VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) 鈥� Canada advanced to its first-ever knockout round but also made history in a different way by becoming the first host to have to play outside of its borders.
Canada鈥檚 2-1 loss to on Wednesday will send the the team south to Los Angeles to face South Africa in the Round of 32. A win or draw against Switzerland would have kept Canada in Vancouver for knockouts.
鈥淥f course, we would have loved to stay in Vancouver, we鈥檙e not kidding anyone on there,鈥� defender Alistair Johnston told reporters on Thursday.
The two other co-hosts for the 2026 World Cup, the United States and Mexico, both won their groups and stay within their borders for the next round. The 2002 World Cup was co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, but neither squad played in the other country.
Canada鈥檚 coach Jesse Marsch was looking for the positives.
鈥淭here鈥檚 also a certain benefit to eliminating a little bit of the distractions and the circus around the whole thing, as much as we鈥檝e really enjoyed the home crowd,鈥� Marsch said.
Both Marsch and Johnston emphasized the importance of rest in preparation for Canada鈥檚 first elimination game.
鈥淭raining is not going to be so intensive,鈥� Marsch said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be about recovery, rehabilitation, and then re-energizing to really go again in the biggest game that we鈥檝e had as a program.鈥�
Wherever Canada plays, Johnston is optimistic the fans will be there too.
鈥淲e鈥檙e playing in LA, we鈥檙e not playing on Mars or something, you know what I mean,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 expecting a decent chunk of Canadian fans to get there.鈥� ___
Connor Joyce is a student in the University of Georgia鈥檚 Carmical Sports Media Institute.
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