It’s been eight years since the joint North American bid by Canada, Mexico, and the United States was officially awarded the rights to host soccer’s biggest tournament.
They announced it.
We celebrated it.
Then we waited, and waited, and waited some more.
If you’ve countdown the days until Canada’s first match on home soil on soccer’s biggest stage along with the rest of us here at TSN, then congratulations.
You survived the longest pre-game show in the history of Canadian television.
That long wait is finally coming to an end.
Every Race for the Roster, every Group Deep Dive, every Caldwell vs. Kilbane, every Who’s Rising? Who’s Falling? segment, and every Park The Bus episode leading up to the biggest tournament of the summer is in the books.
The next stop: Canada versus Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We always understood that the final moments before Canada kicked off on home soil will be special with the atmosphere, the anthem, and the cheer from the crowd when they hear the opening whistle to signal the start.
Soon, the focus will shift to what happens next.
The host side is also +175 to win Group B as the second choice behind the favourite Switzerland at FanDuel.
At -1200 to qualify from Group B, FanDuel’s odds give Canada a 92.3 per cent implied probability to reach the knockout stage of the tournament.
Perhaps it’s an optimistic outlook, but Canada to reach the Round of 16 is +100 at FanDuel this morning, which implies a 50/50 chance the host side makes it that far.
First up, Canada is a -125 favourite to win its opening match versus Bosnia and Herzegovina this afternoon.
The pressure is enormous, but so is the moment.
Will Canada clinch its first-ever tournament win in its first-ever tournament match on home soil?
Let’s set the stage Canada versus Bosnia and Herzegovina and lock in a pair of FanDuel Best Bets for Day 2 in this Morning Coffee column for Friday June 12th, 2026.
Canada Favoured To Win Its Opener Versus Bosnia and Herzegovina
Back in December, I was asked to produce a FanDuel Road to the Final show after the tournament draw.
Canada ended up in Group B along with Switzerland, Qatar, and the eventual winner of the UEFA Qualification Playoff Pool A.
Canada opened +550 to win Group B at FanDuel.
At the time, it was assumed that the eventual winner of Group B would be Italy.
Instead, Bosnia and Herzegovina upset both Wales and Italy in penalty kicks to earn that final qualification spot in Group B.
Canada’s odds to win Group B were cut from +550 to +225 as the second choice behind the favourite Switzerland, but ahead of both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Qatar.
That number has continued to move with Canada now +175 to win Group B at FanDuel this morning.
Canada will be the favourite for each of its first two matches versus Bosnia and Herzegovina and Qatar.
While they’ve been a popular pick to win Group B at FanDuel, I’ve found myself stuck in a tough spot that I’m sure a lot of Canadian soccer fans are in this morning.
I’m genuinely excited that we are just hours away from Canada’s first-ever tournament win in their first-ever match on home soil, but I also haven’t forgotten what happened to Italy as a heavy favourite versus Bosnia and Herzegovina in the qualification playoff.
Sure, there’s no penalty kicks in the group stage, so we can cross that off the list of things to worry about.
Chatting with the guys from Park The Bus in recent weeks, there’s a sense that three points might be enough for Canada to qualify for the knockout stage.
Four points would almost certainly be enough.
| 0 Points | +8000 |
| 1 Point | +2200 |
| 2 Points | +2000 |
| 3 Points | +750 |
| 4 Points | +340 |
| 5 Points | +750 |
| 6 Points | +290 |
| 7 Points | +360 |
| 9 Points | +700 |
With the expanded knockout stage, a win by Canada over Bosnia and Herzegovina would represent a massive step towards moving on to the Round of 32.
So, who will step up as the hero for Canada?
Per the FanDuel traders, Jonathan David is the most popular bet to score the first goal and an anytime goal in Canada’s opening match.
David to score the first goal is currently +500 at FanDuel.
David to score a goal at any point in the match is +190.
Promise David and Cyle Larin are both +200 to score a goal and +550 to score the first goal.
Meanwhile, FanDuel has “No Goal Scorer” in the match listed at +800 odds.
Edin Dzeko has the shortest odds to score the first goal for Bosnia and Herzegovina at +850.
That means that FanDuel’s odds imply it’s slightly more likely the game ends in a 0-0 draw than that any one player from Bosnia and Herzegovina will score the first goal.
Meanwhile, the FanDuel traders have told us that Canada to win the first half is among the most popular match bets.
For Canadians looking forward to witnessing the first-ever tournament goal scored on home soil, the hope is that they won’t have to wait long.
I’m going to play Canada to win the match at -125.
I’ll also play Jonathan David anytime goal at +190.
As for tonight’s game between USA and Paraguay, I’ll lock in the over 2.5 total goals as a FanDuel Best Bet.
The Americans have lost three of their last four games, and they’ve struggled to defend with just one clean sheet in their last 14 international games.
When these teams met in November, the US won 2-1.
I think we could see a similar result tonight.
Hopefully, we can go 3-0 with the bets in this column.
The long wait is finally over.
Enjoy the matches, everyone!
