The Red Deer, Alebrta, rider finished second in the women’s elite final with a time of 34.515 seconds. Home favourite Laura Smulders of the Netherlands claimed gold in 34.247 seconds, while Bethany Shriever of Great Britain took bronze in 34.741 seconds.

Simpson arrived in Papendal after a stellar opening weekend in Sarrians, France. She won Saturday’s season opener, edging out Denmark’s Malene Kejlstrup and Australia’s Saya Sakakibara in a tight women’s final. On Sunday, Simpson finished second to Sakakibara. 

The fourth round of the UCI BMX Racing World Cup is scheduled for Sunday in Papendal, where Simpson will look to secure a fourth consecutive podium finish.

The excitement of the tournament, which is being co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the USA, has brought unprecedented levels of attention to the Canadian men’s national team.

So perhaps you’re like many Canadians in not knowing too much about the boys in red. Never fear. We’ve got some fascinating tidbits about each of the 16 Canadians who saw action in the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

READ: How accessibility and alignment turned Canada into a soccer power

First up in Canada’s goal scoring hero, Cyle Larin. Perhaps, when reading his first name, you didn’t know it’s pronounced the same as Kyle.

So why does it start with “C” instead of “K”? It’s a tribute to Larin’s godmother, Cimone. As Larin’s mother Patricia told reporters back in 2015, “a lot of people make fun of how I spell his name, but I just joke back, ‘C’ is the Canadian way.”

Another hero on the day was goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau. His second-half save on a Bosnian breakaway kept the game within reach for Canada.

The 32-year-old was born in Greenfield Park, Quebec, but he’s not the only notable athlete associated with the town.

There’s also four-time Olympic medallist Émilie Heymans (diving) and three-time medallist Charline Labonté (hockey). Not to mention fellow soccer player Isabelle Morneau, who was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2014.

Providing the assist on Larin’s goal was Promise David. He’s a relative newcomer to the national team, but made his World Cup dreams clear years ago:

He isn’t related to teammate Jonathan David. But in case the name stuff is confusing, you can use Jonathan’s nickname instead. It’s Iceman, based on his demeanour and his coolness in front of goal.

On the nickname front, Nova Scotia’s own Jacob Shaffelburg has a decent one too: Maritime Messi.

Striker Tani Oluwaseyi doesn’t have a nickname yet, but he’s got a guilty pleasure. The 26-year-old recently told Toronto Life magazine he’s a fan of British reality TV show Love Island: “I hate reality TV in general, but something about that show just moves me.”

Speaking of movement, midfielder Tajon Buchanan always has plenty of it down the right wing. His dynamic play earned him a move to Inter Milan in 2024, making him the first Canadian to ever play in Italy’s Serie A.

That opened the door for other Canadians, such as Ismaël Koné, who currently plays for Sassuolo. The 23-year-old, already playing in his second FIFA World Cup, made headlines in September following a tense exchange with Canada head coach Jesse Marsch.

But Marsch and Koné quickly made amends, with Marsch saying soon afterwards that the rupture and repair brought the two of them “closer than [they’ve] ever been”.

His partner in central midfield, Stephen Eustáquio, is similarly fiery. His older brother Mauro represented Canada at the youth levels, and currently manages Inter Toronto FC in the Canadian Premier League.

READ: Top 12 historic moments for Canada’s national soccer teams

Alistair Johnston also has a soccer-playing sibling: his younger brother, Malcolm. Now, the elder Johnston is a defender and isn’t expected to score lots of goals.

In fact, his only goal for the national team came in Canada’s most lopsided win ever: a 11-0 victory over the Cayman Islands in 2021.

Fellow defender Derek Cornelius also has one career goal for Canada. But here’s his fun fact: his go-to karaoke song would be Three Little Birds by Bob Marley.

A two-for-one fun fact: both Liam Millar and Luc de Fougerolles were part of the youth academy of English Premier League club Fulham (though not at the same time).

Impressively, Millar left southern Ontario to join the London-based club at age 13. Meanwhile, de Fougerolles (who was born and raised in London) joined the academy at just 8 years old!

There are other connective spiderwebs on this Canada team too. Richie Laryea and Cyle Larin both played for semi-pro Sigma FC in the mid-2010s. They were both drafted by Orlando City SC in Major League Soccer (Larin in 2015, Laryea in 2016).

And they both have last names starting with “Lar” — which isn’t super interesting, but facts flow better when they come in groups of three.

Here, let’s do another groups-of-three example. Midfielder Ali Ahmed (one) began playing soccer at age 6 with the North Toronto Soccer Club. So did Olympic gold medallist Quinn (two) and me, the person who wrote this article (three).

OK, maybe the groups-of-three thing doesn’t always work.

READ: Team Canada’s Quinn makes their own Olympic history

But what does always work is Jonathan Osorio, the elder statesman of this Canada team. The Toronto FC captain has played for his hometown club for 13 years, his entire professional career.

And finally, on Friday, he got to take the field for his country on that same field he’s patrolled hundreds of times.

Best of all? It was on his 34th birthday.

The result, in front of a raucous home crowd in Toronto, gives Canada its first-ever point in a senior men’s FIFA World Cup. Canada’s two previous appearances, at Mexico 1986 and Qatar 2022, ended with three losses and early elimination.

But the draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina gives Canada a good chance at advancing out of Group B in the 2026 tournament, being co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.

“It was special for me,” Larin told TSN after the match. “I score when Canada needs me.”

