CHICKENPIE.BMO Stadium, Los Angeles, Sunday night. South Africa finished second in Group A. Canada finished second in Group B. The round-of-32 draw put the two of them on the same pitch in California, and for ninety minutes it was the worst kind of knockout football — the kind where neither team wants to lose more than it wants to win. Then, in the second minute of stoppage time, Stephen Eustáquio hit a low strike from the edge of the penalty area, and the stadium erupted.
South Africa had produced one shot on target all night. Hugo Broos had spent the second half protecting a result that would have meant a knockout tie against one of the favourites. The decision backfired. Mbekezeli Mbokazi had produced one of the saves of the tournament to deny Jonathan David. Aubrey Modiba had cleared Moise Bombito's header off the line. None of it mattered once Eustáquio got the ball.
Eustáquio's goal — a clean left-footed strike from twenty yards, low and into the bottom corner — was the only moment of genuine quality in a scrappy game. The kind of strike you draw up on a tactics board before a knockout round: a midfielder arriving late, the ball sitting up perfectly, a finish that doesn't need to be powerful because it's in the right place.
You are Canadian heroes. The future of the sport in this country is huge because of you. — Jesse Marsch, in the post-match huddle
Marsch's team huddle speech was louder than the crowd. The former Leeds United boss has spent the past two years rebuilding a Canadian programme that had lost all six of its World Cup matches before this tournament — every single one. They beat Qatar 6-0 on 18 June for their first ever win at a finals. Now, ten days later, they have their first ever knockout-round victory.
Alphonso Davies came off the bench for the final twenty minutes. The Bayern Munich full-back, who had missed all three group matches with the hamstring injury he picked up against Paris Saint-Germain in May, was the second-half substitute that changed the game. He stretched the South African back line, gave Canada a different outlet, and made the Eustáquio goal feel inevitable. Without Davies, Canada looked stale. With Davies, they looked like a team that believed.
Marsch told his players afterwards they were 'Canadian heroes for the future children of this country, who play this sport.' He told them to be proud. He told them to remember the night. Then he walked off the pitch in Los Angeles with the largest smile in the stadium and a knockout-round tie against either the Netherlands or Morocco to plan for, on Saturday, July 4, in Houston.
South Africa leave the tournament having finished second in a group that included the hosts. Broos had played for the draw. The draw played him. The round of 32 is over for Bafana Bafana. The round of 32 is the start of something for Canada.
Daily Art Caricature by Chickenpie — World Cup 2026.
