1-1 against Bosnia 

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TORONTO — He is by some distance Canada’s most valuable player, but on Friday against Bosnia, Alphonso Davies had to look on from the sideline as his country opened the tournament in Toronto. 43,002 spectators filled BMO Field to see co-hosts Canada draw Bosnia-Herzegovina (1-1). Jovo Lukić (21’) opened the scoring in the first half, with Cyle Larin (79’) equalizing for the hosts with just over ten minutes to go. It is a historic first point for Canada at the World Cup, but to have a chance to advance, the country would need at least three.

“I felt like I was going to faint,” Canadian midfielder and man of the match Ismaël Koné said when asked about Larin’s equalizer. “It was crazy because I felt like we gave everything to score the equalizer. We were pushing hard, we created chances, hit the bar, so I think we deserved the equalizer. The result will give us a boost to keep going.” It is the sort of momentum the country will need in the next matches, as they try to buy time for superstar Davies to regain match fitness.

The mission ahead of the game was for Jesse Marsch’s team to buy time for Davies to get into the tournament. The Bayern Munich star is still struggling with a muscle injury that has now kept him off the pitch since May 7 and cost him six games for club and country (injury history at a glance). Back in Munich, reports have suggested that Davies might be out for the duration of the group stage. Indeed, at his club, the worry is that Davies might be rushed into action before he regains fitness. Bayern have had bad experiences in that regard in the past. In 2010, Arjen Robben played the entire tournament with the Netherlands despite struggling with an injury and was then sidelined for a prolonged period afterward.

Fit in time? Alphonso Davies “involved as much as possible”

Obviously, Bayern don’t want history to repeat itself. A win against Bosnia today, therefore, would have gone a long way toward calming things down at the Säbener Straße, as it would have bought Canada more time to rest the players. But what if Canada needs a win against Qatar or Switzerland later in the group? Davies would surely rush back to help his team. Canada’s defeat by Bosnia makes this scenario more likely.

“He wants to be on the pitch,” Canada defender Luc De Fougerolles said after the game. “He is the captain of the national team, but at the moment he isn’t quite there yet. But he is trying to be involved as much as possible off the pitch.” In fact, before the match, Davies briefly spoke to De Fougerolles. “He gave me some encouragement,” De Fougerolles said. “I think it is really good to have him with our group, and he is a big personality who helps the young players.”

Still, it would be better for the team to have Davies on the pitch. Canada’s biggest issue against Bosnia on Friday was their play in the final third and finishing. A totally fit Davies could certainly provide the pace needed to create more moments. Although it felt like a match in which Canada had plenty of chances, the xG was only 1.25. Indeed, Canada’s second most valuable player, Jonathan David, had a brilliant chance in the 17th minute, but his shot was straight at Bosnian keeper Nikola Vasilj. Then in the 53rd minute, Richie Laryea saw a ball cleared just before the line by Sead Kolašinac. Finally, Larin scored with a beautiful finish inside the box to level the score.