Indeed, Canada has never lost a game in which Larin scored. That made his exclusion from head coach Jesse Marsch’s starting lineup on Friday a bit of a surprise.

The rest of the lineup was predictable, with Maxime Crépeau having already been announced as Canada’s starting goalkeeper.

Alistair Johnston, Derek Cornelius and Richie Laryea were joined on defence by 20-year-old Luc de Fougerolles, replacing a recovering Moïse Bombito. Stephen Eustáquio (serving as team captain), Ismaël Koné, Liam Millar and Tajon Buchanan made up the midfield.

At striker, Jonathan David was joined by Tani Oluwaseyi. Larin, who had 30 goals in 90 national-team games coming into Friday, began the match on the bench.

Regular team captain Alphonso Davies, meanwhile, was unavailable for the match as he continues recovering from a leg injury.

READ: Top 12 historic moments for Canada’s national soccer teams

The first clear-cut scoring chance came in the 17th minute, and it came to Canada. David unleashed a left-footed shot from within the penalty area, but it was saved by Bosnian goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj

The first goal would come to the visitors, in the 21st minute. Striker Jovo Lukić got his head on the end of a corner kick, opening the scoring for a team that loves scoring off set pieces.

Oluwaseyi got the next quality chance, in the 32nd minute, but lifted his left-footed shot just over the crossbar. The Canadians kept pressing for an equalizer, earning 10 corner kicks in the first half alone. But the score remained 1-0 at the break.

READ: A look at Team Canada and their Group B opponents ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026

Laryea thought he’d equalized in the 53rd minute when he was sprung through and slipped the ball past Vasilj. But a last-moment defensive clearance deflected his shot back off the crossbar.

“I saw it pass the goalie so I thought it was a goal, but the guy made a great play,” Laryea told reporters after the match. “Nine times out of ten it’s an own goal, he puts it in his own net. But it’s a crossbar and it goes out, so it’s a great play.”

As the game wore on, Canada hadn’t converted any of its numerous scoring opportunities.

Marsch made three attack-minded substitutions in the 61st minute, bringing in Jacob Shaffelburg, Promise David and Ali Ahmed. The trio brought an attacking spark but couldn’t find the back of the net.

Then Larin entered in the 76th minute — and the impact was immediate.

Two minutes after he arrived, Larin’s clever turn at the edge of the penalty area gave him the chance to blast home the goal that sent Toronto Stadium into euphoria.

“It was amazing,” said Laryea, who regularly plays in the stadium as a member of Toronto FC. “It was loud, it was a great atmosphere for us to play in.

“It was a great goal, a great finish, and it changes the momentum of the game.”

READ: How accessibility and alignment turned Canada into a soccer power

Canada continued pressing, looking for a winning goal. But it wasn’t to be, leaving fans and players to wonder what might have been.

“We’ll feel like, after we’ve played this game, that we could have scored a lot more goals and won this match,” said Laryea.

His teammate, Koné, said it was “a relief” when Larin’s goal went in, though he also mentioned the chances Canada didn’t convert.

“We did everything we could to give ourselves a chance to score,” midfielder Koné told reporters after the match. “We were on top of them, we were pushing the game. We created so many chances, we hit the bar.”

Qatar and Switzerland, the other two teams in Group B, face off in Santa Clara, California on Saturday at 12 pm PT/3 pm ET.

Canada’s next two matches are both at BC Place in Vancouver. First up is Qatar on June 18, then Switzerland on June 24.

Teams earn three points for a win, and one for a draw in the group stage. The top two teams in Group B will advance to the Round of 32, while the third-place finisher could also qualify, depending on other results.

A win against Qatar would virtually guarantee Canada a spot in the Round of 32. But for that to happen, the team will need to translate its numerous scoring opportunities into more goals.

“We’ll be playing at home again in Vancouver,” said Larin. “We’ve just got to push the limit and be killers in front of goal.”

Montreal 1976 marked the first time that Canada played host to an Olympic Games. 

Now, 50 years later, we look back at some of the incredible stories from that historic summer, the athletes who captured the country’s attention, the innovations that were made, and the impact that has been felt ever since. 

Torch relay sparked by a technological first 

There are many traditions associated with the Olympic Games. One is that the Olympic flame is lit in Olympia, Greece by capturing the sun’s rays in a parabolic mirror. But the way the flame was transported to Canada was anything but traditional. 

A sensor at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens transformed the flame’s ionized particles into coded impulses. These were relayed by satellite to Ottawa, where a laser beam reflected in another parabolic mirror returned the flame to its original form on Parliament Hill to officially begin the 261-kilometre torch relay to Montreal. 

More history made at Opening Ceremony

When the Olympic flame arrived at the Olympic Stadium, it set in motion another first. Sandra Henderson from Toronto and Stéphane Préfontaine from Montreal, representing Canada’s anglophone and francophone communities, jointly lit the Olympic cauldron—the first time the honour had been performed by two people. 

Before that climactic moment, though, there were a couple of historic moments for Team Canada. As the host nation, Canadian athletes for the first time were the last to march in the Parade of Nations. Leading the way was Abby Hoffman, the first woman to ever serve as Canada’s Opening Ceremony flag bearer at the Olympic Summer Games. She would go on to become the first woman elected to the executive of the Canadian Olympic Committee (then Association). 

Canada’s memorable medal-winning moments 

Canadian athletes won 11 medals at their home Games, the most the country had collected at one Olympic Games since Los Angeles 1932. Eight of those medals were won in the swimming pool. 

