Canada created more history when they edged past South Africa in the first round of 32 clash in the World Cup 2026 after a late goal from Stephen Eustáquio. The clash at SoFi Stadium went into stoppage time as there seemed to be no end to the deadlock until Eustáquio volleyed one past Ronwen Williams into the bottom corner for a 1-0 win.
Both teams were making their maiden appearance in a World Cup knockout match after historic outings in the group stage, and the extra time loomed large with no separation between the two sides. The Les Rouges finally had their watershed moment when Alistair Johnston sent a long pass into the box to Eustáquio, who struck one into the bottom corner for the nation to erupt in joy.
“I shot with everything I had,” Eustáquio said after leading Canada to their first-ever World Cup knockout win. “For Canadian sports history, it’s going to be a moment where you’re going to kind of know where you were when that moment happened,” right back Alistair Johnston said. “That’s something that is not lost on us. We know that not only are we writing history in Canadian soccer, but in Canadian sport, and that’s a magical thing.”
Football finds it’s feet in ice-hockey nation
Canada’s first love is ice-hockey. Football is known as Soccer in the nation. But this achievement will be a memorable one for the soccer team. The country’s previous best men’s international result was winning CONCACAF Gold Cup championships in 1985 and 2000. The women’s Olympic team won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
“It’s just a moment of magic, and something just comes over your body,” Johnston said. “You see Steph sprinting away and just the whole team sprinting. It’s one of those moments that you’ll never forget.”
Meanwhile, the coach gave a spirited speech to the players after the final whistle was blown. “You guys are Canadian heroes today!” coach Jesse Marsch declared. “Canadian heroes for the future children of this country who play this sport. The sport has a big future because of you guys. You should be so proud of who you are. You should be so proud of this game. You never lost belief. You went after it, point after point, moment after moment. You are Canadian heroes!”
Canada will now sit back and wait for their round of 16 opponent. They are set to face a much more difficult task ahead with a last 16 clash against either the Netherlands or Morocco.
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