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Or sign-in if you have an account.Ruben Vargas #17 of Switzerland celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group B match between Canada and Switzerland at BC Place in Vancouver on June 24, 2026. Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty ImagesHow do you follow up the greatest game in Canadian men’s soccer history?Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorDisappointingly, it turns out.Six days after the dramatic chaos of the team’s historic World Cup win over Qatar in Vancouver, the men had a chance to seize control of their group with just a point earned against Switzerland.Instead, a decent first half gave way to the kinds of blunders that are perhaps expected of a team as inexperienced as Canada on the world stage. Two Swiss goals followed, and a late consolation goal from Promise David wasn’t enough to change the team’s fortunes.The 2-1 Swiss win was not a disaster, as Canada still clinched second in their group and advanced to the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time, but the loss squandered a huge opportunity. Instead of playing in about a week at home in Vancouver, Canada will likely face a quick turnaround for a Round of 32 game in Los Angeles on Sunday.Effectively, they just played themselves into a much harder tournament route.After starting slowly before battling their way into the game, all the positive vibes for the Canadians fell apart in the moments after the halftime break. The home side was caught napping off the kickoff and Switzerland played a long ball down the left wing to Ruben Vargas, who was in so much space that he could have built a small cottage in the room that the Canadians had granted him,Vargas scampered toward goal, took his sweet time, and fired past Maxime Crepeau at the near post. Canada now needed a goal against a battle-tested Swiss side, which has made the knockouts of the last three World Cups and the quarter-finals at the last two European Championships.Not ideal.And indeed it was not, with Switzerland adding a second through Johan Manzambi, who blasted a shot past Crepeau that the Canadian goalkeeper surely would want back. At 2-0, that was pretty much that. Canada will still have the chance to go deeper in the tournament, even if they face a tough opponent in the Round of 32, but there’s no avoiding that what might have been a seminal moment for the program instead became one of regrets.Before a ball was even kicked on Wednesday, the Canadian team had lived what felt like a World Cup lifetime inside of a week.The Canadian men had only qualified for the tournament twice before — in 1986 and 2022 — and had lost all six matches. They had never, rather obviously given that record, made it out of the group stage into the knockout rounds.But they recorded their first World Cup point with a comeback draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto on June 12, and followed that six days later in Vancouver with a dizzying 6-0 win over Qatar. Despite losing midfielder Ismael Koné to a horrible leg injury that had Canadian players in tears, the result meant the team had notched its first World Cup win, made qualification to the knockout rounds all but mathematically inevitable, and given itself an excellent chance to finish at the top of its group — which would ensure one, and possibly two, knockout games on home soil in Vancouver.The question of who would win the group came down to Wednesday’s match against Switzerland: a win or tie would leave Canada in first place, a loss would put them in second. (A blowout loss might have seen them drop into third place.) Alistair Johnston #2 of Canada shows frustration during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group B match between Canada and Switzerland at BC Place in Vancouver on June 24, 2026. Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty ImagesThat Canada would even be in a position to contest the group with Switzerland, which is not one of Europe’s true powers but is vastly more experienced than its hosts at the major-tournament level, was far from certain just a couple of weeks ago.The Canadian men’s program, which has been on a sharp ascendancy since the co-host role at a World Cup was announced in 2018, arrived at this tournament in something of an injury crisis. Moise Bombito, their best central defender, broke his leg last year and missed most of the season, and played only briefly in the pre-tournament matches. More importantly, the team’s one superstar, Alphonso Davies, has barely played at all for the national team due to multiple leg injuries over the past two seasons.He was in a race to heal when the World Cup began, but head coach Jesse Marsch kept him on the bench against Bosnia and Qatar in hopes that more recovery time could bring a more meaningful contribution when the games really mattered.The draw against Bosnia and the big win over Qatar, then, allowed Marsch to win that gamble: Canada needed just the one point against Switzerland to top the group, and Davies had the longest possible time to heal a hamstring that was injured in early May. But the fact that Davies did not play at all against Switzerland, even when needing goals, suggests he might not be as close to healthy as hoped.Once the game began, Canada didn’t look like a team that was desperate for a win. Switzerland controlled the bulk of the play in the early stages and had a golden scoring chance when striker Breel Embolo was sent through alone on goal. But Canadian goalkeeper Crepeau came out to challenge and blocked Embolo’s attempt, and a follow-up shot from Manzambi was blocked by Canadian defender Derek Cornelius. It was a warning that Switzerland hadn’t come to Vancouver to pass the ball around meekly and accept second place in the group.Canada, though, showed more life after the first-half water break and even had the better of the scoring chances as the half drew to a close. Cyle Larin had a break that was snuffed out before he could get a shot away and Ali Ahmed had an excellent chance that he couldn’t convert, instead almost missing the net entirely.Canada had made it to halftime, at least, having weathered the early storm and shown that they wouldn’t be run off the pitch in the game of their lives.Until the second half began, anyway.sstinson@postmedia.comCheck out our sports section for the latest news and analysis. Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.