Nancy Garapick won a pair of bronze medals in the women’s 100m and 200m backstroke events. There was a double podium by silver medallist Cheryl Gibson and bronze medallist Becky Smith in the women’s 400m individual medley. While those performances are absolutely worthy of celebration, there does remain a lingering question of ‘what if’. The only athletes to finish ahead of them were from East Germany, and as is now well known, were subjects in a state-sponsored doping program. 

There was also an individual bronze medal won by Shannon Smith in the women’s 400m freestyle and Canada won bronze medals in both the women’s 4x100m freestyle and 4x100m medley relays. In the latter, 13-year-old Robin Corsiglia became Canada’s youngest ever Olympic medallist, a record that still stands. The lone men’s swimming medal was a silver in the 4x100m medley relay. 

At the Olympic Basin, John Wood paddled to silver in the men’s C-1 500m for Canada’s first Olympic medal in canoe/kayak in 24 years. At the Olympic Equestrian Centre in Bromont, Michel Vaillancourt rode Branch County to the silver medal in individual jumping for Canada’s first ever individual Olympic medal in any equestrian discipline. And on the penultimate day of competition, Greg Joy overcame some rough rainy conditions to soar to high jump silver, Canada’s first Olympic medal in that event since 1932. 

Other notable Canadian names

Of course, not all of Canada’s 416 athletes—the country’s biggest Olympic team ever to that point—could stand on the podium, but among them were some names that had a lasting impact on Canadian sport. 

Montreal 1976 marked the Olympic debut of Tricia Smith, who after her rowing career became president of the COC in 2015 and was elected as an IOC member in 2016. And if you’re wondering, yes, the aforementioned swimmer Shannon Smith is her younger sister! 

Sue Nattrass became the first woman to ever participate in Olympic trap shooting, competing directly against men. In the first of her six Olympic appearances, she finished 25th in a field of 44 competitors. 

Sue Holloway became the first Canadian woman (and just the second Canadian ever) to compete in both the summer and winter Olympic Games. Five months after she was a cross-country skier at Innsbruck 1976, Holloway paddled in two kayak events in Montreal. 

Equestrian Ian Millar made the second of his world record-setting 10 Olympic appearances. Middle distance runner Penny Werthner would go on to become one of Canada’s most distinguished experts in the field of sports psychology. 

Stars from afar  

Arguably the most famed athlete to compete at Montreal 1976 was 14-year-old artistic gymnast Nadia Comaneci from Romania, who won five medals. She gained celebrity status after scoring the first ever perfect 10 in her sport. In the immediate moment, there was confusion about her historic feat as the scoreboard only had space for three digits with a pre-set decimal. It displayed her score as 1.00 but the in-venue announcer made it clear to all—including Comaneci—what she had just done. 

The most decorated athlete of the Games was another gymnast, Soviet Nikolay Andrianov, who reached the podium in seven of the eight men’s artistic gymnastics events and won four gold medals including the all-around title. 

There was an impressive performance on the track by Cuba’s Alberto Juantorena, who won both the men’s 400m and 800m events and remains the only athlete to ever do that double. 

Lasse Viren was victorious in the 5000m and 10,000m for a second straight Games, extending the great Finnish legacy in those long distance events.

These Games also marked the arrival of American hurdler Edwin Moses, who set the world record in the 400m hurdles and would soon go undefeated in the event for a decade.  

The boxing ring saw a couple of all-time greats win gold. Cuba’s Teofilo Stevenson won his second of three straight heavyweight titles, while these Games were the launch of Sugar Ray Leonard’s career.  

Klaus Dibiasi of Italy won his third straight gold in the men’s 10m platform to become the first diver to win medals in four Olympic Games. 

Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and accomplished equestrian, became the first member of the British Royal Family to compete at an Olympic Games. As the Queen of Canada, her mother had officially opened the Games before watching Anne compete in eventing.  

New events for women

The Games provided greater opportunities for women to compete, with the addition of a women’s basketball tournament, a women’s handball tournament, and women’s rowing events. 

There was still a ways to go for full gender equality in rowing, however, as there were just six events for women and eight for men. And the women raced only over 1000 metres, half the distance of the men’s events. 

Venues that continue to impact Canadian sport 

The Olympic Stadium, commonly known as the Big O, was the biggest venue constructed for the Games. But it was just one of 27 venues used, many of which still play a key role in Canadian sport and the development of Team Canada athletes. 

Within the Olympic Park, there is the Maurice Richard Arena. Then, it hosted boxing and wrestling. Now, it is home to the national short track speed skating team that can always be counted on to win multiple Olympic medals. 

The Olympic Pool, located at the base of the Montreal Tower, was the site of swimming, diving, and water polo. Now, it is a primary training centre for the national diving team and continues to host major diving and swimming events, such as the Canadian Swimming Trials in 2026.   

On Île Notre-Dame, the Olympic Basin hosted rowing and canoe/kayak. It’s now the Para Canoe National Training Centre and will welcome the world again in July 2026 for a stop of the ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup.

The Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard is a multi-sport training facility. It is the Quebec National Training Hub for Athletics Canada and the CAMO swim club also calls it home. It was built for the 1976 Games, hosting handball and water polo competitions, but was also a training centre for athletics, swimming, and field hockey.  

A moment for the mascot

We can’t end this stroll down nostalgia lane without a shout out to Amik, just the second ever mascot for an Olympic Summer Games. 

