South Africa’s Bafana Bafana will head to Los Angeles off the back of a shock 1-0 win over South Korea to face Canada in their first ever FIFA World Cup knockout game on Sunday.
The fact that it will be Canada’s first knockout game at the tournament, too, deserves no small mention. South Africa appeared previously at the World Cup in 1998, 2002 and 2010, while Canada played in 1986 and 2022. All prior campaigns for both of these teams resulted in group stage exits.
South Africa looked destined for another when they lost the opening game of the tournament to co-hosts Mexico 2-0 before conceding the first goal in their second game against Czechia.
Teboho Mokoena levelled the scores in the 83rd minute of that game, and then Thapelo Maseko’s 63rd-minute winner handed South Africa a memorable 1-0 win over South Korea to seal second place in Group A.
Canada have a chance to deepen their first ever knockout run at a tournament they are co-hosting with Mexico and the USA, while South Africa can finally prove at this World Cup that a sleeping giant of African and world football has finally woken.
Key points
Date: Sunday, June 28 at 12 p.m. local time in Los Angeles (9 p.m. CAT, 8 p.m. BST, 7 p.m. GMT).
Venue: Los Angeles Stadium, Inglewood.
How to watch: Viewers in South Africa can watch the match on SuperSport, who will be airing it on DSTV channels 201, 202 and 235. SABC holds free-to-air rights, while SportyTV is another option for streaming.
TSN, RDS, CTV, and Crave are options for Canadian viewers – while US-based fans can watch the game on FOX, Telemundo, or Peacock.
Referee: Portuguese referee João Pinheiro will take charge of this fixture. He is a high-profile, experienced official, but drew criticism for his handling of Bayern Munich’s UEFA Champions League semi-final clash against Paris Saint-Germain.
