Possession lied. That’s the first body on the floor. South Africa held 58% of the ball and completed 537 passes to Canada’s 377, which is the sort of stat line that seduces casual bettors into thinking control equals threat. It doesn’t. Not here. South Africa produced just 0.13 xG from 6 shots, with only 1 shot on target and, more damningly, only 1 shot from inside the box. That is not attacking football; that is sterile circulation dressed up as ambition.
What do thirteen shots buy at a World Cup? For Canada, exactly nothing: Switzerland won 2:1 with less than half that volume, and the distance between the two performances earned this group-stage match a Crime Index of 77%.