Amik, which means “beaver” in the Algonquin language, was a stylized take on one of Canada’s national symbols. Beavers are also known for their patience and hard work, two things every Olympian is familiar with. 

It was solely for that reason that Abby Hoffman, a finalist in the women’s 800m at Mexico City 1968 and Munich 1972, decided to go for a fourth Olympic appearance rather than retiring. 

In the lead up to the Games, she had become well known as an advocate, seeking things such as improved training conditions, more financing, and better technical support, coaching, and access to competitions for her fellow Canadian athletes. 

“I was a really vocal critic. I was the athlete’s representative in my own sport of track and field, but I was also very engaged in mobilizing people across other sports and we were very successful in generating a lot of media critical of the Canadian team preparations,” she explained. 

So it’s no wonder she found it “ironic and completely unexpected” when she was asked to be Canada’s Opening Ceremony flag bearer. 

“It was an honour for me as the first female in that role [at a summer Games] for the Canadian team, but it was more I took it as a kind of recognition that the things that I had been talking about and other athletes had been talking about in the lead up to the Games were valid and that these were things that needed to be improved,” Hoffman said. 

When the day of the ceremony arrived, Hoffman says that despite being “not normally a very sentimental or emotional kind of person” she was “very excited.” 

“Canada being the host country, of course, we’re the last into the stadium. So by the time the Canadian team was coming into the stadium, there was incredible noise and music and just a celebratory atmosphere on this really spectacular, beautiful day. 

“I remember thinking to myself, maybe I physically even did it, sort of shaking my fist a little bit, just kind of in recognition of that fact that, despite all the negativism about is Montreal going to be ready, are these Games actually ever going to happen … that here we were on this spectacular day and there’s the Canadian team entering the stadium to what is obviously a hugely enthusiastic stadium full of enthusiastic spectators.

“It was just a wonderful moment that you could just enjoy and I do remember it vividly, right to this day almost 50 years later.”

When she did bring her competitive career to a close, Hoffman made more history as the first woman to be the Director General of Sport Canada and the first woman elected to the executive committee of the Canadian Olympic Association. Through that lens, she looks back on how much things have changed for the better over the last half century. 

“If you look at the Canadian team coming into the stadium for the Opening Ceremony and you see the women’s team at the front of the Canadian team delegation and then you see the men’s team and the relative proportions are about one to four. I mean, it’s just incredible that it was even acceptable in 1976 to have that many fewer events for women,” she said, calling out that in track and field at the time, women didn’t run a distance longer than 1500m and only had 14 events compared to the 23 for men. 

“People across many sports had to chip away and chip away and advocate, in a very forceful way, to get to where we are today.”

The Jump of Joy 

By the penultimate day of the Games, Canadian athletes had won 10 medals, but none yet in track and field, the biggest sport on the program. 

High jumper Greg Joy had come to Montreal with the goal of winning gold. But a rainy day would make that difficult, despite him having prepared by hosing down the surface at his training venue in El Paso, Texas. 

“At 2.18 [metres] I got down to my third attempt and I realized I had short spikes on, which were slipping on the wet fan. Put in longer spikes and went over my third attempt or I would have been done,” Joy recalled. 

The Canadian fans proved hearty, sitting through the rough weather to put all of their support behind Joy. 

“When I got up to jump, especially with my medal jump, the place was completely silent. You could hear a pin drop. And as soon as I went over the bar, the place just erupted,” Joy said, calling it “pretty special.” 

Trying to clear 2.23m, which would secure him the silver medal, Joy again needed his third and final attempt at the height. While many would crumble under that pressure, Joy said he didn’t find it daunting as he had become used to finding himself in that situation and just told himself “I can do this.” 

Upon landing on the mat with the bar still safely in place, he described feeling “ecstatic” at having at least reached the Olympic podium, something no Canadian high jumper had done since 1932. 

For a country that did not win a gold medal at the home Games, Joy’s silver on the second last day made him a national hero—a realization he came to quite quickly. 

“The next day, they chose me to carry the flag in the Closing Ceremony and I started walking down the street with all the flag bearers and the people just started screaming my name. It was wild. And when I went into the stadium and I had the flag, the place just erupted.”

But that was far from the end of his moment of fame. 

“The next day I got on the flight, I’m sitting in my seat and the steward came up. He said ‘The pilot wants to see you’ and I’m going ‘What did I do?’ And he had me sit in the cockpit with him the entire way back to Vancouver, which you can’t do today, but I had that happen and I thought ‘This is not normal.’”

Canadians of a certain age will surely remember seeing Joy’s medal winning-moment on their TVs every morning and every night during the 1980s, closing out an “O Canada” montage that CBC played as it signed on and signed off each day. Even if they weren’t born at the time he became a national hero, they recognized him as such. 

“That was really, really special,” said Joy. “To have people come up to me [and say] ‘I saw it on TV last night … One of the guys I was just interviewing with, he said ‘I’d see you before I’d watch cartoons in the morning.’ It was on television, it was in movie theatres. It was quite a thrill.” 

The spotlight will be extra bright on Team Canada, as one of the co-hosts along with Mexico and the USA. But Les Rouges have never won a single game at a senior men’s World Cup.

Even so, the hype train has charged its way out of the station. Some Canadian fans are dreaming of not only a first-ever win, but a first-ever appearance in the knockout round.

