Canada vs Bosnia-Herzegovina live online: opening ceremony, score, stats, goals & updates | World Cup 2026 Group B
Follow live FIFA World Cup action from BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario, as co-hosts Canada take on Bosnia-Herzegovina today, Friday, June 12, 2026.
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Canada vs Bosnia-Herzegovina: live World Cup buildup!
Stadium-bound!
The Canada players are on their way...
Should you fancy reading more about Qatar and South Africa's group-stage exits as hosts, you might like to read this piece.
No pressure, lads...
...but the World Cup hosts have rarely exited the tournament at the first hurdle.
In the 22 men's World Cups that have been played since 1930, just two home teams have failed to progress beyond the opening round: South Africa in 2010, and Qatar four years ago.
Bookies tip Canada to progress
Although the Swiss are the clear frontrunners to top Group B, Canada are next in line in the betting, with odds that most frequently hit the 2/1 mark.
At 30 in the current FIFA world rankings, the World Cup co-hosts are the second-highest-rated team in their section. Indeed, they're well ahead of Qatar and Bosnia-Herzegovina, who are down in 56th in 64th, respectively.
At a glance: Canada's recent form
Last five results:
Jun. 5: Canada 1-1 Rep. Ireland, friendly
Jun. 1: Canada 2-0 Uzbekistan, friendly
Mar. 31: Canada 0-0 Tunisia, friendly
Mar. 28: Canada 2-2 Iceland, friendly
Jan 17: Canada 1-0 Guatemala, friendly
Bienvenido Velasco / EFE
Last-four finish at the Copa América
Marsch, who took over as Canada head coach in May 2024, also led the Canadians to the Copa América semifinals in 2024. The Canadians only missed out on a place in the final at the hands of the eventual champion, Argentina.
It was a tournament that saw the Canucks outperform their two World Cup co-hosts, who were both eliminated in the group stage.
Better luck in 2026?
This year, though, the Canadians not only have guaranteed home advantage in the group stage. They are also a team which, under their American head coach Jesse Marsch, have lost only one game in the past year.
Since going down to Guatemala on penalties in the Gold Cup quarterfinals in June 2025, Canada have put together a run of five wins and five draws in their last 11. That's a sequence, by the way, that includes eight clean sheets.
Canada's only reverse over the past 12 months was a 1-0 defeat to Australia, in an October friendly in Montreal.
Can Canada earn first World Cup points?
The Canadians head into their first ever home World Cup with just two previous experiences of the finals. And they both yielded three defeats in three first-round games.
In Mexico in 1986, Canada scored no goals on their way to finishing bottom of a group featuring the Soviet Union, France and Hungary. The Canucks did, though, hold out for 79 minutes against a French team that was the defending European champion at the time. Jean-Pierre Papin's late strike finally broke the deadlock, as Les Bleus won 1-0.
At the World Cup four years ago, Canada did manage to get on the scoresheet, netting twice in Qatar; however, they again came bottom of their group, after defeats to Belgium, Croatia and Morocco.
Canada kits: check
Anyway: the opening ceremony kicks off at 1:30 p.m. ET, in about 20 minutes.
In the meantime, here's confirmation that Canada's kit manager is earning their keep:
Soccer's best ever opening ceremony? No debate there...
While, I must confess, my interest in opening ceremonies is low-to-non-existent, I am prepared to be won over.
Take, for example, the pre-game razzmatazz at the 2009 Champions League final in Rome. That, for my money, is the gold standard of opening ceremonies.
Bocelli. The Champions League anthem. The Gladiator theme tune. Heaven.
Should you be interested, we've also got this profile on Lisa,the history-making headliner in Los Angeles.
If you want to find out more about the World Cup opening ceremony in the U.S., let me point you in the direction of this guide to the event, put together by AS USA's Corina González and Roddy Cons.
When is the third World Cup opening ceremony?
The 2026 tournament's third and final opening ceremony will be later today, before the USMNT's Group D clash with Paraguay.
The L.A. event is to feature the likes of Katy Perry and the Blackpink star Lisa, who makes history as the first female K-pop artist to perform at a World Cup opening ceremony.
The U.S. ceremony will be at about 7:30 p.m. ET, 90 minutes ahead of kickoff at SoFi Stadium.
Bosnian bonanza
The Bosnian supporters are not to be outdone, though:
Home fans in full voice
As we wait for the opening ceremony, there is plenty of singing going on already in Toronto:
Here, courtesy of my colleagues Corina González and Roddy Cons, is more on what awaits us in today's second opening ceremony.
“Where do you stand on Michael Bublé?”
The other one I've heard of is, yep: Bublé. I am incapable of thinking of him without also thinking of this scene from The Trip:
Alanis on anthem duty
My music knowledge is such that I have heard of two of those confirmed artists, and you can probably guess which two.
Correct: Morissette is indeed one. The 52-year-old, a seven-time Grammy winner, will be performing the hosts' national anthem, by the way. It's called “O Canada”, and Wikipedia informs me that these are the lyrics:
English:
O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all of us command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee
French:
Ô Canada!
