Live updates: Canada faces South Africa in 1st knockout match of FIFA World Cup 2026

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Here we go, Canada! Les Rouges kick proceedings off at the Los Angeles Stadium.

The players are now on the field for the anthems. 

Players and coaching staff alike belted out O Canada and there's a significant roar from the crowd immediately after. There could still be some home-field advantage here.

It's around 21 C and sunny in this amazing Los Angeles amphitheatre.

Canada, are you ready?

Canada midfielder Ismaël Koné, whose left leg was broken in the team's June 18 match against Qatar, is on the pitch in crutches before the game. 

Qatar's Assim Madibo was issued a straight red card and given a five-match suspension Wednesday for the tackle that broke Koné's leg. 

Koné underwent surgery on a broken tibia and fibula.

For all of the criticism expanding the World Cup received in the buildup, Africa nations have shown they deserved every additional spot they got.

Of the 10 countries from Africa that qualified for the 2026 World Cup, nine made it into the Round of 32.

Four of those — Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast and South Africa — are making their first knockout round appearances ever.

That's made for joyous vibes across the African continent, and Toronto's diaspora got to experience some of that in the group stage — three African teams played a game in the city this month, with two of them (Ghana and Senegal) winning.

Earlier in this World Cup, I spoke to some local fans and Ghanaian players about the pan-African vibes the World Cup brought to the city. You can read more here. 

So, we will have a winner today. 

If that isn't decided after the regulation 90 minutes plus stoppage time, we'll go to 30 minutes of extra time.

If the score is still tied after extra time, the match is decided by the dreaded penalty shootout. If you've never experienced a shootout involving a team you're emotionally invested in, start steeling yourself now — even if it doesn't come to pass. 

I'm going to burst that bubble immediately, though — because the knockout stage is where matches can get more cagey. The stakes are higher. It's win or go home (or watch from the sidelines, if you're a co-host), and no one wants to be too cavalier and make a critical error that could send their team — and their country — through the exit door.

That said, the Round of 32 could be more loosey-goosey than the later stages because we have a total of six knockout phase debutants, including the two playing today. Canada, South Africa, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ivory Coast have already made history for their respective countries, so you'd expect them to play with a little more freedom.

So, what can we look forward to? I'm not sure anyone exactly knows the FIFA algorithm that determined the final bracket, let alone how the third-place teams were allocated, but the table is set and we have some mouth-watering matchups ahead.

In the Round of 32 we have a David and Goliath showdown between Cape Verde and defending champion Argentina. There are also potentially bruising encounters between Ivory Coast and Norway, Belgium and Senegal, and Croatia and Portugal. 

But the best of the bunch for me is Brazil vs. Japan and Morocco vs. The Netherlands. It's a shame we're going to have to say goodbye to two of those teams so early in the tournament. 

If you dare look a little further ahead in the bracket, two European heavyweight clashes are potentially looming in the Round of 16: France vs. Germany and Portugal vs. Spain, should they all progress. Oh. Em. Gee. 

So, how was the group stage for you? Enough entertainment, surprises and goals? 

This expanded phase felt a little bloated toward the end, truth be told, and there were a few matches the world could have simply done without (I won't be streaming replays of the goalless draws between England and Ghana or Australia and Paraguay anytime soon).

But we were compensated with some seismic shocks — Cape Verde in the last 32! Uruguay out! Ecuador giving its all to beat Germany! — as teams chased a place in the Round of 32.

We've also had a feast of goals, from commanding headers and deft volleys to 30-yard screamers into the top corner (goal of the tournament so far, thanks to Haiti's Wilson Isidor). This expanded tournament was always odds-on to register a record number of goals, but the pace alone has been eye-opening: 215 goals in 72 matches averages out to almost exactly three per game. That's entertainment, folks!

I'm set up in the press box at the Los Angeles (SoFi) Stadium. It didn't take long for fans marching on the streets toward the arena to work their way inside. Canadian fans are quickly filling up the stands and have already started cheering as the men's national team have taken to the pitch for warmups.

A few sections inside the stadium are largely filled with red jerseys. We'll expect more as we approach kickoff. For now, lots of fans are lined up for concessions.

There are a lot of happy faces and a lot of pride from fans from both Canada and South Africa. Some of them are even embracing each other and taking selfies. But that kinship will likely end come game time.

Forward Tani Oluwaseyi knows Canada can't afford another slow start against South Africa.

In its opening World Cup game against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto, Canada gave up a goal in the 21st minute and needed Cyle Larin to score in the 79th minute to earn a draw.

Canada controlled the entire match in a 6-0 win over Qatar for the country's first-ever World Cup victory. But then in front of a roaring hometown crowd in Vancouver, Canada struggled to find its pace against Switzerland.

Defensive breakdowns early in the second half allowed the Swiss to score twice and go on to a 2-1 victory after a late Canadian rally fell short.

"I think it's just being wary of how sometimes we can start a game, trying to be more like we were against Qatar and less like we were against Switzerland," the 26-year-old Oluwaseyi said Friday before team practice.

Fellow forward Tajon Buchanan said getting off on the right foot is a "mindset thing."

"It's about putting all that in the past aside," the 27-year-old said. "Now it's about going out there competing and having a strong start and playing a strong game for 90-plus minutes."

Remember, there's another team here today. This South African reporter is doing his best to conduct an interview amidst the home country faithful. 

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