To do so, Canada needs to make it out of Group B, which also features Bosnia & Herzegovina, Qatar, and Switzerland. No true powerhouses in that trio, but no total pushovers either.

READ: FIFA World Cup 2026: Your guide to soccer’s biggest party

Switzerland is the highest-ranked team in the group, at No. 19 in the world. Next comes Canada (No. 30), then Qatar (No. 56) and Bosnia & Herzegovina (No. 64). But world rankings don’t always tell the whole story.

So, let’s see how head coach Jesse Marsch’s side stacks up.

Canada’s recent form

The boys in red enter the tournament with some momentum. In their two send-off games on home soil, they defeated Uzbekistan 2-0 in Edmonton, then drew Republic of Ireland 1-1 in Montreal.

In fact, the team has just one loss since the start of 2025, from a total of 16 games. But they also enter the FIFA World Cup with some injury concerns.

Marsch has had to make a change to the 26-man World Cup roster he originally named. Midfielder Marcelo Flores suffered a major knee injury playing for his club team, and has been replaced by Jayden Nelson.

Defender Moïse Bombito is also working his way back from a serious leg injury. Marsch had until 3:00 p.m. ET on Thursday to make any changes to the roster, but it appears Bombito remains with the squad.

If Bombito can’t play Friday, his starting spot will go to 20-year-old Luc de Fougerolles. Despite his youth, he has Marsch’s backing.

“Luc has delivered for us, always,” said Marsch after a training session on Monday. “He’s a really smart player. For a young guy, he plays experienced. He’ll be ready.”

There are other nagging injuries within the team, most notably for captain Alphonso Davies. He’s been ruled out for the opener against Bosnia & Herzegovina, but could play a part later in the tournament.

Bosnia & Herzegovina (June 12)

The opening match, to be played at Toronto Stadium, will have massive ramifications in Group B. It will also put the team under an unprecedented microscope—but they’re ready.

“This group is very calm,” says defender Alistair Johnston. “It’s really about keeping that level-headed state, which we’ve done a really good job at.”

While Canada faces the home-team pressure, the Bosnian team knows that few expected them to get this far. They shockingly defeated No. 12-ranked Italy in an all-or-nothing qualification match in March to reach the World Cup.

This is the nation’s second FIFA World Cup appearance, after debuting at Brazil 2014. Two players remain from that squad, including 40-year-old team captain Edin Džeko. He leads his nation with 73 goals in 148 lifetime appearances.

“Bosnia scores a lot from crosses and from set pieces,” observed Marsch. “They’re very big, so we know on set pieces they’re very dangerous.”

Amidst the excitement of playing in Canada’s first World Cup game at home, staying focused will be key and the margin for error will be incredibly slim.

Qatar (June 18)

Canada then heads west to Vancouver to set up shop for the first of two matches at BC Place. The first opponent is Qatar, who hosted the last FIFA World Cup, four years ago.

The Persian Gulf nation has invested heavily in the sport in the last 15 years, spurred by those hosting duties. They automatically qualified as hosts in 2022, but lost all three group-stage games. Like Canada, Qatar is seeking a first-ever win at the FIFA World Cup.

This time out, they reached the big tournament through the qualification process. A 2-1 win over the United Arab Emirates in October 2025 clinched their place.

But that’s one of just two wins for the team in 13 matches since the start of 2025. Despite boasting highly experienced players such as Almoez Ali and captain Hassan Al-Haydos, Qatar is not expected to make much noise in this tournament.

If Canada hopes to advance to the Round of 32, this one is a de facto must-win.

Switzerland (June 24)

There’s a decent chance that this showdown at BC Place will determine which team wins Group B.

It will likely be Canada’s toughest test, against a nation that’s reached the knockout stage in four of the last five FIFA World Cups. Switzerland will be led by Granit Xhaka and Ricardo Rodriguez, who have nearly 300 national-team appearances between them.

But even if they’ll be underdogs on paper, the Canadian team isn’t approaching the game that way.

“We’re looking at all three of these games as great opportunities for us to win,” said Johnston. “We want to get out of this group; and to top it, even better.”

The Swiss team knows what it takes to advance, and may enter the match needing just a draw to top Group B. Will Canada throw everything at the wall in an attempt to claim the win? It’s possible, based on the potential reward.

The knockout stage?

The top two teams in Group B advance to the Round of 32. The third-place finisher could also advance, depending on how things shape up in the tournament’s other 11 groups.

There’s a strong incentive to finishing first. The winner of Group B stays in Vancouver to play their Round of 32 match on July 2 against a third-place finisher from another group.

READ: How accessibility and alignment turned Canada into a soccer power

And the winner of that match plays another game in Vancouver, a Round of 16 clash on July 7. So yes, if everything goes Canada’s way, the team could end up playing five World Cup matches in front of home crowds.

Meanwhile, the second-place finisher in Group B travels to Los Angeles for their Round of 32 match on June 28. That will be against the runner-up in Group A, which includes Mexico, South Korea, South Africa, and Czechia.

And if Canada finishes third in Group B? Well, the possibilities are so numerous that we’re best not crossing that bridge unless it comes.

For now, Team Canada—and its supporters—must just take things one match at a time.

Molly Simpson was spectacular in her return to the BMX track on which she raced to her first World Cup victory. Victor Lai earned the biggest title of his young badminton career. And the Canadian women’s rugby sevens team bounced back from heartbreak to earn a spot on the world championship podium.

Here’s a look back at the action you might have missed.

