Canada Draws with Ireland in World Cup Send-Off

Chiedozie Ogbene crashed Canada’s World Cup send-off party, and he did it the hard way.

Ireland’s winger reacted quickest to turn in a rebound from a saved penalty and seal a 1-1 draw in Montreal on Friday night, denying Jesse Marsch’s side a final pre-tournament win and injecting a dose of realism into the World Cup build-up.

Canada strike first, with a slice of luck

For 24 minutes, Canada’s evening went to script.

Stephen Eustáquio, so often the metronome in midfield, swung in a dangerous corner. Jake O’Brien, tracking back toward his own goal, got the decisive touch – the wrong kind. The Ireland defender diverted the ball past his own goalkeeper, gifting Canada a lead without a Canadian boot applying the finish.

It was scruffy, but in tune-up games, coaches care more about control than aesthetics. Canada had their advantage.

Ogbene pounces after Larin’s rash moment

Ireland, absent from this summer’s World Cup, treated the night as a chance to bloody a nose. They grew into the game and, just after the hour mark, Canada’s composure cracked.

Cyle Larin, fresh off signing a two-year deal with Southampton earlier in the day, lunged into a reckless challenge on Jamie McGrath in the box. There was little argument when the referee pointed to the spot.

Troy Parrott stepped up. Maxime Crépeau guessed right, springing to his side to punch away the penalty and, for a heartbeat, looked like the hero of the night.

Then the ball dropped.

Ogbene reacted before anyone in red. He stormed onto the rebound and thumped it home in the 60th minute, silencing the crowd and turning a comfortable Canadian lead into a test of nerve.

Crépeau’s redemption arc holds… just

For Crépeau, the evening carried extra weight. He has won the starting job for the World Cup ahead of Dayne St. Claire, a role he never got to chase in Qatar after breaking his leg in the 2022 MLS Cup final with LAFC.

He responded like a man determined not to let it slip.

After the equalizer, Ireland sniffed an upset. In the 85th minute, Mason Melia broke through, bearing down on goal with the kind of chance that ruins farewell nights. Crépeau stood firm, closed the angle, and smothered the effort with a sharp, decisive stop. One of just two saves on the night, but both mattered.

The own goal had set Canada up. The penalty rebound had undone them. Crépeau’s late intervention at least prevented a full collapse.

Marsch’s juggling act and the Davies question

Marsch used the game to tinker again with his back line. Luc de Fougerolles came in at center back, replacing Moïse Bombito, who had been seen icing his leg after coming off at halftime against Uzbekistan on Monday. Bombito is still working back from a fractured tibia, and Canada can ill afford another setback in defense.

There was another, more glaring absence.

Alphonso Davies, the captain and talisman, remained sidelined with a hamstring injury picked up at Bayern Munich. There is still no timeline for his return. Every match he misses tightens the knot in Canadian stomachs a little more.

Without him, Canada beat Uzbekistan 2-0 in Edmonton earlier in the week. Without him again, they couldn’t shake Ireland.

World Cup next – ready or not

The rehearsal period is over now. Canada’s next match is no friendly: Bosnia and Herzegovina await in Group B on June 12 in Toronto, followed by Qatar in Vancouver on June 18 and Switzerland on June 24.

The draw with Ireland will sting, not because of the result alone, but because of how it arrived – a lead handed to them, control lost through a rash challenge, and an equalizer conceded on a second ball in the box.

The World Cup will punish those lapses far more ruthlessly. With Davies racing the clock and Marsch still fine-tuning his spine, the question lingers: has Canada done enough in these final days to turn promise into something more substantial on the biggest stage?