Did Canada luck out with its World Cup playoff matchup?

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After blowing their chance to retain homefield advantage and likely face an easier opponent in the World Cup knockout stage by losing 2-1 to Switzerland Wednesday in Vancouver, the Canadian men's soccer team was gifted one of those two perks when South Africa upset South Korea 1-0 last night.

Prior to that result, Canada, currently 31st in the FIFA world rankings, was in line to meet the 28th-ranked Koreans in the round-of-32 matchup between the second-place teams from Group A and Group B on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET in Los Angeles. Instead, they get the 54th-ranked South Africans.

It's not quite the ideal scenario Canada could have earned by defeating or just tying the Swiss. That would have given the Canadians a playoff game in Vancouver (plus the opportunity to stay there for the round of 16) against a third-place team with a full week's rest, which would have been a godsend for this banged-up squad.

But, with that possibility out the window, this is probably the best they could have hoped for. The betting markets and the Athletic's model give Canada about a 70 per cent chance of beating South Africa on Sunday.

Still, it's not a matchup to be taken lightly. The South Africans finished group play with four points, the same as Canada. Their scoreless draw against 48th-ranked Czechia is arguably more impressive than Canada's 1-1 tie against No. 62 Bosnia and Herzegovina, and their 1-0 victory over South Korea came against a much tougher opponent than the 61st-ranked Qatar team that Canada beat (albeit by a massive 6-0 margin).

Canada advances to knockout round despite 2-1 loss to