Canada hopes to avoid slow start in World Cup knockout match against South Africa

VANCOUVER – Forward Tani Oluwaseyi knows Canada can’t afford another slow start when it faces South Africa on Sunday in a FIFA World Cup knockout match in Los Angeles.

In its opening World Cup game against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto, Canada gave up a goal in the 21st minute and needed Cyle Larin to score in the 79th minute to earn a draw.

Canada controlled the entire match in a 6-0 win over Qatar for the country’s first ever World Cup victory. But then in front of a roaring home-town crowd in Vancouver, with a chance to finish first in Group B and host an elimination game at BC Place Stadium, Canada struggled to find it’s pace against Switzerland.

Defensive breakdowns early in the second half allowed the Swiss to score twice in an 11-minute span and go on to a 2-1 victory. Promise David scored Canada’s goal in the 76th minute. A late Canadian rally fell short.

“I think it’s just being wary of how sometimes we can start a game, trying to be more like we were against Qatar and less like we were against Switzerland,” the 26-year-old Oluwaseyi said Friday before Canada practised in a pouring rain.

Forward Tajon Buchanan said getting off on the right foot is a “a mindset thing.”

“It’s about putting all that in the past aside,” said the 27-year-old from Brampton, Ont., who is Oluwaseyi’s teammate with the Spanish club Villarreal. “Now it’s about going out there competing and having a strong start and playing a strong game for 90-plus minutes.”

Head coach Jesse Marsch was asked about Canada sometimes being passive during matches.

“How to explain passivity,” Marsch said after Wednesday’s loss to Switzerland. “I don’t know because everything we work on and work through is about really being aggressive and using our athleticism and our team speed.

“The only thing I feel a little is when the momentum, or when the occasion is momentous, players get a littler tighter and then their natural reaction is to pull back a little bit instead of going for it. We’re going to make sure that we evaluate that again and make sure that we incorporate that again for our next match.”

Oluwaseyi, who was born in Nigeria and grew up in Mississauga, Ont., said the way an opponent plays can sometimes dictate the flow of a game.

“Sometimes it has been a slow start but other times we have to give credit to the other team as well,” he said. “I just think Bosnia matches our intensity.

“Because we’re used to dominating teams in that aspect, it looks like we had a slow start.”

Defender Alistair Johnston said Canada needs to be flexible in adjusting to circumstances.

“We are a team, with our tactics and how we play, we tend to wear teams down as the half progresses,” said Johnston, 27, who plays for the Scottish Premiership club Celtic

“Sometimes we have a plan when we start a match. It’s OK if that’s not working. Then you’ve got to be brave and feel the game. Start rolling things out, find some shorter passes, being brave in terms of staying on the ball.”

Even with the loss to Switzerland, Canada claimed second spot in Group B to earn the country’s first-ever knockout game in a men’s World Cup.

South Africa, runners-up in Group A, earned its first-ever spot in a World Cup knockout game with a 1-0 upset of South Korea on Wednesday.

In their only other meeting, South Africa beat Canada 2-0 back in 2007 in an international friendly in Durban.

Buchanan said both teams may spend the opening minutes of Sunday’s match feeling each other out.

“Like any game, when it’s a new opposition, you try to learn as much as you can prior,” he said. “You try and see what they do well and they don’t do well. You try and exploit those things it comes to the match.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2026.

Note to readers:This is a corrected story. A previous version had the incorrect day for the match.