Canada drew 1-1 with Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first FIFA World Cup match ever played on Canadian soil on Friday, Cyle Larin’s 78th-minute equaliser rescuing a point for the co-hosts at BMO Field in Toronto. Bosnia had led through a Jovo Lukic header from a corner kick in the first half, and Canada spent much of the match chasing the game before Larin’s finish from close range levelled the score.

Lukic opened the scoring with a powerful header from a set piece in the 34th minute, capitalising on poor Canadian marking at the back post. Canada struggled to create clear chances in the first half against a disciplined Bosnian defensive structure, with Jonathan David and Alphonso Davies largely starved of service. Davies drove at the Bosnia defence repeatedly after the break but was denied by solid positioning until Larin’s late intervention.

The draw was greeted with relief inside a packed BMO Field, which had been expanded and reconfigured for World Cup use, with a crowd of just over 45,500 attending. Fans had waited 36 years for Canada to appear at a World Cup, and the atmosphere before kickoff was described by broadcasters as the most intense in Canadian soccer history. The final whistle was met with a mixed reception — appreciation for the fight-back, but disappointment at the result.

Coach Jesse Marsch said after the match that his team had shown character in the second half but acknowledged they needed to be sharper at the start. Bosnia coach Sergej Barbarez said his team had come close to holding the result and that a draw away from home in a World Cup group stage was not a bad outcome. Bosnia’s only previous World Cup appearance was in Brazil in 2014, where they were eliminated in the group stage.

Canada’s group also includes Qatar and Switzerland. A win against either opponent in their next two matches would likely be enough to advance to the round of 16. The team’s failure to score from open play until late in the match will concern Marsch heading into the next fixture.

Friday’s match ran alongside the United States’ 4-1 demolition of Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, making it a mixed evening for the North American co-hosts. The US result drew the larger global audience and dominated post-match coverage across North America. Both teams had been previewed together as the day’s headline fixtures. Canada’s next group match is against Qatar. Bosnia play Switzerland. Group standings and upcoming fixtures are available on the FIFA official website.