Canada 1 Bosnia & Herzegovina 1
A disappointing first game for Canada, I think the Canadians will have hoped to get more from this game considering it was their first home game in the World Cup and how dominant they were in the match but it wasn’t to be. Canada started the stronger team but it was the Bosnians that struck first from a corner that was flicked on to Jovo Lukic who headed home to give Bosnia & Herzegovina the lead in the 21st minute, Canada continued to attack but the lack of composure from the likes of Jonathan David and Tani Oluwaseyi in front of goal kept Bosnia pretty comfortable heading into half-time. As Canada pushed for the equaliser in the second half Bosnia created some brilliant chances to double their lead through Demirovic and Muharemovic but again lacked that edge in front of goal to kill the game, Canada did then equalise as the two substitutes linked up with Promise David flicking the ball into Kyle Larin who swivelled and fired the ball past Vasilj in the 78th minute. Canada did have a chance to win it but Larin’s shot from about 6-yards out was brilliantly blocked by Muharemovic to secure the point for the Bosnians, not the end of the world for both teams.
Canada badly need Alphonso Davies fit for the next game. I actually thought Canada played quite well for the majority of the game but that lack of edge in the final third nearly cost them even getting the draw, the man they normally rely on Jonathan David had a terrible game and was hooked off in the 61st minute which says it all. He played alongside Tani Oluwaseyi who looked all over the place in front of goal and should have put Canada 1-0 up in the first half, the substitutes looked far better than the starters when they came on so Jesse March has some big decisions to make ahead of the Qatar game on Thursday. The rest of the team played pretty well to be honest with the defence looking comfortable against a Bosnia team that didn’t really want to attack, Ismael Kone looked good in the midfield alongside Eustaquio so there is some positives coming out of the game. If Alphonso Davies does come back fully fit for these next two games I still see Canada finishing 1st or 2nd in this group, Canada’s hopes still remain on Alphonso Davies.
The Bosnians love a draw. With this result Bosnia & Herzegovina have now drawn the last six games which is pretty mental stat but you can see why when watching them tonight, their threat mainly comes from set-pieces where they were dominant today and easily could have done more damage from on another day. The problem comes then that when you are defending most of the game it’s going to be tough not to concede at least one which then came off a deflected effort that was deserved in the end for the Canadians, all Bosnia need to do now is beat Qatar and they will be qualified for the Round of 32 which they will be happy enough with I think given the limited ability in the squad. They definitely have a chance to finish 2nd or 3rd given that Switzerland will probably top the group, is the Round of 32 a success for Bosnia & Herzegovina? I think so.
What are we thinking about the new rules so far? It’s been a couple of games now to see how FIFA has implemented some of their new changes to the game and to be honest I think it’s going quite well, the 5-second rule for throw-ins and goal kicks has sped up the restart along with the faster substitutions that players must leave the pitch in 10 seconds are the sub player can’t enter the pitch immediately. The one I like the most is VAR’s ability to intervene in wrongly awarded corners which can be so frustrating for supporters when it goes against you, we haven’t seen it yet but VAR can also intervene in incorrect second-card incidents that lead to a red card which will be interesting when it eventually happens in this World Cup. What do you think about the new rules so far? I’m enjoying it.
A win against Qatar sends both teams through. With the extended format of this World Cup 4 points will certainly be enough for the 3rd place team to qualify as long as they beat Qatar which you would imagine they will but you never know, I don’t think either team was great today but there isn’t a clear favourite in the group so it remains open for everyone. Switzerland play Qatar tomorrow and could take a real grip of 1st place with a win which they are big favourites to get, the rest of the spots are up for grabs for everyone so it’s hard to call between Canada and Bosnia like we saw today. Who’s your favourite to finish 1st and 2nd in this group? I’m still not sure.