The unlikely Southampton influence behind Canada’s World Cup lift-off | OneFootball

Southampton’s public relations department has had a torrid few weeks trying to clean up the internal idiocy of Spygate, but they’re about to get a rare windfall of goodwill from across the Atlantic. Over 3,000 miles west of St Mary’s, Saints have had an inadvertent hand in Canadian history.

Canada are on the board at the World Cup, for the first time ever. They went pointless in Qatar four years ago, just as they did during their World Cup bow at Mexico ‘86. Thanks to Cyle Larin’s late heroics in Toronto, this hoodoo on the biggest stage is over.

One third of a substitute masterclass from manager Jesse Marsch, Larin came off the bench to cancel out Bosnia and Herzegovina’s first-half opener with a stunning half-volley, instinctively striking across the ball to send it swerving past Nikola Vasilj and into the side-netting. It was a goal fitting of its importance in this country’s footballing history.

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Cyle Larin got the all-important equaliser to get Canada on the board at the World Cup (Reuters)

Canada smelt blood and could’ve taken all three points as they ramped up the pressure on a tired Bosnia team heading into the final minutes. Alas, they had to settle for draw - but one point in 90 minutes beats none in 30 years.

In coming to his nation’s rescue, Larin has written himself into Canadian folklore. He was the catalyst for this piece of history, which will always have a romance to it, but solely in the context of this tournament, that goal could prove seismic for Canada’s ambitions of getting through the group. They would’ve faced a huge uphill battle to get back in contention had Bosnia, their main rivals for second place behind group favourites Switzerland, taken all the spoils. Instead, they’ll head into their next match with Qatar knowing a win can put them on the brink of progression, at the very least as one of the eight best third-placed teams.

But Larin’s journey to heroism has not been straightforward. The 31-year-old has spent seasons on end struggling in front of goal, unable to hit double figures since scoring 23 for Besiktas in 2020/21.

After a dismal loan spell at Feyenoord was cut short halfway through last season, Larin - his country’s second all-time top goalscorer - feared he would be heading to a home World Cup in the worst form of his career. That was until Southampton came calling.

Larin found a new lease of life on loan at Saints in the second half of 2025/26, scoring eight goals in 16 Championship appearances as he became integral to the club’s play-off charge. While that would all fall apart thanks to espionage-based antics well out of his control, he has hailed Southampton for allowing him to rediscover his shooting boots in time for the biggest tournament of his life.

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Larin found a new lease of life at Southampton during the second half of last season (Getty)

“It [loan at Saints] has given me great confidence,” said Larin ahead of Canada’s opener, who has made his temporary move to Southampton permanent. "I’ve always known I could score goals - that was never the problem. It’s more about playing games and having a coach who trusted me to go and do that.

“Tonda [Eckert, Southampton manager] was very important in helping me do that and a big part of my decision to join the club [in January]. It’s given me a lot of confidence to go out and bring it to the national team.

"When you are scoring, it doesn’t stop. The goals don't stop for me. It’s a rhythm and [it gives you] a confidence to keep going.” The goals have indeed kept coming.

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Larin celebrates his late equaliser against Bosnia and Herzegovina (Reuters)

Toronto’s 44,315-capacity BMO Field became the second to fall victim to patchy attendance after Thursday night’s sparsely attended meeting between South Korea and Czech Republic in Guadalajara, something that is less down to fan apathy and more due to the fact that last-minute tickets for the clash were still priced between $1,645 and $2,240 in the Category 1 and Category 2 tiers; the greed surrounding this World Cup is sadly unwavering.

However, those empty seats were hardly noticeable when Larin fired home. It might’ve not been to the decibel level of the Azteca a day earlier, but the eruption of noise from the stands - three permanent, one temporary - of BMO Field still made hairs stand on ends.

For all the warranted condemnation of Southampton, their manager and wider operations that has come in the fallout of Spygate, the south coast club played their part in the making of this moment of national jubilation, in Canada’s first ever World Cup point. In Toronto, that’ll be the only Saints-related headline they care about. A classic Canadian thank you may be coming their way.