Inglewood, California: Stephen Eustaquio scored in the second minute of second-half stoppage time, and Canada beat South Africa 1-0 on Sunday (Monday, AEST) for its first knockout match victory at a World Cup. A tense match at SoFi Stadium appeared to be headed for extra time until Eustaquio — who plays for the nearby Los Angeles FC — put a stunning volley from outside the penalty area into the bottom corner of Ronwen Williams’ net. Co-host Canada hung on with strong defensive play in the
final minutes of the tournament’s first round of 32 match. Coach Jesse Marsch’s team advanced to face the Netherlands or Morocco in Houston on Saturday, July 4. Marsch gathered his players in a huddle after the whistle and gave a spirited speech, declaring, “You guys are Canadian heroes! Canadian heroes for the future children of this country who play this sport. This sport has a big future because of you guys. You should be so proud of who you are. You should be so proud
of this game.”
Canada, South Africa, Stephen Eustaquio, SoFi Stadium, Ronwen Williams, Jesse Marsch, Los Angeles FC, World Cup, last 16, Netherlands, Morocco, Houston, July 4
Stoppage time goals are wild.
I didn’t even realize Canada was playing South Africa until the goal. That volley was lucky but also kinda insane? Now they’re facing Netherlands or Morocco, so that’s gonna be tough.
Second minute of stoppage time is crazy like… is that even real stoppage? Anyway Eustaquio plays for LAFC right, so of course he shows up for the Canadian team in LA. Marsch screaming about “future children” is a little much though, sounds like every coach speech ever.
So they beat South Africa 1-0 and now they’re in the last 16, right? I swear I saw something online earlier saying they were already knocked out, so this is confusing. Also SoFi Stadium feels cursed in a way because everything is so tense, like no one wants to mess up. Netherlands or Morocco in Houston… why not just decide that match at the same stadium, travel is annoying.