Canada a winnable game? Broos, despite Bafana travel headache, seems to think so

Bafana Bafana will focus on regeneration and not training in the build–up to their 2026 Fifa World Cup last 32 clash against co-hosts Canada at Los Angeles Stadium on Sunday.

This was revealed by coach Hugo Broos after South Africa’s impressive 1-0 final Group A upset win over South Korea that earned them a historic first place in the knockout stages in the early hours of Thursday, South African time.

Over the coming few days, Bafana will have to negotiate logistical issues because they fly from Monterrey on Thursday back to Pachuca, 95km from Mexico City, which has been their training base, then to Los Angeles on Friday.

Canada should travel direct from Vancouver, where they lost 2-1 against Switzerland on Wednesday to lose top place in Group B and cede home ground advantage in the first knockout round, to Los Angeles.

Of particular concern for Broos is that the flight from Mexico City to Los Angeles is almost four hours and this means South Africa will arrive in the US on Friday and be left with less than two days to prepare.

“It is a bit of a pity that we have to travel to Pachuca on Thursday and then to LA after that. We wanted to go to LA on Thursday already, but Fifa didn’t allow it,” he said.

“That is a bit annoying because we wanted to travel tomorrow [Thursday] to where we are playing the match, but it’s not like that. We will have to recuperate very well in the next few days and training is not that important.”

Faced with this situation, Broos said Bafana have to deal with what is in front of them and do what they need to be ready for the match.

“Once you are at this stage [in the knockouts], you want more, and whether we will achieve what we want is another thing. But we will start analysing our opponents on Thursday and take it from there.

“Recovery is the most important thing and on Sunday you are going to see a team that believes in themselves and a team that is going to fight very hard for 90 minutes.

“Let’s hope we can have a good result, and if not, what we have done already is good.”

South Africa worked hard to beat fancied South Korea as they overcame a shaky start to the tournament where they lost 2-0 to Mexico in a less than convincing display in the opening match in Mexico City. The nerves settled, Broos’ formation was more apt and South Africa improved markedly, drawing 1-1 against Czechia in Atlanta. Against South Korea, there was some real authority in Bafana’s play.

“One of the big qualities this group has is that when things are not going well they are still a bunch of friends and this is very important. When things go badly, they work hard and the mentality of this group is amazing.

“They are working for each other. I am a coach who likes discipline, but it doesn’t mean I am there clock-watching and checking if everyone is there exactly on time and punish them.

“I give them freedom, but it is within limits and that is the right combination between me and them. There were a lot of critics in the last weeks, but there was a team on the pitch in this match.”

Broos pointed out his team has momentum and is hungry to use it to keep going in the tournament.

“It is really amazing what happened here with South Africa, we are not afraid of other teams. We will always fight like against South Korea and we will do it on Sunday also.

“The only thing I know and I feel is that the group is growing and this is important in a tournament. When you start at the top, usually you go down, but we were not on top and we are going up.

“I don’t know what is going to happen on Sunday, but I know the players will be ready to try to get to the next round, which will be even more historic. These players want to prove to everyone that they are a good team.

“We want to stay as long as possible in the tournament, but that will also depend on the opponent on Sunday and it is going to be a tough game.”

While there’s a potential disadvantage from the travelling to reach Los Angeles, Bafana, after a genuinely polished win against classy 28th-ranked South Korea, will feel they have a chance against 31st-placed Canada. There are a few reasons why.

Canada’s ceding of their Vancouver place stronghold was demoralising for them. South Africa drew international scepticism with their Mexico performance, but have settled and are coming off a monumental confidence boost from that display against the Koreans.

Canada are no longer minnows like they once were in world football ― the country has put in great effort and made strides in the sport and they have some players based in strong leagues, with many in Major League Soccer. Yet their ranking might flatter them a margin.

They have had some big injuries before and in the tournament, notably star Italian-based central midfielder Ismaël Koné, who broke his leg in their 6-0 win against Qatar. Bafana have their best player, central midfielder Teboho Mokoena, returning from suspension.

Canada’s Group B, where their other result was a 1-1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina, had the feel of one, conspiratorially, a little rigged by Fifa as winnable for the co-hosts ― it’s always good financially when host nations go far in tournaments. Bafana have just came through a tough, tight group.

There has not been a better opportunity for Bafana to reach a World Cup last 16. It will be tough against a team of hard-working, high-level professionals. But there just might be yet another round for Bafana to proceed in at this World Cup.