Canada faces an unprecedented World Cup situation as the knockout rounds begin
By Kyle Feldscher, CNN
(CNN) — Note: This story first appeared in The Beautiful Game by CNN Sports, our daily newsletter on all things World Cup. To subscribe, click here.
And … breathe.
More than three weeks of multiple World Cup group matches daily has come to an end. For me, this is always a sort of solemn day. While the point of the World Cup is ostensibly to crown a world champion, and the only way to do that is through knockout games that eliminate the rest of the field, the group games are the true joy of the tournament.
The smaller nations celebrating a summer in the sporting sun, the long-planned vacations abroad coming to fruition, the jam-packed daily schedule of games, the Scots arriving on our shores and drinking all our beer before leaving us dazed at what just happened – the group stages provide it all.
Now we come to a particularly jarring day in the World Cup calendar: There is just one game. Only one. And – unsurprisingly for this World Cup – it comes with a bit of controversy. Let’s get into it.
A Canadian complaint
This is an unusual tournament that is serving up unusual circumstances left and right. The latest twist involves one of the co-host nations having to travel out of their country to play a knockout game.
Canada takes on South Africa outside Los Angeles at the spectacular SoFi Stadium at 3 p.m. ET today, marking the first time in World Cup history that a host nation will play a win-or-go-home game outside of its own territory. Thanks to a 2-1 loss to Switzerland in its final group match, the Canadians finished second in Group B and were sent to SoCal for their Round of 32 match against Bafana Bafana.
The Swiss, meanwhile, will play in Vancouver at BC Place.
Being a World Cup host nation comes with certain privileges, and home-field advantage is certainly the most important of them. Many Canadians feel that FIFA erred by not ensuring that the teams advancing from Group B would play their knockout rounds in Canada, especially given that Les Rouges were not guaranteed to advance – Canada had never won a World Cup game before this tournament, let alone made the knockouts.
Surely, FIFA would counter by saying Canada shouldn’t have lost to the Swiss in their final group stage match, meaning this could have been avoided.
It’s a circumstance that could only be served up by this World Cup, but it will happen again in the next one. In 2030, the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup, we will see a truly wild amount of global travel for the quadrennial showcase.
Celebratory matches marking the centennial anniversary will be held in South America – Montevideo, Uruguay, which hosted the inaugural World Cup; Buenos Aires, the home of three-time winners Argentina; and Asunción, Paraguay, the historical home of the South American soccer governing body, CONMEBOL. Then it will move to the proper hosts of the rest of the tournament – Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
That amount of splitting will surely present those three host nations with similar situations to the one Canada is facing now. Still, the Canadians – and maybe the Mexicans too, if they advance deep into the tournament (the last game hosted south of the border is in the Round of 16) – will feel hard done by. South Korea and Japan did not face similar situations in 2002 when they were the home nations for the first co-hosted World Cup.
The Canadians will look to make the best of it against the South Africans, but even victory won’t see them back north – their path now runs solely through US-based stadiums.
South Africa vs. Canada
When? 3 p.m. ET
Where? Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium), Inglewood, USA
From CNN’s Ben Church:
This is a match of firsts for several reasons. For starters, this is the first knockout match of this year’s tournament. But more notably, it’s also the first time both nations will be playing in the knockout stages of a men’s World Cup.
For Canada, it’s third time lucky after been dumped out of the group stages in both 1986 and 2022. For South Africa, it’s been a slightly more frustrating wait, having failed to reach this round in 1998, 2002 and 2010.
Truth is, until the last group-stage match, it looked as though Bafana Bafana would miss out again. They were blown away by Mexico in the tournament’s opening match and initially fell behind against Czech Republic in their second.
But a late equalizing penalty in that match, coupled with a narrow 1-0 win against South Korea in their last outing, was enough for the team to make history.
Even the most ardent South Africa fan would concede the team played poorly for much of the group stage, but the squad seems to have strong unity and managed to finally click against South Korea when it really mattered.
As for Canada, it’s been a bit of a mixed bag. There were positive signs after a brilliant second half against Bosnia earned a draw in their opener, which was then followed by a 6-0 annihilation of Qatar. A 2-1 defeat to Switzerland took the shine off a bit, but there are still plenty of reasons to stay cheerful if you’re a Canada fan.
