Toronto is a city that is always buzzing, but the electric energy created by a sea of red fans in the build-up to Canada's opener at the was an atmospheric ten out of ten.
From the early hours of the morning right up to the final whistle, the fans gave it their all, dreaming of witnessing their nation's first World Cup victory. They came close, but ultimately had to settle for a .
"A draw at the World Cup is something that can be celebrated," defender Luc de Fougerolles told FIFA after the match. "But it is also kind of bittersweet. Looking at the game as a whole and the chances we had, I think we could have probably had three points."
It was a fair conclusion. Canada spurned two huge chances in the first half and had two shots cleared off the line after the break. And as the clock ticked down, resolute Bosnian defending came close to spoiling the party altogether.
"It's a tough one when you are so hyped-up about the game, concede from a set-piece and then limit the opponent to so little while also creating a lot," De Fougerolles added. "We showed a really good reaction to falling behind and who knows how the game would have gone if we didn't miss these chances."
echoed those thoughts: "We have mixed emotions due to the fact that there was more for us in this game. We were really pushing the tempo in the second half. I felt like we were on top of them, but then it's the reality of football. They're a team that had a good game plan, so we have to respect that."
After striking first from a set-piece, Bosnia handed the initiative to the Canucks, sat deep and waited for chances to counter. With the pressure mounting, Canada had to take more and more risks – and that's where the crowd came in.
"Oh, it was amazing", De Fougerolles said. "To be fair, both sets of fans were amazing. In the second half, we were really just trying to push the game and keep the momentum going because we could feel the crowd was kind of urging us to get forward. They kind of played a big role as the 12th man and we kind of can't thank them enough."
Asked what the huge push from the stands meant to him, Kone's answer came like thunder: "Everything. Everything! I think we never experienced something like this, so it was really like a magical afternoon, and I can see we're creating something here. You could see the passion, the emotion through the fans, so I just pray it keeps going like this."
For their next match, Canada travel to Vancouver, where coach Jesse Marsch is hoping the fans will again play their part in delivering that elusive first World Cup win. "How awesome was that to look around and see the sea of red in the stadium today? I know Vancouver loves their national team and they will do the same, push us from the start of the match, make them feel loved, make them feel confidence, and really make them feel the home crowd."
Sources: FIFA Official
