South Africa and Canada meet in the FIFA World Cup round of 32 on Sunday, June 28, at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood. The match kicks off at 12 p.m. local time in Los Angeles (9 p.m. CAT, 8 p.m. BST, 7 p.m. GMT). It will be the first World Cup knockout appearance for both nations.
South Africa reached the last 32 after a 1-0 win over South Korea sealed second place in Group A. The side lost their opening game 2-0 to co-hosts Mexico and conceded first against Czechia before Teboho Mokoena levelled in the 83rd minute of that match; Thapelo Maseko’s 63rd-minute goal produced the win over South Korea. Both countries had previously been eliminated at the group stage in their earlier World Cup appearances: South Africa in 1998, 2002 and 2010, and Canada in 1986 and 2022.
Canada finished second in Group B after a 1-1 draw with Bosnia & Herzegovina, a 6-0 victory over Qatar and a 2-1 loss to Switzerland. The side are co-hosting the tournament with Mexico and the United States. Canada’s preparation has been affected by injuries: Alphonso Davies has not played at the tournament while recovering from a hamstring problem, and Ismaël Koné suffered a broken leg against Qatar that will rule him out for the remainder of the competition.
Team news for the fixture includes the failed appeal that extends South Africa attacker Themba Zwane’s suspension from one game to three following his red card against Mexico. Teboho Mokoena is available again after serving a one-match suspension for yellow-card accumulation. Portuguese referee João Pinheiro will take charge of the match; Pinheiro has faced criticism for his handling of Bayern Munich’s UEFA Champions League semi-final with Paris Saint-Germain.
Broadcast options include SuperSport in South Africa on DSTV channels 201, 202 and 235, free-to-air coverage from SABC and streaming via SportyTV. Canadian viewers can watch on TSN, RDS, CTV and Crave; U.S. coverage is on FOX, Telemundo and Peacock. Expected lineups list Ronwen Williams in goal for South Africa and Maxime Crépeau for Canada, with attacking names such as Evidence Makgopa and Jonathan David among those projected to start. Relebohile Mofokeng led South Africa in key passes against South Korea with four, according to FlashScore, and the sides last met in 2007 when Teko Modise scored twice in a 2-0 Bafana Bafana win.
