The 2026 FIFA World Cup has been all about making history so far for Team Canada. The country’s first time ever hosting the FIFA Men’s World Cup was followed by its first-ever World Cup win, a 6-0 blowout of Qatar at BC Place in Vancouver. Then on Sunday, came the most important milestone yet: the Canadians secured their first-ever knockout round win in thrilling fashion.

A nail-biting 1-0 victory over South Africa thanks to a stoppage-time goal by Stephen Eustaquio sent Canada through to the Round of 16, where it will now take on the winner of Morocco versus the Netherlands.

It was a beautiful goal from the midfielder, who corralled the ball following a failed cross before quickly striking it off the bounce and into the bottom left corner past goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.

Eustaquio cemented himself as a Canadian hero and was understandably emotional after the game when speaking about his late parents and the rest of his family.

“Yeah everything I do is for my family, for my parents, for my girlfriend, for my daughter, my brother, for my friends back home, for all of them,”

TSN reporter Matthew Scianitti followed up with a touching response, saying, “Canada says thank you, Stephen.”

The 29-year-old Eustaquio currently plays for Los Angeles FC of MLS, where he has tallied one goal and three assists across seven starts this season.

What a goal and moment it was for Eustaquio and all of Canada, who now get to sit back and watch two giants, as Jesse Marsch called them, in Morocco and the Netherlands duke it out on Monday night in Mexico.

Neither opponent will be easy, and Canada will undoubtedly be the underdog heading into the Round of 16. That said, the Canadians have confidence and momentum behind them right now, so you can’t rule them out from winning any given game.

Canada will be in Houston for their next match in the Round of 16 on Saturday, July 4, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. EST at Houston Stadium.

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