Canada fight back to begin World Cup with draw against Bosnia & Herzegovina

[p]The first chance of the match went the way of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bosnia-herzegovina/fqe7WYTr/"]Bosnia[/a] after just three minutes when a deep free-kick delivery fell for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/memic-amar/O85x3xJ8/"]Amar Memic[/a], but he blazed over from twelve yards.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lukic-jovo/AVGMpFFJ/"]Jovo Lukic[/a] would head wide just moments later, and it took until after the quarter-hour mark for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/canada/x4toKORL/"]Canada[/a]’s first real chance, which came via record goalscorer [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/david-jonathan/CSvtXj2E/"]Jonathan David[/a]; however, the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/juventus/C06aJvIB/"]Juventus[/a] forward’s strike lacked conviction, allowing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vasilj-nikola/zJ3yuRdk/"]Nikola Vasilj[/a] to make an easy save.[/p][p][b]That missed opportunity cost Jesse Marsch’s side on 21 minutes when Bosnia took the lead. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/basic-ivan/nwTWiiMP/"]Ivan Basic[/a]’s corner-kick was flicked on at the near post by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kolasinac-sead/8xFYnbEi/"]Sead Kolasinac[/a] and subsequently nodded home from almost on the goal line by Lukic for his first senior international goal. [/b][/p][p]Les Rouges responded well to falling behind, yet struggled to create clear-cut chances despite a swathe of corners.[/p][p]Their best chance before the break came through [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/villarreal/lUatW5jE/"]Villarreal[/a] forward [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tani-oluwaseyi/nLnBWjlN/"]Tani Oluwaseyi[/a], who did well to turn his marker but lacked composure with his finish, meaning [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/barbarez-sergej/xv3YWYid/"]Sergej Barbarez[/a]’s men took their lead into the break.[/p][embed guid="23f0d82d-ac76-411f-aad5-e5d9fd69d205" url="https://x.com/NFSBiH/status/2065522513950470537" social-type="twitter" /][p]There were chances at either end straight after the restart.[/p][p]First, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/demirovic-ermedin/dIsZ5Eyb/"]Ermedin Demirovic[/a] tried to catch out [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/crepeau-maxime/bTqrxMoS/"]Maxime Crepeau[/a] with a snapshot before Vasilj got down to deny Oluwaseyi after a lovely bit of skill.[/p][p]Canada then looked set to equalise following a passing move that put [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/laryea-richie/nT1BbXIh/"]Richie Laryea[/a] in on goal but, while he beat Vasilj, Bosnia captain Kolasinac diverted the goal-bound effort onto the crossbar with a stunning clearance.[/p][p]Zmajevi then went up the other end, only for Demirovic to be denied well one-on-one by Crepeau.[/p][p]Buoyed by the partisan Toronto crowd, Canada pressed hard for an equaliser and were denied by another goal-line clearance on 70 minutes. This time, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/katic-nikola/dUkOy6Yc/"]Nikola Katic[/a] was in the right place at the right time to clear Oluwaseyi’s header away.[/p][p][b]As the game approached the final 10 minutes, Marsch introduced [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/larin-cyle/vNpXFtuQ/"]Cyle Larin[/a], and the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/southampton/WdKOwxDM/"]Southampton[/a] man made an almost instant impact. Latching on to a neat flick from fellow sub Promise David, he lashed home a clinical leveller to unleash bedlam in the stands. [/b][/p][image alt="Larin's goal" id="31b73948-fcae-4346-a679-5344fd174d85" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform (Claudia Greco / Reuters)" guid="72ec3f18-750c-405c-94c1-c2d93b692c0b" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]Ultimately, neither side could find a winner in the sapping heat on the shores of Lake Ontario as the spoils were shared.[/p][p]Nevertheless, it was a historic encounter for the Maple Leaves in more ways than one, and it means Canada stretch their unbeaten run to nine, while Bosnia draw a sixth game in a row in 90 minutes.[/p][p]Both sides will head west for their second group games on Thursday, with Canada taking on Qatar in Vancouver and Bosnia clashing with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/switzerland/rHJ2vy1B/"]Switzerland[/a] in Los Angeles.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/katic-nikola/dUkOy6Yc/"]Nikola Katic[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bosnia-herzegovina/fqe7WYTr/"]Bosnia and Herzegovina[/a])[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/bosnia-herzegovina-fqe7WYTr/canada-x4toKORL/?mid=OxkQ8qT6"]Click here for more on the match[/a][/b][/p][infobox id="4ccc1b10-d68f-4c97-bcf4-5e613c17c2e3" /]