Canada, South Africa enter uncharted territory
28 June 2026, 16:14 PMUPDATED
28 June 2026, 23:46 PM
FIFA WORLD CUP 2026
AFP, Los Angeles
Co-hosts Canada and South Africa will both make World Cup history when they meet in the opening game of the knockout round on Sunday
Neither nation has ever reached this stage of international football’s showpiece event and they could not have asked for a grander stage than the spectacular SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles
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South Africa are one of nine African sides to have reached the last 32, making the continent the major beneficiary of the expanded 48-team format
The Bafana Bafana looked dead and buried in a 2-0 defeat to Mexico in the tournament opener but a spirited 1-0 win against South Korea fired them into uncharted territory
Canada celebrated going through too — but slipping to a 2-1 defeat to Switzerland in their final group game cost them their ‘home’ status that the group winner would have enjoyed
So they have been forced to head to the United States
Their American coach Jesse Marsch is banking on the “X-factor” of returning superstar Alphonso Davies to elevate his team in Sunday’s showdown
Bayern Munich defender Davies was sidelined for the entire group phase due to a hamstring injury and Marsch said he relished the return of the undoubted star of Canadian soccer
“Now that we have Alphonso back and healthy and ready to perform, I think it’s a big moment for the team and a big boost for the team,” Marsch said on Saturday
“He’s a big X factor for us,” he added
“Being on the pitch, the belief they have in him, the belief he has in himself, I think changes the possibility of what the potential of our team is, and what we can do in this tournament,” Marsch said
South Africa’s veteran Belgian coach Hugo Broos said reaching the last 32 meant “we can say already now that the World Cup is a success for us,” but he insisted his side was hungry to go even further
“That doesn’t mean now that we are happy and that we just play the game tomorrow and go home. Once you are there, you want more, and we want to win the game tomorrow,” he said
“I think if we can show the same mentality and the same level that we played against South Korea, then I think we had a chance to win it — even if Canada is a very tough team.”
