Canada Advances on Eustaquio’s Late Stoppage Time Winner

By Daniel Feuerstein | Inglewood, CA | June 28th, 2026

Canada played their first World Cup knockout-stage match as they had to travel to Southern California and face South Africa at SoFi Stadium after failing to win their group and remaining in Vancouver for the next two matches. It was a hard fought battle between the two teams as it remained scoreless throughout the entire 90 minutes, but when the clock ticked into second half stoppage time, that’s when the magic happened and Canada scored a historic goal to put them into the Round of 16 for the very first time in their soccer history as they knocked off South Africa by a final score of one goal to nil.

The winning goal comes in late

As the match was scoreless through 90 minutes, the fourth official posted five minutes of second half stoppage time. Canada, already having possession of the ball, made their attacking run, and a cross from Jacob Schaffelburg toward the South African area was made. A defender got underneath the ball and headed it out, but right toward Stephane Eustaquio. As soon as he settled the ball just outside of the area, a big shot bent toward the inside of the near post and beat the keeper in the second minute of five, and all of Canada came down to Los Angeles, and many others at their watch parties exploded in celebration. Once the entire five minutes were up, the referee blew his whistle, and Canada made history, advancing to the next round.

A difficult match against a difficult opponent

Today’s match was a high-paced game where both sides were playing strong defense and found ways to keep the ball from going into the back of the net. Maxime Crepeau of Canada and Ronwen Williams of South Africa played their position very well and had a strong backline tohelp them out when there was a goalscoring moment that needed to be stopped. While there were some tough challenges made, both teams stood tall and did an excellent job sticking to their assignments to make plays.

Alphonso Davies returns.

In the 75th minute, Canada’s Captain Alphonso Davies returned to the pitch as a substitute, replacing Tajon Buchanan. With a full 20 minutes of play having Davies back on the pitch, recovering from his injury gave the team a big boost and got them to fight for the win when they entered second half stoppage time. He showed some decent moves with the ball, and while you could see some rust on him, Davies coming back has meant a lot for Canada and the fans. How much more can he go in the next match is the bigger question.

Canada’s next opponent

In the Round of 16, Canada will await their next opponent as they will face either Europe’s Netherlands or Africa’s Morocco. The Dutch are trying to get back to the World Cup Final since the 2010 edition in South Africa when they fell to Spain, and Morocco is trying to reach the Semi-Finals again after they lost to France and put them into the third-place game. Both opponents will be very difficult, and this time Jesse Marsch will have his work cut out for him.

Canada edges South Africa in second half stoppage time to advance to the Round of 16 in the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Bad Dawg Sports will be there for every minute—sharp, direct, and on the ground as the Red Bulls continue with their youth movement as they take on anyone from Major League Soccer. Subscribe today for just $2 per year.