Cyle Larin's late goal nets Canada historic point after 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina

A little more than 90 minutes before Canada’s men kicked off their World Cup opener against Bosnia-Herzegovina, they walked out onto the Toronto Stadium pitch for the first time, looking sharp in their double-breasted suits and dress shoes. They found friends and family in the stands and waved from their places in the sun.

One of Liam Millar’s daughters held up a hand-painted sign: We Love You Daddy.

A few steps away, Luc de Fougerolles, wearing headphones, had already taken off his jacket, stripped down to his shirt sleeves. The 20-year-old stood in the box that he was about to defend, imagining the game of his dreams unfolding in front of him. He stamped at the grass with his feet, desperate to get down to his mean business, a young bull in the chute.

Canada’s men played with love. They played with menace. They played with their whole hearts, and they came back to draw the most important game in their history, 1-1. It was their first point at a men’s World Cup, and if that didn’t make their day unforgettable enough, they did it at home, in front of a crowd filled with faces they knew and people they could name.

Cyle Larin, who had come on only two minutes earlier, scored the equalizer in the 78th minute in front of 43,002 mostly Canadian fans. If they had added a roof during Toronto Stadium’s expansion, it wouldn’t have survived.

Head coach Jesse Marsch made a huge pre-game call and dropped Larin, the 31-year-old veteran striker, for Tani Oluwaseyi, who had seemingly ceded his starting spot. Oluwaseyi led his team out for warmups, and just before he did, he stood in the tunnel with a slight smile on his face, like he was in on a secret.

But there was no secret: Marsch had decided to go for his youngest, fastest 11. He