Larin Needed 121 Seconds to Save Canada’s Night
Larin Needed 121 Seconds to Save Canada’s NightOne hundred and twenty-one seconds. That is how long Cyle Larin needed on the field before he made the scoreboard match the performance.
Canada drew 1-1 with Bosnia-Herzegovina at BMO Field in Toronto on June 13, 2026, in their second Group B match at the World Cup. Larin equalized in the 78th minute, two minutes after coming off the bench, canceling out Jovo Lukic’s header for Bosnia-Herzegovina in the 21st minute. The result gave co-hosts Canada a first point in their third World Cup appearance, while Bosnia-Herzegovina, playing in just their second tournament, will wonder how they did not hold on for more.
The numbers back up the late rescue.
Canada finished with 1.23 expected goals to Bosnia-Herzegovina’s 0.96, controlled 61 percent of possession, and put 37 touches in the opposition box against just 15 for the visitors. For most of the night, none of that translated into goals, which is the kind of stat line that makes a coach pace the touchline rather than enjoy the view.
Bosnia-Herzegovina scored first and scored well. Lukic, starting because Edin Dzeko and Haris Tabakovic were both unavailable, met Ivan Basic’s corner in the 21st minute after the ball was flicked on by captain Sead Kolasinac, heading it home from close range for his first-ever international goal. It was a well-worked set piece against a Canadian defense that had started brightly but had not yet found the net.
Jonathan David had already given Canada reason to believe before that goal arrived. He drove a low finish in from 15 yards in the 17th minute only for the goal to be ruled out, leaving Canada level on chances created but still searching for the breakthrough that actually counted.
Here’s the thing Canada kept creating and kept being denied.
Richie Laryea was the unluckiest man in Toronto for a stretch in the second half. His effort in the 53rd minute deflected up off Tarik Muharemovic and cracked the crossbar, the kind of moment that decides whether a team’s frustration turns into belief or collapse. Tani Oluwaseyi headed wide from close range soon after, and Stephen Eustaquio’s strike from 20 yards sailed past the post.
The match changed in the 76th minute, not with a goal but with a substitution.
Larin replaced Oluwaseyi, and Canada needed barely two minutes to make the swap pay off. Ismael Kone drove forward, Promise David slipped a clever pass around the corner, and Larin powered past his marker before driving a finish into the bottom right corner, helped on its way by a slight touch off Nikola Katic. The crowd at BMO Field came alive, and Canada suddenly had a different match on their hands.
Both sides had late chances to win it outright. David curled an effort wide from 20 yards in the 81st minute, while Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Dzenis Burnic, on for the injured Kolasinac, saw a shot blocked from outside the box. Nikola Katic picked up a needless yellow card in stoppage time for hauling down Larin as Canada chased a winner that never arrived.
Neither team will love this result, and both will probably take it. Canada have their first World Cup point in team history. Larin barely had time to take off his jacket before he made sure of it.