World Cup
At 74, Broos faces his final World Cup test against Canada
The Mexican pitch still glistens under the Guadalajara lights where Hugo Broos knelt to kiss the grass after South Africa’s 1-0 win over South Korea. The 74-year-old Belgian coach had just postponed his own farewell party, vowing that this World Cup would be his last as national team manager. Now, seven minutes before kick-off in Los Angeles, he stands on the brink of a second act.
South Africa meets Canada in the first knockout match of the expanded 32-team World Cup, a 1/16 final that begins the sudden-death phase of the tournament. Both nations make their first-ever appearances in the knockout stage, turning tonight’s fixture into an unprecedented debut for both sides.
Broos has already rewritten the script for South Africa. After a heavy opening defeat to Mexico, the Bafana Bafafana recovered to finish second in their group, leapfrogging on the final day with a 1-0 victory that sealed their historic progression. The coach, the oldest ever to guide a team into the knockout phase, has turned a campaign once dismissed as hopeless into a run that defies expectations.
Canada arrived in the United States with a different kind of breakthrough. After two previous World Cup group-stage eliminations without a single point, the Canadians claimed their first-ever World Cup point against Bosnia and Herzegovina, then secured their first-ever victory by beating Qatar. Their 2-1 defeat to Switzerland left them in second place, forcing them to leave Vancouver behind and play tonight in Los Angeles.
The Canadian squad features seven players with direct ties to Belgian football: Jonathan David (three goals in the group stage), Cyle Larin (two goals), Nathan Saliba, Promise David, Manai (own goal) and substitutes Alphonso Davies and Promise David. Their combined output accounts for seven of Canada’s eight tournament goals, with the eighth credited to a Qatari defender.
Broos has made one change to his starting eleven for this match, replacing Mbatha with Mokoena. On the Canadian side, Larin starts on the bench despite his two goals, while De Fougerolles, Choinière, Ahmed and Oluwaseyi are also omitted from the starting lineup in favour of Bombito, Eustaquio, Millar and Oluwaseyi.
At the pre-match press conference, Broos spoke of family pulling him toward retirement while football keeps him engaged. “Family is very important,” he said. “If it were possible, I would have liked them here, but the school year was still ongoing in Belgium when the World Cup started on 11 June.” He added, “They send me WhatsApp messages when they watch the matches. It’s nice to see them celebrate a win. I miss my family; I’ve been in South Africa the whole time. That’s one reason why I may stop after this World Cup. I miss my grandchildren. But when I see the clips, it gives me energy to keep going.”
Canada clinches round‑of‑16 spot with late strike in Los Angeles
Analyst Gilles Mbiye-Beya struck a cautious note about South Africa’s prospects. “It is not the best team,” he said. “I think they also got through because of South Korea’s incompetence in that group.” Yet he praised the side’s refreshing approach: “They want to play attractive football, and Hugo Broos certainly deserves credit for that.” Both teams now face a single-elimination tie that will either extend their World Cup journey or end it abruptly. The next round, the 1/8 finals, only resumes next weekend, leaving tonight’s losers with immediate elimination and the victors with a place in the last 16.