The co-hosts of the tournament have advanced to the knockout stage, and while some matches are being held in Canada, the Canadian team will not be playing their next fixture on home ground. So, why are Canada scheduled to play in Los Angeles?
Canada, one of the three host nations for this summer’s World Cup, will see their first-ever men’s World Cup knockout fixture take place outside the country. Rather than playing in Canada, Les Rouges will travel south to Los Angeles to face South Africa at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, June 28. The match is set to kick off at midday local time (8 pm UK time).
This comes despite both BMO Field in Toronto and BC Place in Vancouver being slated to host later round matches.
The venues for all knockout fixtures were predetermined before the tournament began, based on each team’s final group position and the ranking of third-placed sides. As per the tournament’s layout, Canada could have ended up playing their round of 32 match in Vancouver rather than Los Angeles.
However, for that to happen, Canada needed to top Group B—just as Mexico managed by leading Group A.
Under Jesse Marsch’s management, Canada appeared to be on track to achieve that after entering their final group game against Switzerland needing only a draw to secure first place due to their superior goal difference.
But Switzerland had other plans, securing a 2-1 win in Vancouver that saw them leapfrog Canada to finish top of the group instead.
As a result, Switzerland, not Canada, have been allocated Vancouver for their next fixture, which is scheduled for Thursday, July 2. Meanwhile, Toronto will host Portugal’s clash with Croatia earlier that same evening.
Canada will host just one more match in the tournament thereafter, with Vancouver set to stage a round of 16 fixture. That game could feature Switzerland again, depending on the outcome of their round of 32 match, where the winner will face either Colombia or Ghana.
From the quarter-finals onwards, all remaining matches in the competition will be played in the United States of America.
