South Africa, having played in the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, will get the knockout phase of the tournament rolling when they tackle co-hosts Canada in a Round of 32 clash at the Los Angeles Stadium on Sunday evening. Kick-off is at 9pm CAT.
South Africa secured a historic first-ever qualification for the second round of the World Cup thanks to a 1-0 win over South Korea on Thursday, with Thapelo Maseko’s strike lifting Bafana Bafana to second place on the Group A standings behind Mexico.
Qualifying for the Round of 32 despite taking just one point from their opening two matches (0-2 loss to Mexico and 1-1 draw with Czechia) represented a major turnaround for South Africa, with coach Hugo Broos revelling in his team’s success.
“It’s very difficult to explain how it feels – it’s a fantastic experience,” said Broos, who added: “We are in the second round. It’s historic. But I’m very happy for the guys. I’ve worked with them for five years. And what we did in those five years is amazing.”
Canada, by contrast, closed out their Group B campaign with a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Switzerland on Wednesday evening.
After securing qualification with a draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina and a 6-0 win over Qatar, the Reds hoped for a positive result against the Swiss to remain top of the standings and play their Round of 32 match in their home country. Instead they were leapfrogged by the European side and will have to decamp to the ‘City of Angels’ for this clash.
“We wanted to be here in Vancouver, but we still have a massive opportunity ahead of us to find a way to push for the next match and find a way to still electrify the nation, even though it’ll be from Los Angeles,” said coach Jesse Marsch.
In head-to-head terms, South Africa and Canada have faced each other in just one previous match: an international friendly in Durban in November 2007 which Bafana Bafana won 2-0 thanks to a brace from Teko Modise.
