Canada vs Bosnia and Herzegovina Betting Tips (World Cup 2026)

Canada will face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first World Cup finals match ever played on Canadian soil on Friday night. 

This will be the third time Canada appeared at a World Cup finals. They failed to win a match in their previous two appearances, but despite this, the bookmakers still make the Reds their 5/6 (1.83) favourites to win their Group B opening match.

Unlike Canada, who qualified automatically as co-hosts, Bosnia had to come through the tough UEFA qualifying zone to clincbh their place at the 2026 World Cup. The Dragons knocked Italy out on penalties in the playoffs to seal their spot. 

Bosnia are 10/3 (4.33) to upset the co-hosts, with the draw priced up at 13/5 (3.60). The Canadians look a bit short in the betting to us. We can see Bosnia being difficult to beat and think the draw looks the most likely outcome.

Why you should tail the bet:

• Canada have won just two of their last five matches, drawing the other three.

• Goalscoring is set to be a problem, with the co-hosts only scoring nine times in their previous ten matches.

• With Switzerland favourites to win the group and Canada set to face Qatar in their second match on Thursday, a draw may well suit Jesse Marsch’s team.

• Nine of Canada’s last ten matches have seen under 2.5 goals. That trend is unlikely to change, making a 0-0 or 1-1 draw possible.

• Bosnia and Herzegovina are stubborn opposition who are difficult to break down. They are on a run of five successive draws, including two against Italy.

• Their style of play is to soak up pressure and hit teams on the counterattack. This worked to great effect in the playoffs.

• Bosnia’s last five matches have all seen under 2.5 goals. They have drawn four of those games 1-1, and the other 0-0. 

Canada vs Bosnia and Herzegovina team news

Canada suffered a major blow when centre-back Moïse Bombito was ruled out of the competition. The Reds also have serious doubts over the fitness of Alphonso Davies for their opening match. The Bayern man has superhuman powers of recovery, but even he may not be able to make it back in time for this match. 

Backup keeper Osman Hadzikic is the only player that Bosnia have lost from their original World Cup squad. They do have doubts over the fitness of Edin Dzeko, but the veteran may be limited to a place on the bench, even if he is fit to play.

Canada vs Bosnia and Herzegovina lineups

We expect Canada to line up like this:

Maxime Crepeau, Alistair Johnston, Luc de Fougerolles, Derek Cornelius, Richie Laryea, Tajon Buchanan, Stephen Eustaquio, Ismael Kone, Liam Millar, Jonathan David, Cyle Larin.

And Bosnia should line up like this: 

Nikola Vasilj, Dzenis Burnic, Armin Gigovic, Tarik Muharemovic, Amar Memic, Nidal Celik, Ivan Basic, Esmir Bajraktarevic, Ermin Mahmic, Ermedin Demirovic, Samed Bazdar.

Back Canada and Bosnia to cancel each other out and draw their opening Group B match at 13/5 (3.60) with bet365