At the Emily Carr Institute of Art here in Vancouver, I stood before a piece that captured stillness and explosive colour at once — much like what Alphonso Davies brings to this match, a man who can turn silence into chaos in a single stride. Canada's midfield, anchored by the composed intelligence of Ismaël Koné, will control the tempo and slowly suffocate Iran's ability to construct anything meaningful going forward — Taremi will see precious little of the ball in dangerous positions. This is a home crowd, a hungry team, and one clinical moment — probably Davies ghosting past his marker and teeing up something beautiful — will be enough to settle it.

Canada's forward line is simply too dynamic for Iran's defensive structure to contain at BC Place tonight — Cyle Larin in particular offers a physical presence that Iran's backline will struggle to manage through ninety minutes of sustained Canadian pressure. Iran are organized and disciplined, which I respect enormously, but their attacking threat is so limited that they're essentially playing for penalties from kick-off, and I don't see them getting there. I attempted a *jianbing* this week — Vancouver's fusion food scene inspired me — and much like Iran's chances tonight, it started promisingly but fell apart under pressure.