Connor McDavid enjoyed a fine Friday afternoon, soaking up some soccer in his native country.
He turned up as the hosts, his native Canada, faced the Bosnia and Herzegovina side in match three of soccer's 2026 global showcase at Toronto's BMO Field. Perched in a premium box within the rowdy venue, the Oilers superstar from Edmonton nursed some red wine as the affair finished level at 1-1.
For an initial occasion across two years, the three-time league MVP gets to relish an early break, his Oilers having exited in the opening playoff round, a result that halted a run of two straight finals berths.
Canada fell behind early when Bosnian forward Jovo Lukic converted off a set piece. Under American boss Jesse Marsch, the hosts carried that deficit into the interval and leaned on some late second-half changes to flip the script.
Marsch summoned forward Cyle Larin at the 75-minute mark, and within a span of three minutes Southampton's recent acquisition had evened things up for the hosts.
Canada ran the show through much of the latter half and was unlucky not to net a winner and grab a first-ever triumph at the tournament. Instead they bank a debut point, a promising opening in their group, Group B, whose remaining sides are Qatar and Switzerland.
The Oilers captain wasn't the only well-known Canadian present, with movie stars Mike Myers and Ryan Reynolds picked out in the stated attendance of 43,002. Grammy honoree Alanis Morissette capped the opening ceremony by performing the country's anthem, "O Canada."
Returning to familiar ground in Vancouver this Thursday, Canada draws Qatar.