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A dramatic last-minute goal! Canada waited 40 years for this

In the early hours of June 29, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, in the 92nd minute, Eustáquio unleashed a powerful strike from the edge of the box, the ball skimming the grass and curling into the bottom left corner of South Africa's net. Canada beat South Africa 1-0, becoming the first team to advance to the Round of 16 in this World Cup and the first time in 40 years that the team has made it to the second round of the knockout stage. The match wasn't pretty, but it was thrilling enough.

In the first 45 minutes, Canada bombarded South Africa's penalty area. Bombito's header was cleared off the line, Buchanan's long-range shot grazed the post, and South Africa stubbornly held on to a 0-0 draw until halftime with a human wall defense. After the break, the game remained dull, with South Africa occasionally launching two counterattacks, but once they advanced into the 30-meter zone, no one could execute the final pass, and their forwards' old habit of losing possession when facing the goal returned. On Canada's side, Marsh and Davies kept stretching the flanks, with Eustáquio dropping deep to organize, but there were very few shots that truly threatened the goal.

In the 75th minute, a figure appeared on the sideline—Alphonso Davies, the Bayern Munich winger who had missed all three group stage matches due to injury, finally came on as a substitute in the knockout match. His speed immediately made an impact, with several runs down the flanks putting the South African defense on high alert, indirectly boosting the team's attacking rhythm. But even so, South Africa's defensive wall remained impenetrable. Everyone was silently wondering: Would it really come down to extra time or even a penalty shootout? In the second minute of stoppage time, a cross from Canada's right flank was cleared by a South African defender, and the ball fell to the edge of the box. Eustáquio didn't hesitate and volleyed it first time. The shot was perfectly placed and powerfully struck; the South African goalkeeper made a desperate dive, but the ball slipped just past his fingertips into the bottom left corner. 1-0! Instantly, the Canadian substitutes rushed onto the pitch in a huddle, while the South African players crouched on the ground, unable to collect themselves for a long while.

Defending for 92 minutes and conceding in the last two—this is the cruelty of knockout football. This was the first time the two teams had faced each other in an official match; their last meeting was a friendly in 2007, which South Africa won 2-0. Nineteen years later, both sides were making history: neither Canada nor South Africa had ever advanced past the group stage of the World Cup before. Both entered the Round of 16 with 1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss in the group stage, and whoever won would break through their ceiling for the first time in history. Canada had the last laugh. Eustáquio's decisive goal also made him the fifth player since the 1998 World Cup, when stoppage time began to be publicly displayed, to score a last-minute winner in the knockout stage that sent his team through. The previous four were Davies in 1998 (against Yugoslavia), Totti in 2006 (against Australia), Huntelaar in 2014 (against Mexico), and Chadli in 2018.