BMX: Simpson rides to win in World Cup opener

Molly Simpson kicked off the UCI BMX Racing World Cup season in style, reaching the podium twice in Sarrians, France. She won Saturday’s season opener, edging out Denmark’s Malene Kejlstrup and Australia’s Saya Sakakibara in a tight women’s final. Simpson is no stranger to success on this track, which was the site of her first career World Cup victory last year.

On Sunday, Simpson finished second to Sakakibara. The World Cup heads to Papendal, Netherlands next weekend for two more rounds of racing.

On the road, Isabella Holmgren continued her breakthrough season at the Giro d’Italia Women, one of the sport’s premier stage races. The 21-year-old Canadian was among the race’s top climbers, held the young rider classification lead for part of the race, and delivered several standout performances against some of the world’s best riders.

Magdeleine Vallières Mill also impressed at the Giro d’Italia Women, finishing 12th overall in the general classification and recording multiple strong stage results, including an eighth-place finish on Stage 5 and a top-10 finish on the final stage.

Badminton: Lai makes more history with big win

Victor Lai took home the men’s singles title at the Indonesia Open, defeating home favourite Jonatan Christie 21-19, 21-8 in the final. He becomes the first Canadian to ever win a BWF Super 1000 event. It’s his first career BWF World Tour title. Lai advanced to the final after a 77-minute battle with Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the semifinals, which Lai won 21-19, 19-21, 21-19.

“I never would have imagined I would win a Super 1000 title and for it to be my first, I’m dreaming still,” said Lai.

The 21-year-old has been rising the ranks over the last 18 months. His biggest breakthrough up til now was winning Canada’s first ever world championship medal in badminton last August.

Rugby: Canada claims SVNS World Championship bronze

The Canadian women’s sevens team finished third at the third leg of the SVNS World Championship in Bordeaux, France. They defeated the United States 21-19 in the third-place playoff game. Charity Williams scored two tries while Asia Hogan-Rochester got one along with two converts.

It was a great bounce back victory for the team after a heartbreaking 19-17 loss to New Zealand in the semifinals. Canada held a 17-12 lead with only seconds remaining, but a penalty gave New Zealand possession, and they scored on the final play of the match.

“The team got together when we came off the field and our captain, Florence [Symonds], gathered everyone and said ‘We’re going to get through this because we have each other’s backs and we’re going to move forward together.’ It was just an amazing display of leadership from her,” said head coach Jocelyn Barrieau.

After finishing fourth in the first two legs of the world championship, the win over the Americans moved Canada past both the United States and France in the overall standings to secure the bronze medal.

Athletics: Diamond League podiums for Arop and Mitton

Marco Arop made his season debut at the Diamond League meet in Stockholm, Sweden where he finished second to 17-year-old American Cooper Lutkenhaus in the men’s 800m. Arop’s time of 1:43.11 left him 0.41 back of Lutkenhaus.

Sarah Mitton finished third in the women’s shot put. Her best distance of 19.89m put her on the podium behind Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands, who threw 20.89m for the victory, and American Chase Jackson, who beat Mitton by two centimetres.

Camryn Rogers remains undefeated in women’s hammer throw this season. On Wednesday she threw 80.09m to win the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland. She then threw 79.36m on Saturday at the USATF Lone Star Grand Prix in College Station, Texas.

Volleyball

Canada’s women’s volleyball team opened the Volleyball Nations League in Québec City with a strong performance, earning historic victories over the United States and France. The Canadians swept the Americans for their first-ever VNL win against their North American rivals before defeating France in four sets to finish the week with a 2–1 record.

It was 2006, and the Canadian soccer landscape looked much different than it does today. Soccer was a popular recreational sport for kids. But there were no top-flight professional teams, no clear player development path, and no alignment in the grassroots game.

That was reflected at the national-team level. The men’s team was nowhere near returning to the FIFA World Cup; the women’s team was years away from becoming Olympic medallists.

But Rossi wasn’t thinking about all that as he signed up his son with North Mississauga SC, just west of Toronto. Sure, he was a fan of the national teams, but all he was looking to do was help out locally.

As it turned out, though, stepping into that role lit a fire in him—and he hasn’t looked back.

Over the ensuing two decades, he would become a key player in what’s been a transformational period in Canadian grassroots soccer.

Now, the men’s national team are gearing up for their second consecutive FIFA World Cup appearance. The women won Olympic bronze at London 2012 and Rio 2016, and then stood atop the podium with gold medals at Tokyo 2020.

There are Canadian professional leagues for men (Canadian Premier League) and women (Northern Super League). Below that are domestic leagues such as Premier Soccer Leagues Canada (PSLC), which help develop players for the professional game.

READ: Momentum: Diana Matheson trailblazes in women’s sport beyond retirement

And below that, the grassroots game is as healthy as ever. Provinces and territories are aligned with the long-term player development plan known as the Canada Soccer Pathway.

So, how did we get here?

Soccer’s role as a popular, accessible sport

The issue has never been a lack of interest in soccer at the community level. Soccer is Canada’s most popular participation sport, played by 50% of Canadian youth, according to the 2025 State of Youth Sport in Canada report.

That report points to the sport’s moderate cost and broad accessibility as enduring factors in its popularity. Rossi agrees with those points, and adds a few more.

“Immigration patterns clearly played a big role as so many people came to Canada from places where soccer truly is life and they brought that passion here,” says Rossi.