Terre de nos aïeux,
Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!
Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,
Il sait porter la croix!
Ton histoire est une épopée
Des plus brillants exploits.
Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits
Confirmed opening-ceremony performers
- Alanis Morissette
- Alessia Cara
- Elyanna
- Jessie Reyez
- Michael Bublé
- Nora Fatehi
- Sanjoy
- Vegedream
- William Prince
“A reimagining of the FIFA World Cup Trophy as a mosaic”
Today's opening ceremony will seek to reflect the blend of cultures that make up Canada, FIFA says.
“The ceremony in Toronto Stadium builds on the shared vision of the tournament's opening ceremonies across Canada, Mexico and the United States, each connected by one heartbeat while reflecting the identity of its host nation,” world soccer's governing body explains. “In Canada, that story comes to life through a reimagining of the FIFA World Cup Trophy as a mosaic, symbolising the people, cultures and communities that define the country.”
Morissette with the music
As I say, though, we have another opening ceremony to get through - sorry, enjoy - before Canada and Bosnia-Herzegovina can square off this afternoon.
The second of an unprecedented trio of World Cup opening ceremonies, it follows yesterday's Mexico City pre-game event. At the Estadio Azteca, the Colombian pop icon Shakira was the headline act, performing her World Cup song “Dai Dai”.
Today, Ontario native Alanis Morissette will be among the stars taking to the stage at BMO Field, for the Canada leg of the World Cup’s three-ceremony bonanza.
Group B begins
Today's matchup in Toronto kicks off Group B - a section that also features 2022 host Qatar, and Switzerland. The highest-ranked team in the group, at 19th in the world, the Swiss are the clear favorites to finish first.
After all, we're talking about a team that's an absolute knockout-stage staple: Switzerland has reached the last 16 in four of the last five World Cups. The group's other three teams have never made the World Cup knockouts.
Murat Yakin's Swiss team takes on Qatar on matchday one tomorrow, Saturday: Santa Clara, California is the venue for that clash, which is scheduled for at 3:00 p.m. ET.
Julio César Rivas / EFE
The stage is set!
Toronto's BMO Field awaits this afternoon's action.
Two more co-hosts join the World Cup party
After yesterday's opening-day excitement, today sees the 2026 World Cup’s other two co-hosts kick off their campaigns.
In Los Angeles, the U.S. men’s national team opens up with a Group D game against Paraguay; that’s at 9:00 p.m. ET.
First, however, we have the game that is very much the subject of this here live feed. On matchday one of Group B, Canada plays its maiden World Cup game on home soil, in the team's first ever meeting with Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Should you be inclined to have a gander, let me point you in the direction of our match report from South Korea's opening win over the Czechs.
This is what my colleagues Juan Lopesino and Javier Gálvez made of the game.
Koreans also begin with a win
After Mexico's win at the Azteca, day one's other Group A clash saw South Korea come from behind to start their World Cup campaign with a 2-1 victory over Czechia.
Hwang-in Beom and Oh Hyun-Gyu were on target for the Koreans in Guadalajara, after Ladislav Krejci had given the Czechs the lead.
All of this means that Mexico and South Korea lead Group A, each with three points. And, given that eight third-placed teams will be going through to the last 32, victory already leaves both with one foot in the knockout stages.
This, meanwhile, was what AS México's Eduaro López made of El Tri's opening win over the South Africans.
CARL DE SOUZA / AFP
Into day 2 of the 2026 World Cup
We're on to game three of a record 104 at this summer's World Cup, after day one of the tournament brought wins for South Korea and, first of all, co-hosts Mexico.
In the World Cup's opening game at the Estadio Azteca, Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez scored for the Mexicans, as El Tri eased to a 2-0 win over a defensive, deeply disappointing South Africa.
It was a game that witness THREE red cards; bear mind that there were four in total at Qatar 2022.
This was my colleague Dane Arlauckas's minute-by-minute report of the match.
Kickoff preceded by opening ceremony
Before kickoff in Toronto, though, we'll also have the second of this World Cup’s three opening ceremonies.
That starts some 90 minutes before the game, at about 1:30 p.m. ET.
What time does Canada vs Bosnia-Herzegovina kick off?
BMO Field, the 45,000-capacity home arena of MLS team Toronto FC, will be the setting for today's matchup.
Kickoff in Ontario is at 3:00 p.m. ET - so in about three hours' time. We’ll bring you team news just as soon as it’s in.
Canada vs Bosnia-Herzegovina: welcome!
Hello there! So: history is about to be made today, as Canada becomes the 19th country - by my count - to have staged a game at the men's World Cup.
Appearing at only their third finals, the Canadians kick off their campaign this afternoon against Bosnia-Herzegovina, who have even less World Cup experience than their hosts.
For the Dragons, who qualified for the 2026 finals in headline-grabbing, dramatic fashion, this is only their second time at the tournament.
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