Switzerland v Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other match in this group, is goalless at half-time. You can follow the second half with Daniel Gallan.
The Group B story so far
Who fancies a bit of history? Fear not, we’re not about to impose 5,000 words on the group stage of the 1958 World Cup upon you. We’re talking about making history, something Canada or Qatar could do in the next few hours.
They’ve already made a small bit of history by drawing their opening games, the first time either team had picked up a point at a men’s World Cup. Today they can achieve something more substantial. A win for either team would be their first at a World Cup – and, most importantly, would pretty much ensure qualification for the knockout stage.
Yes, yes, the knockout stage is the last 32, which before this tournament would have been the group stage, so what does it really mean. Never mind that legitimate but slightly joyless view. In the modern world we need every good-news story we can get; when this game gets going, the footballers of Canada and Qatar will have the chance to become immortal.
Kick off 3pm local time/6pm EDT/11pm BST/8am AEST
Rob will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s how Canada are preparing for today’s game:
Asked how he’s handling the scrutiny of coaching a World Cup co-host – where even apparently insignificant comments can end up in the headlines – Jesse Marsch was quick to flash a grin.
“Maybe we’ll get through this one without creating news cycles,” Marsch quipped a day before his Canada team welcome Qatar to Vancouver for a pivotal Group B clash. The teams are level on one point each after the first round of games, leaving the group wide open.
Marsch and midfielder Ismaël Koné refused to look beyond Thursday’s match though. Koné pushed back against one reporter’s insinuation that the players are more anonymous in Vancouver than in Toronto, the site of their draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina last week. But training in British Columbia since Monday has allowed Marsch and his men to ease the pressure of being co-hosts.
“The bigger the event, there’s going to be more distractions,” Marsch said, “so we’ve tried to minimize that. But at the same time, it’s really difficult to prepare for everything, the madness that surrounds … a World Cup.”
You can read the full report below:
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