Canada's men's soccer team, better than ever, hopes for more support a year out from World Cup

It will be "Soccer Day" in Toronto on Thursday, with a celebration planned at Nathan Phillips Square and the unveiling of a countdown clock: In exactly one year, the Canadian men will kick off their first home World Cup game at a revamped BMO Field.

Hopefully it will fill up by then.

On Tuesday, Canada lost a shootout to Ivory Coast after a scoreless draw but still claimed the inaugural Canadian Shield, a mini tournament staged in preparation for this month's Gold Cup that also included New Zealand and Ukraine. 

And yet those same men — playing better than they ever have, against stronger opponents than they've usually faced — have failed to win the attention they deserve. Despite an announced attendance of 18,489, BMO Field wasn't at half-capacity; more fans looked to be streaming from its parking lots to the Halsey concert at nearby Budweiser Stage.

"I'm hopeful that in Vancouver we can sell that stadium out, get close to selling that stadium out," head coach Jesse Marsch said, shifting his focus to Canada's next home game, its Gold Cup opener against Honduras on June 17th at BC Place. "Like, come on, come out and support the team."

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Even if Vancouver answers his call, Toronto's apathy this week is worrisome: That countdown clock at City Hall will hit zero in no time, and Canada, along with the U.S. and Mexico, will co-host the biggest sporting event on Earth.

It might want to start acting like it.

When former head coach John Herdman led the team to Qatar in 2022, the first men's World Cup for Canada since 1986, the country's expectations outstripped the game's sometimes painful