Canada World Cup draw: Reynolds hails Toronto crowd

Ryan Reynolds went to unusual lengths to get to Canada’s first home World Cup match, and he came away calling Toronto’s atmosphere "one of the greatest atmospheres the sport has seen". That reaction sat alongside a result that mattered just as much, because Canada drew 1-1 with Bosnia & Herzegovina in its opening Group B match and earned its first-ever World Cup finals point.

Larin gives Canada a moment to build on

The real football story came from the bench. Cyle Larin scored the equaliser 2 minutes after stepping onto the pitch, turning an 18-minute cameo into the decisive action of the night. His goal levelled Canada vs Bosnia & Herzegovina and gave Canada the point that moved them onto the World Cup board for the first time.

That kind of instant impact is exactly why substitute forwards matter, and Larin’s numbers back it up. He played only 18 minutes and still scored once, which was enough to rescue the draw after Jovo Lukić had headed Bosnia & Herzegovina’s first-half goal. The match will be remembered for the crowd and the history, but Canada also needed a player to finish the job quickly when he got on.

Reynolds put the emotion in plain terms when he said, "I was not gonna miss this match. Planes, trains, automobiles to get here but completely worth it." He was not exaggerating the scale of the moment either. Toronto showed up, Canada showed up, and the result gave the country its first World Cup finals point.

The atmosphere mattered as much as the scoreline

There was a bit more to the night than celebration. Wayne Rooney said the challenge on Tani Oluwaseyi should have been a red card, while Darren Cann said it was not a penalty or a red card. Olivier Giroud, meanwhile, said he would have been frustrated not to get a penalty but understood the goalkeeper-first argument.

That row will keep one part of the discussion alive, but it does not change the central fact of the evening. Canada got the draw, Larin delivered the equaliser, and Reynolds’ reaction captured how big the occasion felt inside the stadium. The next game will matter for the table, but this one already gave Canada a first point and a night its supporters will not forget.