Stephen Eustaquio scored in the second minute of second-half stoppage time to give Canada a 1-0 victory over South Africa on Sunday, securing the nation's first-ever World Cup knockout match win. The dramatic strike at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, sent Canada into the quarterfinals for the first time in men's World Cup history.
Late drama breaks deadlock
With the score tied 0-0 and extra time looming, Alistair Johnston's pass to the right side was cleared to the edge of the box, where Eustaquio collected the ball and drilled a clean strike into the bottom corner. “I shot with everything I had,” Eustaquio said after the match.
The goal sparked celebrations among red-clad fans at SoFi Stadium and at watch parties across Canada, one of three World Cup hosts. “Overall, it's pretty much a perfect knockout performance,” right back Alistair Johnston said.
Historic achievement for Canadian soccer
Canada's previous best men's international result was winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup championships in 1985 and 2000. The women's Olympic team won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Games. “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,” 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.”
Eustaquio's emotional journey
Eustaquio became a Canadian hero in Los Angeles, where he played about 10 miles away for the MLS club LAFC. The 29-year-old midfielder was born in Canada and played for Portugal in his younger days. He suffered back-to-back devastating blows when his mother died from brain cancer in 2023 and his father died of a heart attack in 2024. “I couldn't think of a more deserving human being in a group of incredible human beings, maybe Steph is the most deserving to have a moment like that,” coach Jesse Marsch said. “So I'm really happy for him. I think from somewhere his parents are looking down and they saw that.”
In 2019, Eustaquio committed to play for Canada. “Today, we have to enjoy the fact that we made everybody back home proud,” he said. “I am over the moon.”
Key players return
The Canadians got a boost when star player Alphonso Davies removed his substitute bib and entered in the 75th minute. He had not played in a World Cup match since injuring his hamstring in May with Bayern Munich in a Champions League semifinal. Eustaquio served as captain in Davies' absence during the group-stage matches.
“We have a special group. We feel like we are brothers,” Eustaquio said. “When we fight for each other, when we play for each other, special things like this can happen.”
Next challenge
Canada will play either the Netherlands or Morocco in Houston on July 4. “We're going to get a chance now at a true Goliath next weekend,” Johnston said, “and that's something that we're all extremely excited about.”
Eustaquio remained grounded after the win. “I don't want to say that the job is finished,” he said. “We have to be humble, we have to recover well and we know that in six days we're going to have a very tough team.”
