Canada and South Africa Set to Make History at 2026 FIFA World Cup

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is making history in more ways than one. Not only will it feature 48 nations, up from the traditional 32, but two teams that have never reached the knockout stage, Canada and South Africa, are set to face each other on June 28 or 29 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

Canada finished second in Group B after a 2-1 loss to Switzerland, while South Africa secured second place in Group A with a 1-0 win over South Korea. This match will be played outside Canada's own borders for the first time, an unprecedented wrinkle for co-host countries.

The partnership between FIFA and Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange, has also put crypto at the forefront of World Cup news. While neither team has a dedicated fan token, prediction markets and exchange-based trading are driving interest in this matchup.