Canada made FIFA World Cup history in their second group game as South Africa kept their hopes of a knockout round spot alive.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup action continued with another four games on day 8 as the second round of the group stage kicked off.
Czech Republic and South Africa kicked off matchday 2 action before Switzerland took on Bosnia and Herzegovina. Co-hosts Canada then faced Canada before another co-host, Mexico, wrapped up the day’s action with a clash against South Korea.
Here’s a recap of everything that happened on day 8.
South Africa and Czech Republic share spoils
Having both dropped points in their opener, South Africa and Czech Republic had no margin for error when they faced each other in their second group game in Atlanta.
It was a game neither team could afford to lose if they wanted to keep their hopes of qualifying for the knockout rounds alive.
The game started at a fast pace, with the Czechs taking the lead inside six minutes, courtesy of a strike from Michal Sadilek.
Sadilek’s goal put the Bafana Bafana on the brink of a group stage exit, as the Czechs led for most parts of the game.
However, with seven minutes left, Teboho Mokoena scored from the spot to earn a point for the Hugo Broos men and keep the team’s hopes alive.
Switzerland bounce back against Bosnia
After their disappointing 1-1 draw in their opener against Qatar, despite creating many chances to win the game, Switzerland were rightly criticised for their performance.
However, the Swiss army bounced back in their second match with a 4-1 victory over Bosnia in Los Angeles, although the performance was still not convincing.
The Swiss struggled for the first 73 minutes of the game, as the Dragons were a tough nut to crack.
However, all that changed in the 74th minute, as substitute Johan Manzambi opened the scoring for Switzerland.
Manzambi’s strike opened the floodgates, as Ruben Vargas made it two in the 84th minute after Tarik Muharemovic was sent off for Bosnia.
The Swiss took advantage of the sending-off as Manzambi scored his second of the game to make it three in the 90th minute.
Although Bosnia pulled one back in added time through Ermin Mahmic, Granit Xhaka’s penalty in the seventh minute of added time completed a comfortable win for the Swiss.
Canada made history by securing their first World Cup with a comprehensive 6-0 demolition of a sorry Qatari side.
The Canadians came into the clash after drawing their first game 1-1 against Bosnia but wasted no time in establishing dominance against Qatar.
Cyle Larin put Jesse Marsch’s men ahead in the 16th minute before Jonathan David doubled the advantage in the 29th minute.
Things then went from bad to worse for Qatar after Homam Ahmed was given a straight red card for stopping a goalscoring opportunity.
Ahmed’s dismissal sucked out the little life Qatar left, as Canada went on to score four more goals. David scored his second of the game just before the break to make it three, before Nathan Saliba made it four in the 64th minute.
Al Mannai’s own goal made it five before David completed his hat-trick in the 90th minute, completing an emphatic victory for the co-hosts.
Mexico edge out South Korea in a boring game
Following Canada’s comprehensive win, Mexico took to the pitch for their second group game against South Korea.
The co-hosts had started their campaign with a 2-0 win over South Africa, while South Korea came back from a goal down to beat the Czechs.
This was supposed to be an exciting match, but it was a drab match that was settled by Luis Romo’s goal. The centre-back capitalised on an error from South Korea’s goalkeeper to seal the win for the Mexicans and book their spot in the round of 32.