It took a little bit longer than many soccer fans would’ve hoped, but Canada finally knows its first opponent for the 2026 FIFA World Cup — and it should be one of the hottest tickets in Toronto.
After needing penalties to get past Italy in their UEFA playoff path A showdown for a big upset, Bosnia and Herzegovina will be drawn into Group B for this summer’s tournament and play against co-host Canada in its opening game in June.
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy played to a 1-1 draw before the former advanced 4-1 on penalties.
When the groups for the World Cup were drawn up this past December during an event in Washington D.C., several berths had yet to be settled due to both European and intercontinental playoffs, which still had to be played.
The winner of UEFA playoff path A was drawn into Canada’s group along with Qatar and Switzerland. But having been drawn into the B2 placement, it meant that Canada’s opening game would be against whichever country emerged victorious from the four-nation bracket.
In the semifinals, Italy beat Northern Ireland while Bosnia and Herzegovina defeated Wales on penalties to reach Tuesday’s deciding game.
When is the Canada-Bosnia and Herzegovina match?
With the matchup now set, Canada will face Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday, June 12, at Toronto Stadium — the renamed and temporarily expanded venue also known as BMO Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
After the opener, Bosnia and Herzegovina will then play against Switzerland in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 18, before finishing up its group stage slate on Wednesday, June 24, against Qatar in Seattle.
What is Bosnia and Herzegovina’s World Cup history?
Ranked No. 66 in the world, the Bosnian side finished second in qualifying group with 17 points, two behind Austria for the automatic qualification spot.
This will mark Bosnia and Herzegovina’s second appearance at the FIFA World Cup, having previously competed at the 2014 edition. During that tournament in Brazil, the Dragons finished third in its group with one win, two losses and no draws. Its lone victory came against Iran in their final group stage game.
With Italy’s failure to qualify for the expanded 2026 World Cup — the first edition of the quadrennial tournament to feature 48 teams — the Azzurri has now missed out on the past three tournaments.
Despite Italy being a four-time World Cup champion, winning as recently as 2006 in Germany, it hasn’t qualified for the tournament since 2014 in Brazil and were eliminated in the group stages of the two tournaments before that, winning just one total game.
Tuesday’s defeat only adds to that misery.
In fact, its most recent appearance was most notable for the actions of one of their opponents. During a group stage match against Uruguay, Italian centre back Giorgio Chiellini was bitten on the shoulder by Luis Suárez. The striker went unpunished for his actions during the game, but later received in a four-month ban from football.
While Italy is ranked No. 12 in the world among men’s national teams, it finished six points behind Norway in its qualifying group to take second place and a spot in the playoffs.