Stephen Eustáquio scored in the second minute of second-half stoppage time, and Canada beat South Africa 1-0 on Sunday for its first knockout match victory in a World Cup and a first-ever appearance in the round of 16.
A tense match at SoFi Stadium appeared to be headed for extra time until Eustáquio, who plays professionally for LAFC several miles away, put a stunning volley from outside the penalty area into the bottom corner of Ronwen Williams’ net.
Co-host Canada hung on with strong defensive play in the final minutes and advanced to face the Netherlands or Morocco in Houston on Saturday.
Canada manager Jesse Marsch gathered his players in a huddle after the whistle and gave a spirited speech, declaring, “You guys are Canadian heroes! Canadian heroes for the future children of this country who play this sport. This 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.”
Canada played its first three matches at home in Toronto and Vancouver while appearing in only its third World Cup, but was forced to become the first World Cup host to play on the road when it lost 2-1 to Switzerland last Wednesday.
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The Canadians were still the clear crowd favorite in the Los Angeles area between their traveling fans and thousands of supportive locals, including several in Eustáquio’s LAFC shirt who couldn’t have imagined the day they were about to enjoy.
“We never stopped believing,” Eustáquio said. “And I think the goal is really something that we deserved.”
Williams made five saves for South Africa, which played with remarkable heart while hanging in until the final moments in search of another historic win for the team known as Bafana Bafana. Canada had the best chances all day, but underdog South Africa stayed firm defensively and created a handful of excellent chances itself.
“We lost the game because there was a lack of power and speed in our team when I compare that with our opponent,” South Africa coach Hugo Broos said. “We had a difficult game, certainly. But when we look back, we can be fairly satisfied with what we did. We are disappointed, and we wanted to win, but we don’t have to be too much disappointed. What we did was good, and I’m very happy and proud of my team.”
Canada finally broke through when Alistair Johnston’s long pass into the box was cleared directly into the path of Eustáquio, who chested it down, struck it purely and started to celebrate almost immediately.
After finishing second in their respective groups, both South Africa and Canada were playing for their nations’ first knockout victories at a World Cup when they opened knockout play with the only match of the day.
Canada got a boost in the 75th minute when star defender Alphonso Davies came on for his first World Cup action. The playmaking Bayern Munich defender missed group play after injuring his hamstring last month for the third time this year, but finally returned in the same stadium where he tore a knee ligament in March 2025 in CONCACAF Nations League play.
Davies immediately made the best pass of the day to set up Promise David for a golden chance, but the forward hit it wide.
South Africa reached the knockout rounds for the first time with a 1-0 victory over South Korea last Wednesday, arguably the highest moment in Bafana Bafana’s checkered international history.
ESPN
