Not including games in the COSAFA Cup or African Nations Championship, where they have largely fielded weakened teams, they have been involved in 21 knockout fixtures since their first against Algeria at the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations.
They have won eight of those, to go with seven outright defeats and a further six draws.
Of those six ties that went to penalties, they have three wins and three defeats in the shoot-outs.
It makes for a pretty even record down the years, with their latest knockout clash the disappointing 2-1 loss to Cameroon in the round of 16 at the Cup of Nations in Morocco in January.
But there have also been some big wins down the years, including beating Algeria, Ghana and Tunisia on their way to lifting the Cup of Nations title in 1996, beating then-hosts Ghana again in 2000 and perhaps most famously defeating hosts Egypt 1-0 in the round of 16 at the 2019 continental championship.
Their 2-0 win over Morocco at the Cup of Nations in 2024 was also epic in a tournament where their next three ties went to penalties and they only came up short against Nigeria in the semifinals.
Should this game against Canada do likewise, they will hope Ronwen Williams can summon those same powers of concentration.
Their top scorers in knockout matches down the years have been the late John Moshoeu and Benni McCarthy with three goals each, while Teboho Mokoena and Evidence Makgopa are the only players in the current squad to have scored in knockout games in the past with two each.
Of the 24 goals that South Africa have scored in knockout games, 14 have come after the 70th minute, a high percentage that shows they tend to leave things late.
The best goal they have scored is undoubtedly Katlego Mphela’s free-kick against Spain at the 2009 Confederations Cup. You will go far to see a better one anywhere in the world.