Canada begins their 2026 World Cup tournament as one of the host nations against Bosnia and Herzegovina, a UEFA playoff qualifier. Manager Jesse Marsch is expected to make some changes to the best XI due to injury issues for, Canada vs Bosnia, as Canada hopes to begin their tournament with a winning start. We offer predicted lineups and team news for this opening clash of the group stage.<\/p>\n
Read More:\u00a02026 FIFA World Cup Power Rankings: 30-39 Including Canada and Australia<\/a><\/p>\n Date: Friday, June 12th, 2026 The biggest news around Canada is whether their best XI will be fit. Alphonso Davies, Moise Bombito, and Ismael Kone all trained<\/a> on Friday, though only Kone is set to feature in the first game. Long term, Canada needs Davies and Bombito to put their best foot forward in the tournament. Bombito, despite recovering from a broken tibia, was kept on the squad. Winger Jayden Nelson was brought into the squad to replace an injured Marcelo Flores.<\/p>\n Replacing Bombito in the starting lineup is likely to be Luc de Fougerolles, per TSN<\/a>, manager Jesse Marsch stated “Luc with the ball was outstanding and helped set up a lot of our initial movements to get us into the attack,\u201d Marsch said. \u201cHe was really good on what we call rest defence and defending some difficult moments, standing players up, not giving away fouls.”<\/em><\/p>\n ESPN recently published a comprehensive piece<\/a> on Canadian manager Jesse Marsch, who is leading Canada during their biggest tournament in the history of the nation’s men’s football program. Canada has never won a World Cup Group Stage match in two world cups, and the pressure will be immense, as they are the favorites for the bookmakers.<\/p>\n This Bosnia team is young overall, but still relies on 40-year-old Edin Dzeko at striker, who didn’t play in either friendly match prior to the tournament. The UEFA playoff qualifiers are led by Sergej Barbarez, who moonlights as a professional poker player. This is the first time these teams have faced off, and there will be plenty of Bosnian fans in the stands despite Canada playing host.\u00a0 Balkan Insight highlighted<\/a> how Bosnia’s World Cup participation is a moment of collective pride for the nation.<\/p>\n A pair of young wingers, Esmir Bajraktarevic, and Kerim Alajbegovic, one of the teenagers in this year’s World Cup, are expected to be the showcase players for Bosnia in their second ever World Cup. Haris Tabakovic and Ivan Sunjic may miss the opening game with injuries. Nidal Celik was a late injury out and was removed the squad entirely, in his place<\/a> is RB Arjan Malic<\/span><\/p>\nCanada vs Bosnia & Herzegovina<\/h2>\n
\nVenue: Toronto, Canada (BMO Field)
\nKick Off: 15:00 local time in Toronto
\nReferee: Facundo Tello
\nCurrent Odds: Canada 1.8, Draw 3.5, Bosnia 4.6<\/p>\nCanada Team News<\/h3>\n
Bosnia Team News<\/h3>\n