What to know about Canada's World Cup team

The World Cup is finally here.

Mexico and South Africa kicked off the planet's most popular sporting event this afternoon at famed Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, where the home team had a 1-0 lead over South Africa at our publish time. Tonight at 10 p.m. ET, South Korea plays Czechia in Guadalajara.

Canada's big moment arrives tomorrow when it faces Bosnia and Herzegovina at 3 p.m. ET in Toronto. It will be the first men's World Cup match ever played on Canadian soil. Canada will then travel to Vancouver to finish out Group B play against Qatar next Thursday and Switzerland on Wednesday, June 24.

Here are a few things to know about the Canadian team ahead of Friday's historic game.

Canada has come a long way…

In 2022, the Canadian men ended their 36-year World Cup drought by finishing first in qualifying for the CONCACAF region, which encompasses North and Central America and the Caribbean. This time, they were spared the rigours of qualifying, receiving an automatic entry as a co-host along with the United States and Mexico.

Since returning to the World Cup stage, Canada has continued to make strides under American head coach Jesse Marsch, who took over in May 2024 after Englishman John Herdman left for Toronto FC of Major League Soccer.

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That summer, Marsch led his new team on an impressive run to the semifinals of the Copa America, the highly competitive South American championship hosted by the United States that year. After falling to Lionel Messi's World Cup champion Argentina, the Canadians nearly upset two-time World Cup winner Uruguay in the third-place match before giving up the tying goal in stoppage time and then losing the