Canada's Ali Ahmed feels at home ahead of Vancouver FIFA World Cup match

The moment that Ali Ahmed walked into the National Soccer Development Centre at UBC, familiar feelings came rushing back. He was back at a facility where he spent three full seasons with the Vancouver Whitecaps. Ahmed sat in the same locker stall, only this time he was going onto the pitch to train for the FIFA World Cup.

Canada arrived in Vancouver over the weekend and held a training session on Monday, in preparation for Thursday’s match against Qatar.

Nobody will feel more at home on Thursday than Ahmed, who suited up for the Whitecaps as recently as last December.

The 25-year-old, who now plays with Norwich City in England, was a second-half substitute in Canada’s first match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Making his World Cup debut in his hometown was obviously special for the Toronto native, but so will playing at BC Place.

“This is my home,” Ahmed said. “This is why I’m here. BC Place is where I made my professional debut. Representing your country in a place you’re familiar with would mean a lot.”

Of course, BC Place looks a little different than the last time he stepped foot onto it.

“The grass looked beautiful,” Ahmed said.

“The stadium [roof] is closed so it should be louder… [A sellout crowd,] so it should be good. I’m used to a good crowd over here in B.C. I know they love their football. I think it’ll be another really good atmosphere. We really hope we can give the fans what they deserve.”

Can Canada win its group?

Qatar was able to earn a surprise 1-1 draw vs Switzerland on Saturday, meaning Group B is still up for grabs. Canada plays Qatar on Thursday and Switzerland next week, with both matches at BC Place.

Major upset, as Qatar earns a draw against Switzerland.

Group B is wide open 🇨🇦🇧🇦🇨🇭🇶🇦 pic.twitter.com/StQUgYNBwm

— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) June 13, 2026

“Watching the game, Switzerland had some chances,” Ahmed said. “It’s the World Cup and you can’t play this game on paper. Any past results don’t matter really. Every team is hard to beat. You just never know.

“You can’t get too arrogant and just play the game on paper.”

Winning Group B is the only way Canada can secure another home match at BC Place in the knockout round.

Injury updates

All eyes were on injured stars Alphonso Davies and Moïse Bombito on Monday, as Canada’s head coach Jesse Marsch put the team through a 90-minute training session.

Neither one of them played in Canada’s first match, but is there hope for Thursday?

Davies was looking lively during the open portion of Canada’s session. He had more pace in his movement and has progressed to training with football boots on. Davies ran sprints with his teammates and went through full warmup drills.

Bombito, meanwhile, was out on the training pitch working with Canada Soccer director of performance Pierre Barrieu before the press was ushered onto the pitch. The addition of Canada’s most important outfield players would add another dimension to Canada’s attack and back line.

Davies remains in a return-to-play mode. According to Canada Soccer every other player was fully available to train, but reporters were only able to watch training for the first 15 minutes.