Sawt Falasteen - Co-hosts Canada held by Ireland ahead of World Cup

Canada have never won a World Cup game but have shot up the FIFA rankings in recent years and, with home advantage and stars like Alphonso Davies, will be looking to make a real impact this year.

But despite controlling the game in Montreal, and the gift of a first-half Ireland own goal, the Canadians could not secure the win.

They conceded an equalizer on the hour mark to Chiedozie Ogbene, who pounced on the rebound from Troy Parrott's well-saved penalty.

Playing against an Irish team that will not feature at the World Cup, it was a disappointing result for Canada, especially after a promising 2-0 win over Uzbekistan earlier this week.

"Obviously, we wish we could have gotten more goals and gotten the win, but I think the energy from the start, the way to go after the game, the ideas in the game, (were) really good," said Canada coach Jesse Marsch.

"We let one counter really get away from us in the second half but, look, overall it is a good performance.

"Goals make a difference, and so do mistakes, so we've just got to clean some things up."

Canada had utterly dominated the first half, creating a flurry of chances before Stephen Eustaquio's corner deflected off two Ireland players -- Parrott and then Jake O'Brien -- and into the net.

Liam Millar had a shot well-blocked by O'Brien, Ismael Kone's effort was deflected wide, and Juventus striker Jonathan David had a penalty claim ignored.

But Ireland's goal against the run of play, along with a string of substitutions, took the wind out of Canada's sails.

Ireland's Tottenham Hotspur teenager Mason Melia was barely denied an unlikely winner off the bench late on.

Canada has been drawn in Group B alongside Bosnia-Herzegovina, Qatar and Switzerland. Though the Swiss are favored to top the group, it has been seen as a kind draw for Canada, who automatically qualified as co-hosts.

Canada's campaign begins against Bosnia in Toronto on June 12, before shifting to Vancouver for clashes with Qatar and Switzerland.

In two previous appearances at the World Cup -- the 1986 finals in Mexico and the 2022 tournament in Qatar -- Canada have a perfect record of six defeats in six matches.

But the Canadians surprised many by reaching the semi-finals of the Copa America in 2024, where they only narrowly lost on penalties to Uruguay in the third-place playoff.

Marsch has described his roster as "our best group of 26 players that this country has ever assembled at any one time."

But Bayern Munich defender and Canada talisman Davies has a hamstring injury and did not feature on Friday.

He faces a race to get back to fitness, and is not expected to start the opener against Bosnia.

N.Shalabi--SF-PST