“The game is also incredibly popular among young people thanks to video games that introduced so many people to the world of football. I don’t think that can be underestimated.”

But popularity among kids at the community level hasn’t always translated into success at the highest levels. That’s where the work of people like Rossi, who is currently vice-president of PSLC, has been so important.

Once he’d started coaching his son’s team, he began to see the gaps between the grassroots game and the upper echelons.

If you build it, they will come

In 2011, Rossi began working towards the creation of a new semi-professional league in his home province. That came to fruition in 2014, when League1 Ontario played its first season. The need for such a league was clear in Rossi’s mind.

“We have been very good at youth participation for a long time… [but] it was strikingly obvious that we did not provide appropriate pathways to the highest levels of the game for the most talented and most ambitious young people,” he says. “Most especially, we lacked a pathway that prioritized young Canadian talent.”

Other leagues would rise elsewhere in the country, including Première ligue de soccer du Québec (now known as LS Pro) and the BC Premier League.

In 2022, those leagues came together under the umbrella of League1 Canada, with Rossi serving as inaugural president. One of the project’s goals was to further strengthen the alignment of player development across the country.

League1 Canada rebranded to Premier Soccer Leagues Canada earlier this year, having added the Alberta Premier League and Prairies Premier League to the mix.

“L1ON in Ontario and PLSQ in Quebec laid those initial foundations,” says Rossi. “Over the past few years, our priority has been to extend that reach nationwide and we are hoping to be able to have every region covered very soon.”

Local connections, hometown heroes

Most teams playing in these leagues are directly connected to a community club, solidifying that pathway from the recreational game to the professional levels.

For instance, one of the teams on the Ontario Premier League pyramid is North Mississauga SC, the club with which Rossi coached his 6-year-old son.

“As pathways for young people to achieve their dreams in this sport improve annually, this will reinforce the sport’s long-term popularity,” says Rossi.

“Success on the pitch by clubs and our national teams will also be very helpful. Having homegrown heroes creates inspiration that fuels aspiration.”

READ: FIFA World Cup 2026: Your guide to soccer’s biggest party

Rossi notes that 350 players, male and female, have come through the Ontario league and gone on to sign professional contracts at home or abroad.

One example is Joel Waterman, who is part of Canada’s 26-man roster for this summer’s FIFA World Cup. The 30-year-old currently plays for the Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer.

But earlier on, he played for TSS FC Rovers (now part of the BC Premier League), Calgary Foothills (now part of the Alberta Premier League) and Cavalry FC (in the Canadian Premier League).

Without those domestic opportunities, the two-time World Cup veteran just might have slipped through the cracks.

A good start, but the work continues

While the progress has been immense in 20 years, Rossi insists that the work still isn’t done.

“Players, coaches, referees and administrators deserve to have access to standards-based, high-quality competition in or nearby their home community and soccer fans across the country deserve to have a hometown side to cheer on,” he says. “We want to build community while developing athletes.”

To that end, Canada Soccer is actively encouraging Canadians to get involved as players, coaches, referees and volunteers to help support the sport’s continued growth.

“We’re committed to strengthening pathways, expanding access, and ensuring that every young person who wants to participate can do so,” says Dave Nutt, Canada Soccer’s Director of Development. “This isn’t just about the next great soccer player—it’s about building stronger communities.”

That community building takes people willing to put in the time and effort.

“Honestly, get involved however you can,” says Rossi. “Pitch in and help grow the game.”

The Team Canada Podium Awards were established by the Malaviya Foundation, following its $1.225 million donation in 2021 to the Canadian Olympic Foundation and the Paralympic Foundation of Canada to celebrate Team Canada medallists from the Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Additionally, the Malaviya Foundation later committed upwards of $1.29 million to support Team Canada athletes through Paris 2024 and Milano Cortina 2026.

“When I watch Team Canada, I see the years of dedication, resilience, and sacrifice behind every performance. To be able to support these remarkable Olympic and Paralympic athletes – especially as they reach the podium – is deeply meaningful to me. Canadian athletes are so inspiring, and it’s a privilege to stand behind them and celebrate their incredible achievements,” said Sanjay Malaviya, of the Malaviya Foundation.

In addition to the Team Canada Podium Awards, Olympic and Paralympic medallists also receive funding from the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Athlete Excellence Fund and the Paralympic Foundation of Canada’s Paralympic Performance Recognition Program, which was established in part by a $4 million dollar gift from the Malaviya Foundation in January 2024. 

“Thank you to the Malaviya Foundation for its continued leadership and generosity, and for its ongoing commitment to championing Canadian athletes and Canadian sport. The Team Canada Podium Awards mean so much to the athletes whose performances in Milano Cortina captivated, united, and inspired the entire country. We hope this gift continues to inspire Canadians to support Team Canada in the years ahead,” said Jacquie Ryan, the Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Olympic Foundation and Chief Brand and Commercial Officer of the Canadian Olympic Committee.

“Through their continued support, the Malaviya Foundation has played a critical role in broadening access and advancing equity for Paralympic athletes to reach their full potential. This commitment meaningfully strengthens the pathway for Paralympic athletes to pursue excellence at the highest level. We are deeply appreciative of the Malaviya Foundation’s leadership and the lasting impact of their generosity,” said Scott Sandison, Executive Director of the Paralympic Foundation of Canada.

About the Canadian Olympic Foundation:

The Canadian Olympic Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Canadian Olympic Committee, with the joint purpose to transform Canada through the power of sport. Donations to the COF directly benefit Team Canada athletes at all stages of their Olympic journeys, and the high-performance services that support them.

