What to know
- Toronto hosts its first FIFA World Cup game on June 12, with Canada facing Bosnia at Exhibition Place.
- Local fans are torn—some cheer for Canada, while others support Bosnia due to personal heritage.
- Star players to watch include Canada’s Jonathan David and Bosnia’s Edin Džeko.
- The city’s multicultural pride is on full display as residents place bets and make predictions ahead of kickoff.
Canada is set to kick off the 2026 World Cup against Bosnia in Toronto, and Torontonians are placing bets on who will win the first game.
In anticipation of Toronto’s first FIFA game at Exhibition Place on June 12, Now Toronto asked Toronto residents who they think will win the first game.
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Bosnia fan
Toronto resident Armin S. is also Bosnian. Having to choose between both heritages, he supports Bosnia, believing the country will take the win home.
“Bosnia is a very talented team. They’re a set of young guys, led by Edin Džeko, who is just an old dude who’s very talented. He’s played the game for a very long time. He grew up in Bosnia during the war in the 90s,” Armin told Now Toronto.
He believes that players who compete in European leagues are used to the intensity.
“If you’ve ever seen Serbian basketball players, and how they play over there, like Nikola Jokić,
you could see how, like the Serbians and the Balkan people, they celebrate, they bring a lot of intensity to the sport, and I don’t know, Canadians, we have that with hockey, we don’t have that with soccer,” Armin said.
Armin isn’t sure who will score the first goal, but, with his Bosnian bias, hopes to see Bosnia score it, specifically Edin Džeko.
“If anyone deserves it, it’s him. He’s been around for a while… He’s been one of the most underrated players in Europe for a very, very long time,” he said.
“I want to see us get another win and get out of the group stages for the first time in the World Cup,” he said.
Canadian fans
Toronto resident Alex W. hopes for Canada to win.
“I’m Canadian, I have to support my people,” he said.
Alex hopes Jonathan David scores the first goal and trusts that David will do a good job, given his experience playing in Europe.
Toronto resident Andrew J. agrees, hoping Canada wins, too.
“I think we have a pretty good team this year. Homefield advantage, right? So everything’s working in their favour,” he said.
“Canada’s gonna win, so they gotta score first,” Andrew said.