America’s new greatest export
As a native Midwesterner, I’ve long extolled the wonders of ranch dressing. It is so gratifying then to see our visitors from around the world discovering the wonders of this fantastic condiment. CNN’s Amy Gunia has more:
Ranch dressing, a sauce made mainly from buttermilk, vegetable oil and spices, is getting love from tourists experiencing American food and culture for the first time.
“Ranch dressing should be a human right,” wrote one Redditor, who identified as a European tourist, in a thread about World Cup visitors’ feedback on the country.
Fans are going so gaga for the sauce that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which manages passenger screening at airports, commented on the trend.
“Yeah sooo your carry-on wasn’t actually made for checks notes 4 bottles of ranch …” the TSA said in a post on Instagram last week.
The condiment was invented in the 1950s by a plumber working in Alaska who needed a creative way to keep the meals he cooked for coworkers interesting. When he retired to a California dude ranch, a vacation resort where tourists can experience ranch life, he started selling DIY spice kits via mail.
That caught the attention of Clorox, which bought Hidden Valley Ranch in 1972. The company created a shelf-stable bottled version, and modern ranch dressing was born.
World Cup fan interest in the dressing “happened organically,” Stacy Stokes, Hidden Valley’s vice president of marketing, told CNN.
That doesn’t mean that the company isn’t trying to capitalize on it, though. Stokes says that the company will be handing out seasoning mix packets in host cities in July. The powder can be mixed with buttermilk and mayonnaise to create the dressing.
Meanwhile, food and beverage giant the Kraft Heinz Company, which also sells ranch dressing, said that it would be introducing a TSA-compliant version of its product.
“Olé, olé olé olé! Congo! Congo!”
If you were anywhere near downtown Atlanta last night, that joyful sound is likely what’s stuck in your head this morning.
Making its first World Cup appearance in 52 years, when the nation was known as Zaire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo came into Mercedes-Benz Stadium last night needing to get a result against Uzbekistan to move into the knockout rounds for the first time. Tens of thousands of sky blue-clad fans anxiously awaited history – only to be knocked back just 10 minutes into the game when the Uzbeks opened the scoring.
It took until the 68th minute for the Congolese to answer, when Yoane Wissa buried a spot-kick to equalize. Ten minutes later, Fiston Mayele pounced and redirected a shot into the back of the Uzbek net and the party was officially on.
One of the most special things about being at the World Cup is seeing pure joy in real life, and I was lucky enough to sit with a few coworkers in the stands to take in the vibe. The Congo fans danced, sang, hugged, shouted in disbelief. The noise rang around the stadium, with smiles plastered on overwhelmed faces. It was infectious – even the thousands of neutrals in the stadium couldn’t help dancing along.
When Wissa fired in the insurance goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time, it was utter delirium inside a stadium that had been derided by South Africa’s coach as “not a football ground” earlier in the tournament. When the full-time whistle blew, the Congolese team rushed onto the field to celebrate with their fans as tears ran down faces all over the stands.
It was the Congo’s first-ever World Cup victory and ensured they would return to Atlanta on Wednesday to take on England in the Round of 32. But judging by the celebrations in the stairwells, corridors and streets outside the stadium, you’d have thought they’d won the whole thing.
It was joy, pure and simple – the exact kind of thing that makes this tournament so great.
Does the USA have a real shot at winning the World Cup?
After winning Group D, the United States national team has its fans feeling more confident than ever that they can win the World Cup. But what do soccer fans from other countries have to say about the bold prediction? Andy Scholes went to the Los Angeles Fan Festival to find out.
Every day is soccer jersey day
CNN’s Leah Asmelash breaks down this summer’s hottest fashion statement: Soccer jerseys. They’re slick-looking, they’re comfortable, they hide sweat. What’s not to love?
Soccer jerseys! Who doesn’t have one? Olivia Rodrigo partnered with Spotify for a now sold-out throwback FC Barcelona jersey stamped with her bubbly monogram over the red and blue vertical stripes. The Gap has two limited-edition summer collections featuring jerseys inspired by “football culture,” while Nike has released two collections of Latin American-themed “statement” jerseys “rooted in the culture and emotion of the game.”
Also some people are wearing jerseys to play soccer in stadiums.
