Canada through at the death: 1-0 over South Africa

In the first Round of 32 game at the 2026 World Cup, Canada smiled at the very last second. Facing South Africa at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, Jesse Marsch's side left the pitch as 1-0 winners thanks to a goal in stoppage time and became the first team to reach the Round of 16 at the tournament.

The decisive goal came in the 90+2nd minute. