Canada takes on Switzerland at B.C. Place today with first place in Group B on the line. Kickoff is at noon PT.
- LIVE on TSN.CA: Canada vs. Switzerland (subscribe to watch)
- Where to watch FIFA World Cup matches in Metro Vancouver
- A look at the seven World Cup games to be played at Vancouver’s BC Place
- A look at how Canada could work its way through the FIFA World Cup
The big question heading into the match for Canada is how head coach Jesse Marsch will make up for the absence of central midfielder Ismaël Koné, who suffered a broken leg in Canada’s 6-0 win over Qatar last week.
Marsch called Koné “maybe our best player in the tournament so far” when speaking to reporters earlier this week, and said it won’t be easy to replace him.
Coming into the tournament, Switzerland was ranked 19th in the world and Canada was ranked 30th. On paper, the Swiss are Canada’s toughest opponent yet.
The home team will be looking for support from what will surely be a raucous crowd at B.C. Place this afternoon.
Follow along here for live updates throughout the game and after the final whistle.
10:05 a.m. Voyageurs on their way
The Canadian march to the match is underway, with thousands taking to the street waving flags and wearing red.
Ian Holliday, CTVNewsVancouver.ca
10 a.m. ‘Fondue is better than poutine’
Swiss fans have gathered in Olympic Village for their march to the match, and CTV News Vancouver’s Kraig Krause is among the crowd.
He recorded video of fans dressed as cows and swinging large, red cowbells, as well as one fan carrying a sign reading “fondue is better than poutine.”
Ian Holliday, CTVNewsVancouver.ca
9:45 a.m. PT: Fever pitch
Today’s match will be played amidst unseasonably high temperatures in Vancouver and across the province, where fans gathering at outdoor viewing parties are advised to seek shade and stay hydrated.
Heat records fell across British Columbia on Tuesday, with many communities marking their warmest June 23 in decades.
- Read more: Century-old temperature record falls in B.C.
That heat is expected to linger through Wednesday before cooler temperatures and rain move in across much of the region.
This week also marks the fifth anniversary of the deadly 2021 heat dome, which contributed to more than 600 deaths, according to a provincial coroner’s report, as temperatures soared above 40 C for several days.
Todd Coyne, CTVNewsVancouver.ca
9:30 a.m. PT: Fans getting ready to march
A sea of red and white, led by the Voyageurs, are just about to start marching to BC Place.
CTV News Vancouver’s Rob Buffam is in the crowd to capture the excitement before the match.
Kaija Jussinoja, CTVNewsVancouver.ca reporter
9:25 a.m. PT: March plans
It’s an early start for the Voyageurs. Canada’s national team supporters group is assembling at Quebec and Switchmen streets southeast of False Creek this morning, with the march to the match scheduled to set off around 9:45 a.m., just over two hours before the noon kickoff at B.C. Place.
Swiss fans, meanwhile, are assembling just a few blocks away at Olympic Village Square. The nation’s consulate general is telling them to have their red shirts ready, flags packed and “cowbells polished.”
Vancouver police say five of their horses will be leading the Canadian fan march. Police say the horses — Larry, Kingston, Angus, Bud, and Nelson — are a mix of Clydesdale, Percheron draft, quarter horse cross, and thoroughbred cross horses. They’re telling fans to give the horses, which each weigh 1,600 to 1,800 pounds, plenty of space and not to pat them.
Ian Holliday, CTVNewsVancouver.ca and The Canadian Press
9 a.m. PT: Pregame read
In the Ali household, it’s been all World Cup, all the time. The Surrey, B.C., couple is often glued to the TV during FIFA’s marquee tournament.
But as good as the matches are on TV, Mohammed Ali and his wife Afreen Kothiwala decided to buy tickets and take in the real thing. The pricey purchase was a treat to celebrate their wedding anniversary.
They found a pair on StubHub for Sunday’s match between New Zealand and Egypt at BC Place for $1,106, or $450 each before fees.
But as kickoff approached, the tickets were not transferred into the official FIFA ticket app as promised.
The couple shared their story—and its surprise happy ending—with CTV News Vancouver on Tuesday.
Martin MacMahon, CTV News Vancouver journalist
8:40 a.m. PT: Road closures reminder
Downtown Vancouver is expected to be packed with thousands of fans throughout the day, so anyone travelling through is urged to plan ahead.
As with other match days, a number of road closures are in effect around BC Place.
Here are some safety reminders and a map of traffic changes today:
Kaija Jussinoja, CTVNewsVancouver.ca reporter
8:30 a.m. PT: Alphonso Davies expected to play
Head coach Jesse Marsch says he expects to bring captain Alphonso Davies on at some point during the nation’s FIFA World Cup game against Switzerland in Vancouver.
Marsch says Davies will not start but he has been training with the team, is ready to play and would bring a big mental boost to Canada’s final game of the group stage.
The 25-year-old star left back injured his left hamstring in early May while playing for Bayern Munich in a Champions League semifinal and has not played since.
7:15 a.m. PT: Fans to honour Koné
During the national anthem at BC Place, fans will honour injured midfielder Ismaël Koné, who broke his leg during Canada’s match with Qatar.
The Voyageurs fan club says it has printed 3,000 No. 8 signs to hold up during O Canada.
They are asking for volunteers to pick up the signs at Fionn MacCool’s Pub to hand out to people marching to BC Place and in the stadium. There will also be a banner to sign at the pub before the march sets up at 9:30 a.m. and begins at 10 a.m.
Fans are also encouraged to make their own No. 8 signs.
Kaija Jussinoja, CTVNewsVancouver.ca reporter
7 a.m. PT: What’s at stake today
Team Canada controls its own destiny heading into today’s match. A win or a draw will see the Canadians top the group and advance to the knockout stage of the World Cup for the first time ever.
Canada is likely to advance even if it loses, with its four points in the standings and plus-six goal differential extremely likely to be enough for second place in Group B or one of the top eight third-place finishes across the tournament’s 12 groups.
Topping the group is preferable, however, not just because it likely means a weaker opponent in the Round of 32, but also because the winner of Group B will play its Round of 32 match in Vancouver on July 2.
Canada vs. Switzerland is not the only match kicking off at noon today. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Qatar will also begin their final group stage match in Seattle at that time.
The World Cup’s final group stage matches are played simultaneously to minimize the chance that two squads will settle for a mutually agreeable result, which famously happened during a 1982 game between West Germany and Austria that has come to be known as the Disgrace of Gijon.
Ian Holliday, CTVNewsVancouver.ca