Many of these proliferating jerseys are not meant to be replicas of the game gear worn by favorite athletes. Instead, their designs either nod to official team jerseys or do something else entirely. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, to commemorate the city’s involvement in the World Cup, oversaw the release of retro-look striped New York jerseys — originally priced at $50 in an affordability initiative, but now listed on the luxury resale site Grailed for more than $1,000.
In lieu of a team badge, the jerseys in Mamdani’s municipal merch drop feature a soccer ball emblem. This World Cup summer, soccer is not just a team sport but a style, as jerseys have made the leap from die-hard fans to people aiming to look cool.
Like the polo shirt or rugby stripes before it, the soccer jersey is transcending its associations with the sport. Its basic form — a simple pullover with short or long sleeves and an optional collar — makes it harmonize with other clothing better than a baseball or basketball jersey would, while vibrant colors or sharp graphics make it stand out.
“That pink Inter Miami jersey, I feel like a cool girl might wear that on the dance floor in New York,” said fashion magazine maker Markus Ebner. “Not because she’s an Inter Miami fan; because it’s pink and it’s cool.”
While soccer is the most popular sport in the world, its position in the US has been more of a “slow acceptance,” said fashion photographer Phil Oh. Ten years ago, there were certain stereotypes around wearing jerseys, Oh said — hipsters calling the game “footy,” for example, a try-hard association inspiring eye rolls.
Read more from Leah’s piece later today at CNN.com
The final whistle: How Zlatan took over the World Cup
CNN’s Glen Levy takes a look at the friendly (we think? Maybe?) rivalry that has formed in Fox’s studio show between one of the greatest soccer players of his generation and a red-haired American commentator known for the hottest of takes.
For all the soccer storylines on the pitch at the 2026 World Cup, perhaps the most entertaining has come off it, between representatives of Sweden and the United States.
Fox is the domestic rights-holder of both the men’s and women’s World Cups, and this summer, executives have beefed up their coverage with a number of flashy hires, including Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, French legend Thierry Henry and British-born broadcaster Rebecca Lowe.
The now 44-year-old Ibra retired a few years ago with a glittering resume of titles across multiple European nations. But his career as a TV pundit is already proving to be just as noteworthy, and he’s seemingly had his new colleague Alexi Lalas in his crosshairs, akin to the many goalkeepers he mercilessly destroyed during his playing career.
Whether you’d been watching on TV, or seen the clips online, it won’t have escaped your notice that Zlatan had reveled in any opportunity to take Lalas down a notch or two in the early stages of the World Cup, including on the fashion front (“We can discuss…”).
One of the awkward early exchanges, which was supposedly about Landon Donovan’s comments on the French team, resulted in Zlatan exclaiming, “It’s not arrogance, it’s confidence. Ignorant people will say it’s arrogance, intelligent people will say it’s confidence.” (Thierry Henry’s eye-popping reaction left no doubt whom Zlatan was referring to).
But the segment from the Fox studio approximately a week into the tournament, as Lowe explained that Lalas was covering the USA-Australia game in Seattle, was quite something.
Lowe: “Chaps, Alexi left us.”
Ibrahimovic: “Who?”
Lowe: “Alexi will be back.”
Henry: “Your plan worked, Rebecca.”
Lowe: “Don’t you bring me into this, no chance.”
Ibrahimovic, to camera: “America, you’re welcome.”
Perhaps we’re all being played, and this is indeed playing out how Fox planned, and the “chaps” are getting along famously.
Sure enough, since Lalas returned from Seattle, there seems to have been a softening. Zlatan was even awarded Fox Sports’ “Employee of the Month,” and even (very briefly) took over from Lowe as the main anchor in a Colombia-Portugal pre-match segment on Saturday. During the bit, Zlatan asked his British colleague to make him a cup of tea and casually noted that he would eventually be president (we think he was joking).
Back in 2019, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ibrahimovic at an MLS media day when he played for the Los Angeles Galaxy, and he couldn’t have been more charming. Before the cameras rolled, I introduced myself, while offering my hand.
He shook it silently, before shaking his head as if to say, “Where are my manners?” Taking my hand in both of his, he looked me in the eye, and for avoidance of any doubt, simply stated one word: “Zlatan.”
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
