Prince Albert feeling the hype as Canada heads to FIFA World Cup’s knockout stage

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Canada ended group play at 1-1-1 (W-D-L) with a group-high +5 goal differential. They tied 1-1 in their first match against Bosnia and Herzegovina before decimating Qatar in their second match 6-0, which ties the largest win in this year’s World Cup, so far, alongside Germany’s 7-1 rout of Curaçao.  

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Then, the Canadians closed out the group against Switzerland, which ended in a 2-1 loss. 

Ivkovic credited Canada’s success at the tournament to the new face guiding the team from behind the bench. 

“I really think that [Jesse] Marsch is doing an excellent job. In his ten years that he was working in Europe, I think something like that is huge experience, which is what we were always missing before, was this tactical knowledge. We have always had skilled players that are fast and organized, but I believe that kind of tactical knowledge is what we really got with him being head coach, and everyone can see development in that area.” 

With their ticket punched into the knockout stage, Canada will now face South Africa in a do-or-die match on Sunday in Los Angeles. 

Unlike Canada, the South Africans, who’s national team is called Bafana Bafana, managed to narrowly squeak into the Round of 32 with an historic 1-0 win over South Korea, marking the first time the nation has qualified. That helped Bafana Bafana secure second in Group A, ahead of South Korea and behind Mexico. 

While Ivkovic likes Canada’s odds, he said South Africa shouldn’t be treated as another walk in the park. 

“Everybody will say, ‘Yeah, you’re playing South Africa. It’s easy.’ But trust me, that’s a very good team. They play very defensively and are extremely good in contact attacks, so that’s the only issue I may see. I don’t think there’s any other way they can score on us, but we got to be very, very careful. 

“Overall, I think I really think it’s looking good [for Canada] and I really think there’s chances for us [to go] even going further.” 

The winner of Canada and South Africa will advance to the Round of 16 where they will face the winner of Morocco and The Netherlands in Houston on July 4. 

More information about the FIFA World Cup can be found here. 

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com