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Captain Stephen Eustáquio scored a dramatic injury-time goal on Sunday to guide tournament co-hosts Canada to a 1-0 victory over South Africa, sealing a historic spot in the World Cup Round of 16.
Both teams were making their debut appearances in the knockout stages of the tournament.
The tight, defensive Round of 32 clash at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles seemed destined for extra time until Eustáquio broke the deadlock in the 92nd minute.
Eustáquio celebrated passionately with his teammates after firing the exceptional, match-winning strike past South African goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.
The crucial goal marks the midfielder’s first international strike for Canada since 2023.
The victory sends Canada to the Round of 16 in Houston on July 4, where they will face either Morocco or the Netherlands.
While tournament rules dictate that a 90-minute draw would trigger 30 minutes of extra time and a potential penalty shootout, Eustáquio’s late heroics allowed the co-hosts to advance in regular time.
Before kickoff, Canadian coach Jesse Marsch highly praised the “X-factor” of star winger Alphonso Davies, who recently recovered from a hamstring injury.
Marsch surprisingly left the Bayern Munich star out of the starting lineup, but Canada still dominated the early momentum against South Africa’s deep defensive block.
Centre-back Derek Cornelius squandered an early opportunity by mistiming a free header from a pinpoint Eustáquio free-kick, and South African goalkeeper Ronwen Williams later blocked a furious sequence of close-range Canadian shots just before halftime.
The match shifted in the 75th minute when Davies finally entered the pitch to a massive ovation from the heavily Canadian crowd.
The winger immediately energised the attack, setting up dangerous opportunities for Jonathan David and Promise David.
In the second minute of injury time, Jacob Shaffelburg raced down the right wing and delivered a cross that the South African defence partially cleared.
Eustáquio chest-controlled the loose ball and slammed a first-time shot into the bottom-left corner, sending the Canadian bench sprinting onto the field to celebrate a historic sporting milestone.
