelo Flores making a strong case for the World Cup starting lineup.
Flores' elusiveness and agility stood out. The Tigres UANL attacker drew others into more attacking spaces while dazzling with on-ball skills and possession retention.
“In the two games in this window, Marcelo was one of the bright spots,” Marsch said.
“We’re really excited about the possibility of what he can mean to the team, and even more so, to have another weapon that’s a little bit different than maybe we can use in a different way for different types of moments and different types of opponents.”
Generating better chances
Even with encouraging moments, it was still evident Canada are missing a piece.
Les Rouges amassed just 1.625 xG on 27 shots from open play in the March friendlies and didn't create any overly threatening chances over the two games.
“I know that we can score goals... The goals are going to come. I'm sure of it.” Marsch said, not worried about the attack and happy with the defensive system.
“At the World Cup, not giving goals away is the most important thing if you want to have a good tournament.”
Yet, the need to find better opportunities is rising, and it will be a focus of Marsch’s looming decisions and tactical outlay in the lead-up to the tournament.
From personnel to movement in the box to other elements, it's critical.
“We worked on some crossing ideas. We worked on some ideas in front of the back line on how we can break an opponent down, and we were in all of those positions more,” Marsch said.
“Now it’s just, can we have a little bit more quality on the last action, the last shot, the last cross, or a last movement to make these half chances into real chances? We're close on a lot of these things.”
Tough decisions ahead
Still without former MLS standouts Moïse Bombito, Alistair Johnston and Alphonso Davies on the backline and other injuries throughout, Marsch wasn’t able to see the entire squad over the last week.
That won’t make the upcoming roster decisions any easier.
After focusing on expanding the player pool since his May 2024 appointment, Marsch needs to select just 26 players for the World Cup, with the potential to call in one or two more for pre-tournament friendlies against Uzbekistan and Ireland.
“I’ve got some tough decisions to make,” Marsch highlighted, now eyeing Group B success against Bosnia & Herzegovina, Qatar and Switzerland.
“I know that, and with a heavy heart, I’m going to make some people disappointed to not be in the World Cup. But the competition in the squad is as strong as it’s ever been here in Canada.”
