It wasn’t my intention
to attend the final Canada match at BMO Field until FIFA World Cup 2026, but my
friend won a pair of tickets to that friendly against Tunisia. He was unable to go, so he gave them to me
instead. I can’t believe this is it,
though. The final Canada match at BMO
Field until World Cup! Seemed just like
yesterday I was in Qatar watching them play their first World Cup in 36 years.
The day kicked off earlier in the afternoon as I went to one of our local Canada supporters’ bars to watch the results of the UEFA Play ins – particularly Italy vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina. The winner of that match would be Canada’s first opponent at the World Cup. Now to give you some more context, all eyes were on Italy to win this one. Not because they have failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, but because of the significantly large Italian-Canadian population within the Greater Toronto Area. An Italian win would surely make our first match feel more like an “away match” than a home one. Thankfully those fears did not come to fruition as Bosnia took the win in penalties, thus qualifying for their first World Cup since 2014.
Following the match, a bunch of us supporters took a couple of Ubers to get us to BMO Field as quickly as possible. It was already past 5pm at this point, so Rush Hour traffic would be brutal as usual. We got dropped off as close to the stadium as possible making it in time for some pre-match warmups. Although that didn’t last too long with a lightning storm projected to pass through very soon. In over 10 years since I have attended Canada matches at BMO Field, I have never once experienced a weather delay. But here we are!
An announcement was made for all fans to gather inside under the concourse while the storm passed. To pass the time, the Voyageurs entertained everyone with their usual chants – even breaking into an impromptu singing of “O, Canada!” After a 90-minute delay, we were allowed to return to our seats. My seats were near the Southend corner of the pitch, so I decided to take in the first half from there. Oh, boy! Not sure if that was really a great decision or not as I surrounded entirely by Tunisian fans, but it was an electrifying atmosphere.
With a large portion of our starting lineup out due to injury, this was mainly an opportunity for some of the substitutes to get much needed field time to improve their game. One player that everyone was keen on seeing play was Marcelo Flores – son of former Mexican player and coach, Rubén Flores. Born just outside of Toronto, Marcelo is a talented player in Liga MX that had the opportunity to select between Mexico and Canada to play his senior international career with. Ultimately, he chose Canada as he was given very little playing time on Mexico. Their loss is hopefully our gain moving forward.
The match itself was very unremarkable. The rain delay, the 9pm kickoff, and the lack of scoring opportunities on both sides added to the mediocrity of this final match at BMO Field. The only highlight came late in the first half when Liam Millar ran brilliantly down the pitch towards our end to pull off a miraculous slide block that interrupted a 2-on-1 play that almost certainly would have resulted in a Tunisian goal. For those heroics, he was named “Man of the Match” for Canada in our 0-0 draw.
Alas, my journey with the team ends here. While I won’t be attending any World Cup matches this time, I’ll be out in full support somewhere down the road after the hype of dies down. When that will be is anyone’s guess. But I am thankful for having one final moment with them at BMO Field before that next chapter begins.
Match: Canada vs. Tunisia
Stadium: BMO Field – Toronto, ON
Final Score: 0-0
Date: March 31, 2026
Kickoff: 9:00pm EST
Attendance: 22,624
Score: 0-0
Disciplinary:
TUN – Elias Saad (Yellow Card – 28’)
CAN – Tani Oluwaseyi (Yellow Card – 29’)
TUN – Khalil Ayari (Yellow Card – 46’)
CAN – Joel Waterman (Yellow Card – 54’)
CAN – Liam Millar (Yellow Card – 74’)
CAN – Junior Hoilett (Yellow Card – 90’ + 2’)
