40-Year-Old Dzeko Headlines World Cup Guide as Canada, USA Face Key Tests
Canada meets Bosnia on Friday at 22:00 in Group 2, with the Canadians trying to avoid the naivety that hurt them at the 2022 World Cup, their first in 36 years. Home advantage should help, and the draw is considered manageable, but Canada still needs more from its attack than from a defense that alone will not deliver many points. The key players are Villarreal midfielder Tajon Buchanan and Juventus striker Jonathan David, who is coming off a difficult season in Italy.
Canada also enters the tournament as one of the hosts, and the article says that is expected to have a major impact. In January 2017, Canada was only 120th in the FIFA rankings and its federation even paid television channels to air matches. Less than a decade later, it is back in a second straight World Cup, this time on home soil, and is presented as the three hosts' team most ready to make a leap.
Bosnia, however, is viewed as at least a slight favorite in Toronto largely because of Edin Dzeko, the 40-year-old captain and all-time record holder for appearances, 148, and goals, 73. He has scored six times in Bosnia's last eight official matches, and the article calls him a true legend. Dzeko was Germany's player of the year in 2009, later finished as top scorer in both the Bundesliga and Serie A, and has scored for Bosnia for 20 straight years. He may start on the bench after a recent injury, but he trained fully on Thursday and is expected to try to play.
The second match is the United States against Paraguay, between Friday and Saturday at 04:00 in Group 4. The U.S. are the host with the highest expectations, but a 2-1 loss to Germany in a recent warmup exposed their current level. Mauricio Pochettino has brought order and structure, yet the roster still has gaps and its attackers do not match the best teams. The Americans are led by Christian Pulisic, with support from Malik Tillman, Tim Weah, Folarin Balogun, Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams, but their record against European teams at World Cups is poor, with three wins, 12 losses and seven draws in 22 games.
Paraguay ended qualifying level on points with Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia, and relies on a strong defense and counterattacks. Its main creative force is 21-year-old Julio Enciso of Strasbourg. The article also highlights Bosnia's 18-year-old Karem Alajbegovic, a Red Bull Salzburg midfielder who scored nine goals and added three assists in 28 senior appearances last season after coming through youth systems at Cologne and Bayer Leverkusen.
