RECAP + HIGHLIGHTS: CanMNT 🇨🇦 battle to a draw vs. Republic of Ireland in final World Cup tune-up match

The CanMNT 🇨🇦 battled it out to a 1-1 draw against the Republic of Ireland at Stade Saputo in Montreal in their final preparation match before their 2026 World Cup begins in Toronto on Friday, June 12th. 

Looking to enter their tournament opener against Bosnia & Herzegovina on a high note, Canada came flying out of the gates in this game, as they started the match strongly - a welcome sight after they'd started slowly in their most recent friendly against Uzbekistan. After an early wave of pressure, they were able to force an own goal off a perfect corner from Stephen Eustáquio in the 23rd minute, as his set-piece bounced in off Jake O'Brien to give Canada an early lead. 

Yet, despite their early waves of pressure, that'd be the only goal they'd score in the first half, as they were unable to turn their possession play into any clear-cut chances, a theme on the night. 

That allowed Ireland to stick around in the second half, and they came to life after some key half-time substitutions, as they started to wrestle back control of the game. 

Because of that, it wasn't surprising to see them equalize, as they won a penalty just before the 60th minute. They didn't immediately score from that action, as Troy Parrott was denied by a superb stop from Maxime Crépeau, who had just been named Canada's #1 goalkeeper for the World Cup the day before, but Ireland's Chiedozie Ogbene was able to poke home the rebound to make it 1-1. 

To Canada's credit, they nearly responded by retaking the lead in the 70th minute, as Cyle Larin found some daylight in the box to fire an attempt towards the goal, but his low shot was kept out by a fantastic kick save from Ireland's Mark Travers. 

From there, the game opened up into a track meet, and that surprisingly ended up benefiting Ireland, who had the last big chance of the game in the 83rd minute. Fortunately for Canada, however, Crépeau stood tall to that attempt, as he denied Mason Melia with an outstanding save to keep the game tied, denying what looked to be a sure goal in style. 

That's not to say that both teams were unable to fashion up any late attempts to secure a victory, but all of their half-chances went to waste, leaving them to settle for a draw, with Crépeau's big save standing as the last decisive action of the game. 

Here are your highlights from this one.