Canada Stun South Africa With Late Eustaquio Winner to Seal Historic World Cup 2026 Round of 16 Spot

Canada are through to the Round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup 2026 after captain Stephen Eustaquio scored a low strike from the edge of the box in the second minute of injury time to beat South Africa 1-0 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

The win makes Canada the first team into the last 16 of this tournament. They will face either the Netherlands or Morocco in Houston on July 4. It is also the first time Canada have ever made it past the group stage of a World Cup.

Eustaquio's goal came at the end of a tight, scrappy game that looked like it was heading for extra time. His right-footed finish was the standout moment of quality in a match that had very few of them.

Canada did most of the threatening despite South Africa having most of the ball. South Africa controlled 58% of possession and completed 550 passes to Canada's 381, but Canada led expected goals 1.32 to 0.13. Canada had 12 shots to South Africa's 6, put 7 on target compared to 1, and created four big chances to none. South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams made five saves to keep it level for long spells.

Canada also recorded 28 touches in the penalty area to South Africa's 9, and were sharper from wide areas, completing 5 of 12 crosses compared to South Africa's 2 from 8.

South Africa did win more tackles overall and made 16 interceptions, but a lot of that defensive work came deep and under pressure, and Canada kept finding ways back into dangerous areas.

There were other chances before the winner. Moise Bombito had a header cleared off the line by Aubrey Modiba, and Canada felt they should have had a penalty after Khuliso Mudau caught Richie Laryea. Manager Jesse Marsch was so angry about that call that he tried to confront officials at halftime and had to be held back by Bombito himself. Mbekezeli Mbokazi also made a vital block to deny Jonathan David.

The introduction of Alphonso Davies added more threat, and both Jonathan David and Promise David came close before Eustaquio ended it.

After the final whistle, Marsch gathered his players and told them: "You are Canadian heroes. The future of the sport in this country is huge because of you."

Canada had lost all six of their previous World Cup matches before this tournament. They beat Qatar 6-0 on June 18 for their first ever win at a World Cup finals, and this result keeps that momentum going.

South Africa, who came through as runners-up in Group A, had just one shot on target all game and looked willing to take their chances in extra time before Eustaquio made sure that never happened.