FIFA World Cup 2026: Canada reach World Cup last 16 as late strike sinks South Africa

Stephen Eustaquios stoppagetime winner fired Canada to a 10 win over South Africa on Sunday in the first match of the World Cup knockout rounds as the cohosts advance to the last 16 for the first time in their historyWith both sides making their inaugural appearance in the knockout phase the game appeared to be heading for extra time before Eustaquio broke South African hearts with a clinical hit from just outside the areaCanada playing in Los Angeles despite being cohosts after failing to win their group will now face the Netherlands or Morocco in Houston in the last 16 on July 4 as South Africas World Cup adventure comes to an endWe felt like we could wear them down over time and it took 92 minutes but we got there said Canada coach Jesse Marsch The manager said his team could have made life a little easier on ourselves by converting multiple good chances earlier in the gameBut obviously the timing of the goal means that the win is incredibly dramatic and I think the effect that it will have in Canada and the inspiring of people will be immense he addedBefore the game Marsch had talked up the Xfactor of Canadas star Alphonso Davies available again after a hamstring injury But the Bayern Munich wingback who was yet to appear at this World Cup remained glaringly absent from the starting lineupStill Canada began on the front foot racking up chances against South Africas low block In the 22nd minute a pinpoint Eustaquio freekick found Derek Cornelius wide open on the sixyard line The Canada centerback utterly mistimed his headed effortSouth Africa threatened sporadically on the counter But in a frenetic period just before halftime Canada came agonizingly close From a corner Moise Bombitos header was cleared off the line before Tajon Buchanans followup shot was blocked by goalkeeper Ronwen WilliamsMoments later Khuliso Mudau crashed into the dangerous Richie Laryea but his penalty appeals were waved away That enraged a heavily Canadian crowd and the jeers grew louder after halftime as South Africa were content to exchange deep passes under little pressure while the clock ticked downJust past the hour mark Canada came close againSubstitute Niko Sigur slid a through ball to Tani Oluwaseyi whose shot was wellsaved by the goalkeeper and looped up toward Jonathan David but defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi just got there first and cleared brilliantlyDavies returnsIn the 75th minute Davies finally appeared to a huge roar and made an immediate impact From the left wing Davies found Jonathan David who laid the ball to fellow striker and no relation Promise David but his shot went wideMoments later Davies found Jonathan David again This time he shot from a tight angle but was denied by Williams In the second minute of stoppage time Canada finally broke through from the other flankJacob Shaffelburg raced down the right wing and pinged in a cross which was headed clear to Eustaquio The Porto midfielder on loan at Los Angeles FC chested the ball down and slammed it firsttime into the bottomleft cornerCanadas bench streamed onto the pitch as the stadium erupted celebrating a historic victory Its a shame we couldnt do it in Vancouver in front of our fans said Marsch But nonetheless I think you saw the character of the team the quality of the team the mentality of the team the togetherness of the teamSouth Africa coach Hugo Broos said his defeated side can be fairly satisfied with what we did by progressing from the group stage for the first time Okay we are disappointed we wanted to win but it would have really been a little miracle if we should have been in the third round he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever