With a Round of 16 spot on the line, both sides gave everything in a fiercely contested battle for qualification. But ultimately, it proved to be a heart-breaking day for South Africa, as their journey came to a disappointing end after an added time goal for Canada saw the co-hosts progress to the next round.

All the details of the historic match between Hugo Broos' Bafana Bafana and Jesse Marsch's Canucks in Los Angeles, USA. Both sides reached the knockout stages for the first time ever having come second in their respective groups with identical records of P3 W1 D1 L1. The North American side did, however, enjoy a far superior goal difference of +5 (to SA's -1) thanks to their 6-0 drubbing of Qatar.

Downs' midfield lynchpin is at the centre of intense transfer speculation as his performances on the world stage attract heavy interest from abroad. With the 2026 FIFA World Cup in full swing, the Bafana Bafana sensation has been linked with a lucrative move to the Middle East.

The 27-year-old has opened up on the mental resilience required to overcome his opening-match horror show at the 2026 World Cup. After a red card against El Tricolor threatened to derail his tournament, the midfielder returned to inspire South Africa to a historic victory over the Taegeuk Warriors.

Comprehensive match preview of South Africa vs Canada at World Cup 2026. We talk tactics, team news and more ahead of this round of 32 clash in Los Angeles.

South Africa came into their fixture against South Korea knowing nothing less than a win would see them into the next round of the tournament for the first time in their history. At the final whistle they had their dream result as they ran out 1-0 winners to finish second in Group A and guarantee passage into the Round of 32 where Canada await. Here, in a post-match interview with SABC, two of Bafana's brightest stars react to their achievement.