Co-hosts Canada welcome Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first World Cup match ever to be played on Canadian soil, as both nations aim to improve on their previous performances on the biggest stage.
For Canada, this will be their third appearance at a World Cup and second in a row, after the team played in Qatar in 2022.
Unlike their opponents, they qualified automatically as co-hosts and will be looking for their first-ever win on Friday. The Reds have never won a point at a World Cup, losing all six previous fixtures.
Bosnia and Herzegovina had to work much harder to get here and earned their ticket through the final qualification playoffs, when they beat Italy on penalties.
This will be the country’s second appearance at a World Cup after 2014, when they finished third in Group F, which also featured future world champions Argentina.
Unlike Canada, however, Bosnia can boast a win from their previous appearance, having beaten Iran 3-1 on Matchday 3.
Expectations are much higher for Canada than Bosnia, but Group B of the 2026 World Cup feels like one of the few that are not that easy to predict.
Switzerland are the main favourite to win the group, but we may see some surprises in the battle for second place, and this fixture could make the difference even this early into the finals.
A legend of the modern game, Edin Dzeko returns for one final major competition with Bosnia, and despite his age (40), he remains a huge threat in the final third.
With 1015 career appearances and 450 goals for club and country, he hasn’t shown signs of slowing down, as he scored six goals throughout the qualifications for the World Cup.
He was also one of four players to score a goal for Bosnia and Herzegovina during their previous appearance in 2014. He is unlikely to make the starting lineup for Friday due to a recent shoulder injury, but we should see him in play at some point.
