History gets made in Toronto regardless of the score: this is the first men's World Cup match ever played on Canadian soil, and the hosts arrive in the best form of their football lives. Jesse Marsch's side is unbeaten in 2026 — an eight-match run — and finished fourth at the 2024 Copa America. The catch: Canada have appeared at two World Cups (1986, 2022) and lost all six matches. The first home World Cup win is the storyline, and there's a big absence complicating it — captain Alphonso Davies isn't ready to return from his hamstring injury, and defender Moise Bombito is also out.

Bosnia and Herzegovina earned this stage the dramatic way, knocking out four-time champions Italy on penalties in the playoff — the kind of qualification that forges belief. Edin Dzeko, now 40, has been carefully managed and should start; striker Haris Tabakovic is racing an ankle problem. This is Bosnia's first World Cup since 2014, and a team that survived Italy under maximum pressure won't be intimidated by a loud Toronto crowd.

The AI leans Canada 2-1 at 55% confidence: home atmosphere, superior recent form, and Jonathan David's goal threat outweigh Davies' absence — but the bookmakers' split (analysts are torn between 2-1 Canada and 1-1) says this is no formality. If Dzeko's experience drags the match into the final 20 minutes level, the pressure of 40 years of World Cup futility lands on Canadian shoulders.