Canada have qualified for the knockout rounds of the FIFA World Cup for the first time in their history, but they have also made history in a different way — becoming the first host nation at a World Cup forced to play outside their own borders.
Canada's 1-2 loss to Switzerland in the final round of Group B forced the team to head south to Los Angeles to face South Africa in the round of 32.
A win or a draw against Switzerland would have kept Canada in Vancouver for the knockout stages of the tournament.
"Of course, we wanted to stay in Vancouver, and we're serious about that," Canada defender Alistair Johnston told reporters on Thursday.
The United States and Mexico, the other two co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup, both topped their respective groups and will therefore advance to the next round on home soil.
The 2002 World Cup was co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, but neither team played matches in the other country.
American Jesse Marsch, the Canadian national team head coach, was looking for the positives in the situation.
"There's also a benefit to getting rid of some of the distractions and the noise around the match, even though we greatly enjoyed having our fans there," Marsch said.
Both Marsch and Johnston stressed the importance of rest in preparation for Canada's first-ever World Cup knockout match.
"Training won't be too intense — it will focus on recovery and rehabilitation, then regaining sharpness for the most important match in the team's history," Marsch stated.
For his part, Johnston said: "We're playing in Los Angeles, not on Mars or anything like that, you know. I expect a decent number of Canadian fans to show up."