Good Monday morning Caps fans. Hope you all had a lovely weekend and are gearing up for the week ahead.

It has been a fun start to the World Cup on the pitch, with some dramatic late moments, absorbing matches, and electric energy in the stands.

Canada probably wished their start was just a bit more fun. After a nervy start to their World Cup opener, Canada rallied to snatch a 1-1 draw against Bosnia in a match they probably did enough to win. Credit to Bosnia for being difficult to play against but this was a reminder that Canada hasn’t quite figured out their finishing woes, which is ultimately what kept them from winning this one. The midfield otherwise looked solid, and the makeshift backline held its own.

It was also exciting to see former Whitecaps man Ali Ahmed step up and turn in a strong performance off the bench. His pace and movement created problems for Bosnia and Ahmed made a good case for starting the next group stage match against Qatar. He also made legions of Caps fans proud.

Indeed, it has been a strong start to the World Cup for Whitecaps affiliated players. In-Beom Hwang was spectacular for South Korea on Thursday. Andres Cubas will rue the 4-1 defeat to the United States and Sebastian Berhalter but there is still a window there for Paraguay in an evenly matched group. There is probably less of a window for Tunisia, who was hammered 5-1 by Sweden in a match that Rayan Elloumi didn’t feature in. And Pedro Vite was one of Ecuador’s better players — it isn’t his fault the team’s forwards couldn’t finish in a 1-0 loss to Cote d’Ivoire on Sunday.

Canada, meanwhile, will feel quite good about their position in the group after Switzerland could manage only a 1-1 draw with Qatar. Both of those teams looked eminently beatable and Canada will continue to have the home crowd behind them as the action shifts to Vancouver. After a raucous match between Australia and Türkiye on Saturday, this is sure to be a high energy affair.

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A look at the top takeaways from Canada’s 1-1 draw on Friday.

Best of the Rest

Canada is officially training in Vancouver ahead of that BC Place date.

Hear from Cyle Larin in the wake of his triumphant moment getting the goal that sealed the result for Canada.

Max Anchor is involved in Belgium’s World Cup prep — a sentence I never thought I’d write.

In non-World Cup news, Robert Lewandowski is kicking the tires on a Chicago Fire move.

Vancouver FC came from behind to secure a derby day win over Pacific FC on Sunday.