Canada star Alphonso Davies has missed all three group games for the co-hosts.
The flying full-back picked up a hamstring strain for club side Bayern Munich against Paris Saint-Germain during their Champions League semi-final, and was initially sidelined for Canada's opener against Bosnia & Herzegovina as a result.
There was initial hope that he could make his return against Qatar, and then against Switzerland, but the co-hosts' talisman has failed to appear at the tournament so far.
Is Alphonso Davies injured for Canada vs South Africa?
Despite missing Davies, Canada performed excellently in their first two group games, battering the Qataris 6-0 after a valiant 1-1 draw in the opener.
Their third fixture against Switzerland, however, was where head coach Jesse's March really missed his talismanic skipper, with the Canadians struggling to create anything of note until they were virtually out of the game.
Despite Marsch telling the media, “He's in training, he looks great, he looks fit, he looks ready to go… I expect him to play,” ahead of the Switzerland game, the former Leeds United boss has backtracked on those comments after failing to bring Davies on as a substitute.
"He was never going to play today. I wanted Switzerland to have to think about him," he said.
“I listened to their news conference (and they) had three questions about Alphonso Davies, so they at least had to prepare for that," he said.
Whether or not Davies will play a part in the Round-of-32 clash against South Africa remains unclear for now, with Marsch perhaps inviting himself to criticism from his own supporters – unaware at the time of the decoy ploy – for not using a player named on the bench.
Unfortunately for Canada, they will not be playing at home again in this tournament.
Finishing first in Group B would have meant that Les Rouges would have remained in Vancouver for the Round of 32, plus a potential Round of 16 clash, had they have got that far.
Likewise, Mexico, who won Group A with three wins from three, will play their next match at Mexico City's Azteca, with another fixture at the 1970 and 1986 final venue on the horizon if they progress.
Canada finishing second in the group, however, means that they will head to Inglewood's SoFi Stadium for their next match, while Switzerland get to play at Vancouver's BC Place for the next fixtures, should they win them.
