why is canada not playing in canada

Canada isn’t playing in Canada because it finished second in its group, and that placed its knockout match in Los Angeles instead of Toronto or Vancouver.

What happened

Canada had home games during the group stage, including Toronto and Vancouver, but a 2-1 loss to Switzerland meant it could not keep the home-field path for the round of 32. Reports also note this is the first time a men’s World Cup host nation has been forced to play a tournament match outside its own country.

Why the venue changed

The knockout bracket was set so that finishing second sent Canada to a different match location, and that location was in the United States. In other words, Canada’s result on the field determined where it played next, not a late venue change.

Extra context

Some of the confusion seems to come from the fact that Canada is a co-host, but the tournament’s site distribution is not equal across all three host countries. That means a Canadian team can still end up playing outside Canada once the bracket and stadium schedule take over.

About the player angle

If you meant Alphonso Davies specifically, he had also been managed carefully after missing the opening group games, with reports saying his return was eased in from the bench rather than as a full starter.