Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Jesse Marsch was thrilled Canada learned their lessons quickly to salvage a point against Bosnia-Herzegovina, but urged them to use this result as a springboard.
Canada won their first point at the World Cup as they came from behind to draw 1-1 with Bosnia-Herzegovina, as the points were shared in the first Group B game.
Cyle Larin scored the equaliser with his first touch, just 121 seconds after coming off the bench, cancelling out Jovo Lukic’s first-half header, while the Canadian striker almost snatched a last-gasp win, but he was thwarted by a Tarik Muharemovic block.
Most importantly for Canada, they finally ended their six-game 100% losing streak at the World Cup.
Their four shots on target in the game were the most they have ever mustered in a fixture in the competition, while they finished with 12 overall – they had two efforts blocked on the line, one of which cannoned off the underside of the crossbar.
And Marsch, who became the first American to lead a foreign nation in the men’s World Cup, was particularly impressed by his side’s improvement late in the second half.
“We felt like we had them. You know, like we were starting to push the game, the subs came on and made a big difference. We could see that they were fading,” Marsch said.
“I’m disappointed with the first half. I felt we were tentative – we didn’t play as aggressively as I would have liked.
“We have got to find a way when we want to play as intensely and be hard to play against that we actually do it. We talked about it afterwards.
“Second half, the moment we stepped on the pitch, it was different. I told them we have got to learn these lessons, and we have got to learn from them quickly.
“We still have everything in hand, and that’s a big point for us to keep ourselves in the group. We have to make sure the next performance is a reflection and learning point from what we learnt.”
Bosnia-Herzegovina are now unbeaten in nine games in all competitions (W2 D7), their joint-longest run without a loss in their history (also in June 2013 and November 2018).
They have, however, drawn each of their last six matches, their longest-ever run of draws in their history, with five of those ending 1-1.
After going ahead in the 21st minute, Bosnia-Herzegovina still had the odd chance, but were largely left to soak up the pressure, with this the most shots they have faced in a World Cup match.
But head coach Sergej Barbarez was thrilled to walk away with a point to get them started in Group B, with Switzerland and Qatar also to come.
“You have to be realistic, we had a bit of luck, as well as good chances in attack. I think that in the end, 1-1 was deserved by both sides,” he said.
“We know what the table might look like and how many points we need, but after the first game, we’re not there to count yet.
“We have two more games to try to win. We’ll see what happens in the end, but a point is certainly satisfying.”
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