Bosnia Stuns Canada Early With Set-Piece Goal in World Cup Opener

Canada entered the match hoping home support would lift a team that had not won a World Cup game and was looking for a strong start at the 2026 tournament. Instead, on Friday night, Bosnia and Herzegovina struck early through Jovo Lukić, who scored from a set piece and put Canada behind before the first drinks break.

The Bosnians are known for their effectiveness on dead-ball situations, a strength that helped them during World Cup qualifying, and they did it again even with veteran Edin Džeko on the bench. The opening goal also marked the first international goal of Lukić’s career. He was being held by the shirt as he scored, so Bosnia would likely have received a penalty anyway if the ball had not gone in.

Canadian reaction was harsh. Gareth Wheeler wrote, “We conceded a goal and were sent to the drinks break. You can’t imagine worse minutes.” CBC also questioned whether Canada was truly playing at home, noting, “The game is in Canada and you mostly hear the Bosnians, who is the host?” Another CBC comment said it was “a big mistake in Bosnia’s first real chance” and argued that Jonathan David should have scored earlier. Mitchell Tierney added that Canada “had to prepare for set pieces,” saying they played well before the goal but “fell early.”