TORONTO – When Cyle Larin debuted with Canada in 2014, he did so with the team ranked 110th in the world.

A promising youngster after a standout NCAA career, Larin went on to win MLS Rookie of the Year with Orlando City in 2015. Yet, he waited 12 years for a moment like Friday’s, right down the road from his hometown of Brampton, Ontario, a town that has proved to be a factory of hope for Canadian soccer.

With Canada trailing 1-0 in their home 2026 FIFA World Cup opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Larin entered the match in the 76th minute, with the simple goal of making a key difference after Jonathan David and Tani Olwauseyi had struggled to find the back of the net.

Less than two minutes after coming on, he smashed a right-footed shot into the corner of the net, sending Canada into a frenzy from coast-to-coast-to-coast as the team secured its first-ever men’s World Cup point, after six losses in six games from Mexico 1986 and Qatar 2022.

Larin's moment

Dropped from the starting XI after starting Canada’s two pre-World Cup friendlies, his form with the national team was remarkably lacking. Not since October 2024 had he found the back of the net for Les Rouges, before Friday. 

“It was an amazing feeling, just to score a goal at home and haven't scored in a while, but I knew it was coming, and I've always come up...It is special for the fans, especially for getting a point at home,” Larin said, embracing a home atmosphere that he couldn’t have dreamed of, after his early Canada days saw the team play in front of largely away crowds on home soil. 

“Just to feel the energy was amazing...I think that's the first time it felt like a home game for us, because a lot of times the teams come, their country has more, but it was amazing, and they pushed us on to the end.”

With a point at the World Cup and with the team entering the tournament ranked No. 30, it’s a far different world than the one Larin began his national team career with – and even at age 31, he finds himself back in the spotlight and, for the future, potentially back in the starting lineup.

Marsch shows bravery

The day began for Canadian fans at Trinity Bellwoods Park, about a 20-minute walk from the stadium, where they assembled for one of the biggest celebrations that Canadian soccer had ever seen. For Marsch, however, it came with a secret — he had chosen Oluwaseyi to start ahead of Larin, a change from the tune-up friendlies and a turn away from the team’s second all-time leading scorer. 

Two years ago, when Canada tipped Marsch to lead the team at the 2026 World Cup, the American manager knew a day like this was in the cards. While every decision to this point had been about building up to the tournament, the Canadian coach tipped his hand, changing his lineup and showing no mercy to key players in the team’s primary group. 

After David and others struggled to score, he was quick to make bold choices. If it were a regular match, Marsch would keep faith in his players, but he gave them a relatively short leash – and it paid off. 

“Given the performances from some of our front players, and given the weapons that we had on the bench, I wanted to make some changes, and I wanted to bring some guys in that could bring in a little bit more energy,” Marsch said, having substituted superstars David and winger Tajon Buchanan.

“Johnny didn't have his best day. It's normal that, a player doesn't always play at his peak, but he's an incredibly important player for us, and we'll need him in this tournament to be at his best.”

For a day that was a showcase moment and a relative coming-out party for Canada’s soccer culture at home – thousands of fans lit flares, smoke and chanted in the march to the match — it was also for the team’s manager, as he showed a new bravery on the touchline under the World Cup spotlight.

Vancouver looms 

After showing that Canada could play at an elite level and secure a point at the World Cup, the focus now turns to Vancouver, where the team will take on Qatar on June 18, before the Group B finale against Switzerland on June 24. 

Now, there’s an extra sense of belief with the Canadian camp. 

Not only can they play at the World Cup, an achievement they proved for the first time in 36 years in 2022, but they can also be the better team. Against Qatar, now a pivotal match in the hopes of advancing, they believe they can win the nation’s first match on the sport’s greatest stage.

“That was awesome, today to look around and see all those red jerseys and the sea of red in the stadium,” Marsch said. “The fans in Vancouver... I know that it's a football city. I know they love their Vancouver Whitecaps, and I know they love their national team, so I expect a full stadium again, red jerseys everywhere.”

And for Ali Ahmed, one of the key players off the bench for Marsch’s men on Friday, it marks a return home to familiar surroundings. After graduating from the academy and becoming an MLS star and moving to Norwich City last winter, he gets to come home to the stadium that kicked off his professional journey. 

This time, he’ll be there for the most important games of his career. 

“We'll take that point,” Ahmed said. “I’m super excited to get to Vancouver and be back at the UBC facility,  that's my home, that stadium, that's my home too.... I know what it is like when it's packed.”