It was the ultimate fan experience, but also one he'd worked incredibly hard to earn.
Many times over the past few years, Forge FC's Zayne Bruno sat in the stands at BMO Field and watched the Canadian men's national team in action.
Late last month, he got the opportunity to step onto the pitch with them. The 19-year-old midfielder was one of six training players, along with Cavalry FC's Maël Henry, called up for Canada's pre-World Cup training camp in Charlotte, North Carolina.
As the team now makes history at the 2026 World Cup, Bruno got a peek behind the curtain at what has allowed this team to deliver on the biggest stage.
"It was honestly special to just train and play with some of the players that I have looked up to and watched all the time at their clubs and in the national team," Bruno told CPLSoccer.com. "I was really happy, and I really enjoyed it."
Bruno first learned about the opportunity from Canadian youth national team head coach Andrew Olivieri, and knowing it was the biggest camp in the program's history, he jumped at it. The Forge youngster has represented Canada at the U-18 and U-20 levels — scoring at both. This was a taste of the next level.
What instantly stood out to Bruno at camp was the character of the Canadian team. They were a close-knit family off the pitch, and had a shared belief in their mission — one they executed through an incredibly hard-working mentality on the pitch. He says it's crucial to their success over the past few weeks.
"Even if they're players who've done a lot for the national team, a lot in their club careers, they push every day in training," said Bruno. "If it's a fitness test, if it's in a rondo, they always try to raise the standards and keep the level high. So it is something that I will be able to carry with me for a long time in my career."
What he will also carry is getting to play alongside some of his heroes. One defender, in particular, has a similar background to Bruno, with Zayne and Richie Laryea having both developed with Ontario Premier League club Sigma FC.
"Seeing some of the players I watched on TV for the first time, Richie Laryea, or Derek Cornelius, players like that, it was cool," said Bruno. "Knowing Richie came from Sigma, and I also played at Sigma, it was cool to train with someone like that."
He says he learned a lot, as well, from watching the technical ability of Niko Sigur, who, like him, was originally a midfielder before learning to play out wide. He also mentioned Laryea and his intensity and understanding of the system, Derek Cornelius's leadership, and Moïse Bombito's incredible quality on the ball.
"Just to see what was done behind the scenes and the little things to understand what it takes to get to that moment," said Bruno, "it's something I hope that I'm able to do one day for Canada. And I'm just trying to build every day and learn and take things I learned from that camp with me."
Bruno has his eyes on another big international tournament this summer, the 2026 Concacaf U-20 Championship starting on July 25 in Mexico. There, he and his Canadian U-20 teammates will look to qualify for a FIFA U-20 World Cup for the first time since Canada hosted in 2007.
"I think everyone wants to go to a World Cup," said Bruno, "Whether it's U-17, U-20, or men's, it's a World Cup. So everyone wants to play there.
"We have a good group of players, a tight group that's together as well. It would be special to make the World Cup for sure. It would be a dream of mine to make the tournament and play in it."
He knows that even getting into that Canadian U-20 side is as competitive as it has ever been. So, he returns to Forge with even more motivation to break into the team and get minutes over the next few months.
Forge are back in action on Canada Day, when they host Vancouver FC at Hamilton Stadium (1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT on OneSoccer, CBC Gem), and Bruno is back in training with them, now equipped with a wealth of new experiences and insights.
