Canada can define its World Cup success on spectacular stage

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INGLEWOOD, Calif. — In recent vintage, anyway, this area is where the teams that capture the hearts of Canadians go to compete on the biggest stages in their respective sports.

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But this isn’t just the World Series, where the Blue Jays did their spectacular thing against the Los Angeles Dodgers, this is truly a global spectacle and the biggest game in the history of the country’s men’s national team.

At noon California time on Sunday, at the spectacular Sofi Stadium (or Los Angeles Stadium as FIFA has decreed) Canada will face South Africa in a Round of 32, win or go back home, match.

As the only game on the tournament schedule — and the opener of elimination play — the world will be watching, likely more eyeballs on a Canadian soccer match than any time in history.

After three games at home (and how is a host nation booted out for its first elimination game, anyway?), coach Jesse Marsch’s team will be in a more hostile environment for this first time.

He’ll have Alphonso Davies back in his lineup — finally and at some point — and hoping his team can force the play, much as it did in the closing 15 minutes of a 2-1 loss to Switzerland in its last Group B contest.

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“We are very clear on the qualities that (South Africa) have, we are very clear on what to expect,” Marsch said. “And it’s also a moment for us where we want to be at our best.

“We’ve talked a lot about getting stronger as the tournament goes on and now that we have Alphonso back and healthy, it’s a big moment for the team.”

What defines a successful World Cup for Canada?

One hopes the narrative of advancing through group play was such a massive step forward for the sport in Canada hasn’t filtered through to the team.

It has been a good tournament, for sure, taking care of business with a first Cup point followed by a first Cup win, the latter in spectacular fashion with a 6-0 blowout of Qatar.

But advancing out of group play in an expanded and thus watered-down tournament set up to help the three host nations had to be the minimum hope for this group.

And now drawing an opponent well lower in the FIFA rankings than they are (54th to 31st), the opportunity to advance to the Round of 16 has to be tantalizing.

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Is South Africa a gift opponent?

If the upstart South Africans, who like Canada are making their elimination round debut, are feeling the pressure, they weren’t showing it at their Manhattan Beach hotel on Saturday afternoon.

A loose group, their coach, Hugo Broos, has the Bafana Bafana playing with confidence, an unheralded group that had low expectations but has overachieved thus far.

They were a tough out in group play, sticking around in a 2-0 loss to Mexico despite having two players out with a red card, followed by a draw again Czechia, and then earning second spot in the group with an electrifying upset of South Korea.

“It doesn’t mean we are happy and we just play the game tomorrow and go home,” Broos said on Saturday. “Once you are there, you want more. If we can show the same mentality and same level we did against South Korea, we have a chance to win it.

“When I came here, whenever anybody talked about Bafana Bafana, it was a joke. I’m very proud of what we’ve done.”

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What the experts are saying

While the consensus is that Canada has the upper hand — an opinion backed by betting houses around the globe — there are no guarantees.

Canada will have to ditch some of the sloppiness that filtered in against the efficient Swiss and be more adapt at finishing than they were in Games 1 and 3 of group play.

“A decent opponent that they could beat and should beat, TSN analyst Steven Caldwell said. “Their attitude is going to be the most important thing. Canada has to play their game to make it a style that suits them. (If they do) they should have no problems.”

Adds TSN’s Kevin Kilbane: “Canada’s players are better man for man and the depth in the squad is better than South Africa.”

And this from former Canadian captain Atiba Hutchinson, also working on the TSN panel: “They have to be extremely professional. It’s a game they believe they should get a good result. Now just ramp it up.”

Need to know

The match will be contested at the third-largest U.S. venue (and the newest stadium) in the tournament, usually known as SoFi Stadium and home to the NFL’s Rams and Chargers … The winner of Sunday’s contest will face the survivor of Monday’s Morocco-Netherlands clash in Houston on July 7, a much more difficult assignment no matter who wins … SoFi is a half hour or so drive (depending on L.A. traffic) from the site of the 1994 World Cup final, which was played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

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