Eustaquio's stoppage-time winner sends Canada into World Cup last 16

Stephen Eustaquio scored in the 92nd minute and Canada beat South Africa 1-0 at Los Angeles Stadium to reach the World Cup last 16 for the first time. The stoppage-time winner turned the first knockout match in the tournament’s new Round of 32 into a milestone for the co-hosts, who are now through to a men’s World Cup knockout stage for the first time.

FIFA’s match report credited Eustaquio with the decisive goal and named him the Michelob Ultra Superior Player of the Match. Canada’s late strike came in the opening knockout game of the 2026 tournament, the first World Cup to feature a Round of 32, with the match scheduled for 12:00 in Los Angeles, 15:00 in Ottawa and 21:00 in Pretoria on 28 June 2026.

The result marked another step in Canada’s rise on home soil and beyond. Earlier in the tournament, Canada had already recorded its first-ever World Cup win, and this victory added a breakthrough in the knockout rounds as well. For a side still writing its own tournament history, Eustaquio’s finish was not just a winning goal but the difference between another encouraging run and a place among the final 16.

South Africa arrived with its own sense of occasion. FIFA had noted ahead of the match that Hugo Broos and defender Ime Okon were reflecting on South Africa’s first-ever knockout appearance at a World Cup, a reminder that the fixture matched two teams trying to extend their ceilings at the same time. South Africa were back at the finals for the first time since 2010, when the country hosted the World Cup, but had never before reached the knockout stages.

The setting made the stakes clear from the start. Canada and South Africa were handed the honour of contesting the first Round of 32 match in World Cup history, and the game ended with Canada taking that place in the bracket and South Africa’s campaign halted one round earlier than they had hoped.