World Cup 2026: Mixed feelings after Canada qualified from the group but lost home advantage

Canada suffered a loss in its final group match to Switzerland, meaning it will not play any more matches in its home country during the 2026 World Cup. Had Canada been able to avoid defeat and finish first in Group B, it would have played Vancouver in the Round of 32 match, and perhaps in the Round of 16 match as well. But a 2-1 defeat at BC Place saw Canada finish the group in second place behind Switzerland, so Jesse Marsh's side will have to travel to Los Angeles to face South Africa on Sunday (20:00 BST).

"We wanted to be here in Vancouver, but we still have a great opportunity to find a way to advance to the next game and fire up the nation, even if it's from Los Angeles," said Marsh, who led Canada out of the World Cup group stage for the first time. "We dropped some points and that's unfortunate, but we're in the playoffs and we're going to make sure we're better prepared."

After drawing their opening match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto, Canada cruised to a 6-0 victory over Qatar in Vancouver, ending the group stage with their first defeat of the tournament. Striker Jonathan David told Sports Illustrated: "It was great to be in front of a pro-Canada crowd that supported us every game. We're a little disappointed and have mixed feelings. Of course, we wanted to stay in Vancouver, so not getting that is a blow to everyone, but we'll talk about it and get ready for the next game."

Three elimination matches will be played in Canada; Two Round of 32 matches in Vancouver and Toronto, in addition to a Round of 16 match in Vancouver. While the United States, who already won Group D, qualified to play all their remaining matches at home. Mexico also topped Group A, and will therefore play in Mexico City in the Round of 32, as well as a potential Round of 16 match at the same venue if it advances. Broadcaster Christian Jacques believes the schedule could have been structured in a way that would have allowed Canada not to play outside its country in the round of 32 if it finished in the top two of its group. "The teams that finish second in the Mexico group and the Canada group have to play in the United States," he said. "There are other Round of 32 games happening in this country [Canada] and it would have been easy to avoid that. I've been talking about this for a long time with FIFA and Canadian soccer about this particular scenario. If you were a co-host and you had two Round of 32 games, it would have been easy to organize things so that Canada would stay in Toronto, if not in Vancouver, to stay here [in Canada], and then we wouldn't have to talk about those feelings." The paradox of qualifying for the round of 32 in the World Cup but losing that advantage at home.

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