Stephen Eustaquio struck the ball from just outside the box as the match was drawing to a close and beat Williams, the rock-solid goalkeeper for South Africa, to secure Canada’s spot in the Round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup.
In front of a packed Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, filled with Canadians—whose team had to recover from the blow of having to leave their home country to play the next round after failing to finish first in their group—they faced a surprising South African team that had advanced as the second-place finisher in Group C, after eliminating South Korea in their final group stage match.
It was a tight match, with South Africa looking to counterattack against a Canadian team that couldn’t find any openings—until Eustaquio, a former Cruz Azul player and current Los Angeles FC player, fired a right-footed shot that skimmed the ground, beating Williams’s dive for the 1-0 lead.
Canada now travels to Houston, where on July 4 it will face the winner of the Netherlands-Morocco matchup.
