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Canada’s round of 32 game in US generates controversy
It is unusual for a team of the host nation to travel to another country or to another co-host for its game
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Prabhjot Paul Singh - Fri, 26, Jun 2026
- 04:00 EDT
- 27
Canadian players. / FIfa
Canada, one of three co-hosts of the FIFA World Cup finds itself mired in a controversy. After it lost its third and final Group B game against Switzerland, Canada, though, earned a place in the round of 32, but it lost the sheen of a host nation. It will have to travel to Los Angeles to take on the runner-up team of Group A, South Africa.
It is unusual for a team of the host nation to travel to another country or to another co-host for its game. Canada will be hosting two knockout round games but they exclude its own game against South Africa.
This has generated an animated discussion over the agony of a host nation to travel outside its own borders for a game similar of which it has been drawn to hold.
Incidentally, Canada will be the first World Cup host nation to ever play a WC game outside its own borders when it meets South Africa in Los Angeles on June 28. In the few instances of multi-nation hosting (2002, 2023 Women’s) the host teams always played within their country.
Canada has been drawn to face South Africa in the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup. At one stage, it looked as if Canada will take on Asian entrant South Korea.
South Africa, however, created a furore by upsetting South Korea 1-0 in Mexico City Wednesday to finish second in Group A. Thus is earned the right to challenge Canada, one of three co-hosts, outside its own territorial jurisdictions.
Canada advanced to the knockout stage for the first time despite a 2-1 loss in Vancouver to Switzerland, which topped the group.
The Canadians opened the tournament in Toronto with a 1-1 draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Canada then earned its first ever World Cup victory in a 6-0 win over Qatar in Vancouver.
Social media is alive over Canada’s failure to keep its initial knockout engagements to its own territory, especially when two such games are scheduled to be played in Toronto and Vancouver.
Of the 104-match tournament, Canada got 13 games to host. They included all three group matches. Had Canada won or drawn its last Group game against Switzerland, it would have played its second round game on its own soil. Instead, Now Switzerland will be playing in Vancouver.
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