FIFA 2026 World Cup: Co hosts Canada lose home advantage now to play in USA
Losing their final group game to Switzerland on Wednesday means co-hosts Canada will play no further matches in their home country at this year’s World Cup.
Had Canada avoided defeat to finish top of Group B, they would have stayed in Vancouver for their last-32 tie and potentially a last-16 fixture.
However, a 2-1 loss at BC Place meant Canada finished second behind Switzerland and so Jesse Marsch’s side will travel to Los Angeles to play South Africa on Sunday (20:00 BST).
The former Leeds boss, who has guided Canada out of the group stage at a World Cup for the first time, said: “We wanted to be here in Vancouver, but we still have a massive opportunity ahead of us to find a way to push for the next match and find a way to still electrify the nation, even though it’ll be from Los Angeles.
“We came up a little short and that’s unfortunate. But we’re in the knockout round and we’re going to make sure that we’re up for it better.”
After drawing their opening game against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto, Canada thrashed Qatar 6-0 in Vancouver, where they ended the group stage with a first loss of the tournament.
Striker Jonathan David told Sports Illustrated:
“It was nice to have a pro-Canada crowd that pushed us on every game.
“We’re a bit disappointed and it’s mixed emotions. Obviously, we wanted to stay in Vancouver, so not getting that is a blow for everyone, but we’ll talk about it and get ready for the next one.”
