A draw has never felt so good

It was a draw that felt like a win.

Had Canada lost to Bosnia-Herzegovina Friday afternoon, its home World Cup would not have been guaranteed beyond next week.

Instead, the pressure is a little bit less. And in a tournament where margins matter, less is preferable to more.

Just contemplate what almost was.

Trailing 1-0 with 12 minutes remaining, and in front of a Toronto crowd in full colour and voice, the Canadian men’s national team was trying every which way to find a goal. Had it not, next Thursday’s Group B match with Qatar would have been a must-win. The tension would have been greater, the expectation of failure settling in.

Thankfully for this tournament co-host, Cyle Larin was able to deftly control Promise David’s pass, turn quickly amidst a crowd of opponents and lash the ball into the back of the net.

It was emphatic. An equalizer that felt like a winner.

Again — and this is the last time we’ll do this — think about the manner of the defeat that nearly happened.

Canada was in control for much of the 90 minutes. After a cautious start, it generally enjoyed more than 60 per cent possession and regularly found itself at the corner flag or taking a free kick. It played well — really well at times. Had it all been for naught, the defeat would have come like a slow-motion kick to the gut.

Larin can take a lot of the credit for the sudden switch in scenarios, but Jesse Marsch deserves his flowers, too.

The Canada head coach bravely omitted Larin from the starting eleven, and it was from the bench that the big Southampton striker delivered the moment his teammates deserved but hadn’t been able to conjure themselves.

Among Marsch’s next big decisions will be Larin’s role versus Qatar, and while he’ll take some heat from the 31-year-old he should keep him in reserve once again.

He’ll also have to make a judgement call on Jonathan David, whose early substitution altered the make-up of the Canadian attack — and for the better. The Juventus forward should have opened the scoring in the first half, and his profligate finishing was only surpassed by his 10 give-aways in his hour of game-time.

Surely to his relief, the 1-1 draw has also provided Marsch a reason to keep Alphonso Davies, who is nursing a hamstring injury, out of the line-up a little while longer. The captain will no doubt want to feature on Thursday in some capacity, but he can now be held back until June 24 against Switzerland.

And if Canada can beat Qatar in Vancouver — which would guarantee a knock-out berth — Davies could skip the Switzerland match and get a further six days’ rest.

Soccer fans in Canada stand to benefit from the Bosnia draw, too.

Naturally, they can enjoy the result and savour Larin’s strike, and they know their team will enter the final group stage match with something to play for.

But there’s more.

In tandem with a depraved U.S. administration, FIFA has done its utmost to trash a competition it’s supposedly mandated to nurture. This is an angry, vindictive World Cup with little in the way of redeeming qualities.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Thursdays

Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.

Sign up for Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

The Canadian men can at least partially rescue the tournament’s vibes in this country and provide a World Cup experience in contrast to the nonsense south of the border.

Losing to Bosnia-Herzegovina might have put that prospect at risk. Reluctant enthusiasm might have turned sour. But that’s not an issue now.

If ever there was a draw that seemed like more than a draw — and did a lot more than a draw — it was undoubtedly this draw.

Canada’s men’s soccer team might still be in search of a first World Cup win, but it almost feels like it got one on Friday.

winnipegfreepress.com/jerradpeters