2026 FIFA World Cup

Canada’s Historic World Cup Moment

By Devin Heroux
June 13, 2026

It was as if it happened in an instant. A fandom for the beautiful game that has gripped so many parts of the world grabbed Canada in a different way on Friday. On this day of history — the first men’s World Cup match on Canadian soil — Canada and its supporters, old and new, met the moment.

What happened next was extraordinary.

Some five hours before the game, led by The Voyageurs — the Canadian supporters group — thousands of fans dressed in red and white gathered in Trinity Bellwoods to prepare for the opening match for Canada at World Cup 2026. They sang O Canada, they chanted, cheered and waved flags wildly, whipping themselves into a frenzy before taking to the streets to begin their march to the match.

Casual observers picking up their morning coffees on the busy thoroughfare of Queen West watched in amazement, joyful, swept up in the Canadian supporters’ enthusiasm. For the next 45 minutes — about a kilometre and a half — Canadian fans worked their way down Strachan Avenue, with a police escort, setting off flares and joining together in song.

They were young and old, loud and proud. There were families. And groups of friends. People from all across Canada became friends and showed the best of the country as they paraded through the streets.
It may not be what they do in other soccer-mad places on the planet. But this was theirs. This was Canada.
At one point some Bosnia and Herzegovina supporters got caught in the crosshairs of the sea of red. They were met with smiles, high fives and handshakes.

When they finally arrived at the steps of Princes’ Gate with the sun blasting down, they all paused for a moment to take it all in. Then in true Canadiana fashion, a man wearing a cowboy hat, faux fur jacket that was undone — he was shirtless — and carrying a Tim Hortons cup helped lead the crowd in one more stirring rendition of O Canada.

The shift in numbers

There have been questions about how truly passionate this country is about soccer — football to most. How this country views soccer is changing. An Abacus national research study of nearly 2,500 Canadians completed this spring proves it. Soccer is now third in popularity at 10 per cent, with hockey leading at 35 per cent followed by baseball at 12 per cent. That number jumps to 24 per cent — top of the list — when asking Canadians not born in Canada.

Scenes like today, the passion of the people, will only bolster those numbers. It’s about what’s happening now throughout the country during the World Cup — and what happens next in the sport after it. A unifying moment in Canada in only the way sport — and soccer — can bring people together.

Inside the stadium

A men’s World Cup on Canadian soil. When the men’s national team is at the height of its superpower. Unthinkable not all that long ago.

When the team walked out and the anthems were sung it was surreal inside Toronto Stadium. More than 43,000 fans — the overwhelming majority dressed in red and roaring for Canada — went crazy.

Their energy and cheers percolated around the venue. It was hard to not get emotional. Wave after wave of rapturous applause and roars. And even after Bosnia and Herzegovina went up 1-0 early in the match, the Canadian supporters never wavered and never stopped believing in the 11 men wearing the red jerseys on the pitch.

Larin’s moment

For a long time it has been the many players who have worn the Canada Soccer emblem trying to get the fans to believe in them. This time, on their turf, the supporters injected life into a team that kept pushing for the equalizer.

And then finally, after a couple of glorious missed opportunities — including a ball off the crossbar — Cyle Larin struck.

He had only been substituted into the match just 119 seconds before blasting the ball into the back of the net and sending the place into bedlam — and also sending a shockwave across Canada at watch parties and cafes and neighbourhood gatherings.

For their efforts over 90-plus minutes, Canada secured its first-ever point at the men’s World Cup after this draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Following the match, the players worked their way around the pitch, applauding and waving to fans to show their gratitude for all of those people who showed up for them in Toronto. This World Cup 2026 journey has only just begun in Canada. And the men’s national team now goes to Vancouver for their next matches against Qatar and Switzerland.

Hundreds of thousands of Canadians are going to remember this day and this match for many different reasons. They’ll take a piece of what they felt when Larin scored with them for years to come.

It was historic. It was memorable. And there’s so much more to come.