When you invest in an athlete’s journey, you provide key resources needed to propel them over the finish line – and inspire a nation. Make a donation to Team Canada at olympic.ca/foundation today.

About the Paralympic Foundation of Canada:

The Paralympic Foundation of Canada is the registered charitable foundation of the Canadian Paralympic Committee. Our shared vision is through Paralympic sport, an inclusive world. We believe Paralympic sport has the power to ignite transformative change in Canada, contributing to a more inclusive nation where people with disabilities are valued for all their capabilities, differences, and diversity.  For more information, visit ParalympicFoundation.ca.  

Here’s a quick look back at the action you might have missed.

Beach Volleyball: Melissa & Brandie win Elite16 in Ostrava

Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson claimed the gold medal at the Beach Pro Tour Elite16 event in Ostrava, Czechia. They controlled the final match, defeating Dutch duo Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon 2-0 (21-16, 21-14). They had advanced to the final after getting past the Swiss team of Joana Mäder and Leona Kernen 2-1 in the semifinals.

“We finally won in Ostrava!! It’s our favourite tournament on tour. We had a bronze (2023) and a silver (2024) coming into this so we knew we wanted gold to finish the trifecta,” said Humana-Paredes. “Playing in Ostrava is always incredible because the crowd makes every game so special. They truly appreciate beach volleyball and we feel so loved.”

The Olympic silver medallists had a big win in the quarterfinals, defeating the reigning world champions from Latvia. It is their first Elite16 title since August 2025 when they were victorious in Montreal. It is their second Elite16 podium of the season, after finishing as the runners-up in Saquarema in April.

Athletics: First Diamond League podium for Leduc

Audrey Leduc sprinted to her first career Diamond League podium, finishing third in the women’s 200m in Rabat, Morocco on Sunday. She ran a season’s best time of 22.41 seconds to finish behind only Americans Cambrea Sturgis (22.21) and Kayla White (22.28). It is just the second Diamond League race that Leduc has run in her career.

Also in Rabat, Savannah Sutherland placed sixth in the women’s 400m hurdles. Andre De Grasse finished fifth in the men’s 200m while Aaron Brown placed eighth.

Damian Warner placed fourth in the decathlon at the prestigious Hypomeeting in Götzis, Austria over the weekend, accumulating 8497 points. The 36-year-old was in third place after the first nine events, but was just beaten out for a spot on the podium by Germany’s Niklas Kaul based on their times in the final event, the 1500m.

Warner is returning from an Achilles injury that forced him to withdraw from last year’s world championships.

Pierce LePage, also making a comeback from multiple injuries, completed his first decathlon since he won the world title in 2023. He finished 12th with 8117 points.

Hockey: Canada finishes fourth at men’s world championship

Despite a late rally, Canada lost 3-2 to Norway in the bronze medal game at the IIHF World Championship on Sunday, where an overtime goal killed the team’s chance for bronze. Forward Robert Thomas scored twice in the final minutes of regulation, scoring his second goal with just eight seconds remaining, to force the extra frame.

Canada appeared to have the momentum early in overtime, but Norway’s Noah Steen sniped the winner on an odd-man rush to win it.

Canada lost 4-2 to Finland on Saturday in the semifinals, putting them into the showdown for third place. Captain Macklin Celebrini was named the Best Forward of the tournament after finishing second in scoring with 14 points (six goals, eight assists).

READ: Canada to play for bronze after loss to Finland in world championship semis

Rowing: Canada just misses World Cup podium in quad sculls

Canada came close to the podium in the women’s quadruple sculls at the first World Rowing Cup of the year in Seville, Spain. The Canadian crew of Caroline De Paiva, Marilou Duvernay Tardif, Kristen Siermachesky, and Katie Clark finished in 6:35.91, just over four seconds behind Romania for third place. Germany won the quad sculls with a time of 6:30.15.

Two other Canadian boats competed in Seville. Alizee Brien and Avalon Wasteneys finished sixth in the B Final of the women’s double sculls to place 12th overall. That was also the result for the men’s four crew of Steven Rosts, Axel Ewashko, Curtis Ames, and Ryan Clegg.

Triathlon: Paquet finishes fifth in Italy, seconds off podium

Canadian triathlete Charles Paquet delivered another impressive performance, finishing fifth in the most recent stop of the 2026 World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) in Alghero, Italy. The 28-year-old from Sept-Iles, Que., was just four seconds away from a podium finish with a time of 1:45:49. Portugal’s Vasco Vilaca won the event with a time of 1:45:16. This was the first WTCS event to count towards Olympic qualification rankings for LA 2028.

Paquet has good momentum this season. On April 25, Paquet stood on a WTCS podium for the first time in his career with a third-place finish in the WTCS opener in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Rugby SVNS: Canada finishes fourth in Spain

The Canadian women’s SVNS team finished fourth in the second leg of the Rugby SVNS World Championship in Valladolid, Spain. After going undefeated to finish atop their pool, they defeated Japan in the quarterfinals. But then they came up just short in the semifinal versus the United States, losing 14-12. That put them into the third-place game against New Zealand, who had won the first leg of the world championship in Hong Kong. The powerhouse Kiwi team defeated the Canadians 50-14.

Heading into the third and final leg of the world championship, which will take place this coming weekend in Bordeaux, France, Canada sits fifth in the standings behind Australia, New Zealand, USA, and France.