'We wanted to give this win to all of the Canadians': Eustáquio, CanMNT reflect on dramatic win vs. South Africa
As the ball fell to Stephen Eustáquio in the second minute of stoppage time, he felt the weight of a nation on his shoulders.
With his CanMNT side tied at 0-0 in their Round of 32 clash against South Africa, they were looking for a moment of magic from someone. It didn’t matter who it was - they just needed a hero, one who would allow them to keep their 2026 World Cup journey going.
But while many would’ve expected Alphonso Davies or Jonathan David to step up and provide that moment, given their quality, it’d be Eustáquio who found the decisive breakthrough.
Canada’s unsung hero in midfield, his best work is usually done deeper on the pitch, but in this moment, he had pushed forward, and all of a sudden, he found himself in the perfect position to make a difference for his team.
Just as many kids around the world practice doing in their backyard, as they all dream of one day scoring a winning goal in the knockout stage of a World Cup for their country, Eustáquio steadied himself, controlled the ball, and fired a shot into the bottom corner that sent a country into a rapture of celebration.
In that moment, that weight of a nation didn’t feel heavy at all - instead, it powered him, giving strength to his stiff legs and sharpening his tired mind. For a second, he knew that all he had to do was strike the ball as if he were doing shooting practice at the end of a training session, and he did just that.
“We worked a lot to get this victory,” Eustáquio told TSN after the game. “We really wanted to give this win to all of the Canadians, and we just kept believing, kept pushing, and I don’t think we could’ve imagined it any other way, it was an amazing goal, and when I shot, I felt that everybody shot with me, everyone put a little bit of power on it, and it went into the back of the net.”
It’s so fitting that it’s Stephen Eustáquio who fires the #CanMNT to their 1st-ever knockout round win at a men’s World Cup, after his 2022 WC ended prematurely
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) June 28, 2026
With all the quiet work he does in midfield… it’s deserved that he gets the headlines today pic.twitter.com/19NefmBmJA
While he and his teammates were calm in that moment, however, what came afterwards can be best described as bedlam. As Eustáquio made a beeline towards his own bench to celebrate, he was closely followed by his ecstatic teammates, and he was met by an even more enthusiastic group of players once he reached the bench, where he leaped into a mass of bodies. And around that pile of players buzzed other players, coaches and staff - head coach Jesse Marsch seemingly didn’t know what to do with himself at that moment, as his emotions switched back and forth between shock and elation.
“It was one of the most surreal moments I’ve ever had,” Canadian full back Alistair Johnston said of the moment. “Seeing (Eustáquio) turn around and run back to our bench, and you could see our crowd in the background just absolutely jumping for joy, our bench sprinting out, we were exhausted, it was the 90th minute, but you found a second wind just to celebrate.”
For a team that is known for their togetherness, it was a fitting scene - after putting in a hard-fought shift throughout the rest of the game to earn the result, it was only right that instead of running off and puffing his chest to celebrate his goal, Eustáquio chose to share the moment with his teammates.
When the tight-knit nature of this Canadian team is mentioned, that celebration can be pointed to as the sort of moment that shows the authenticity of this group, one that shines through both in good and bad moments, as this tournament has shown.
“It’s unbelievable,” Jonathan David said of how this victory felt. “Especially in a game like this that was so hard, there was nothing in it, and to win it at the end, there’s no better feeling, it shows the resilience of the team, the brotherhood that we have, to be honest, I’m speechless.”
Because of that, Marsch didn’t waste much time after the game in sharing with his side how he felt about that performance.
It might not have been their best showing ever as a group, as they were sloppy in possession, made a few defensive mistakes and struggled in front of goal up until Eustáquio’s finish, but that didn’t matter in the end.
When needed, they stepped up, rolled up their sleeves and threw themselves into the fight, and got the job done that way. While it wasn’t pretty, it was uniquely Canadian - and that’s why Marsch made sure to remind the team that a whole nation would be proud about the way they represented the values of this country in that moment.
“It’s the hard work from these guys, the character of them, they’re Canadian heroes, and that’s what I told them at the end,” Marsch said. “They’re now Canadian heroes, and I’m so happy for them.”
He added: “The whole group dug in. It wasn’t an easy game, and we knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game. We thought we could be better on the day, but we had to prove it, and in the end, we did.”
"You are Canadian heroes!"
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 28, 2026
Jesse Marsch gives a heartfelt speech to the #CANMNT after their historic win.#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/n4bYk3Eqjp
While this Canadian team will now soak in the feeling of joy that will come with this victory, which was their first at a men’s World Cup, the journey isn’t done here for them yet, either.
Once the celebrations die down, Canada will turn their focus towards the Round of 16, where they face a true heavyweight in either the Netherlands or Morocco, who will clash in Mexico on Monday.
In that Round of 16 clash, no matter what happens, Canada will want to go out and put in another good account of themselves. As they’ve shown, they can trouble anyone in the world on their day, so why not continue doing that even as they get set for a game that will be nothing like they’ve ever experienced, given its magnitude?
“When it comes to a knockout game at the World Cup, belief plays a big part in it,” Eustáquio offered. “Now, we’ll get Morocco or the Netherlands, and who knows, on a good day, we can make things happen, and even if our quality isn’t there and we have an off-day, but if we keep believing and keep working, things might go our way.”
Certainly, Marsch isn’t wasting any time in preparing for the game, as one would expect a coach to do. Within hours of Canada’s win vs. South Africa, he’ll be on a plane to Mexico for Monday’s match, as he doesn’t want to miss the opportunity to scout both potential opponents.
“I’m flying to Monterrey today to go see the game,” Marsch said. “I’ll see that tomorrow, I’ll be in the stadium, I’ll check what’s going on. Hopefully our guys have a good regen, and then we’ll be ready to throw everything at a giant, right? Maybe it’s the Netherlands, maybe it’s Morocco, but this is what I wanted - I wanted this team to show that they deserve the right to go after a giant, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
As Marsch does that, however, his players will continue to enjoy every moment of this victory. For a country that, less than a decade ago, had only been to one men’s World Cup, coming all the way back in 1986, it still feels surreal that they’re not only at their second one in four years, but that they’ve now gone from a team that had no wins at this tournament in their first two visits to one that has now won a knockout match.
That’s worth savouring, as this Canadian team is continuing to redefine what’s possible for soccer players in this country - and they’re not done yet, either.
“You can grow up playing football in Canada, and not only can you make it to some of the biggest and best leagues in the world, but you can play on the biggest stage of them all, and you can fit,” Johnston said. “We belong there now, and that’s something that we’re all so excited for, and we’re going to keep pushing it.”
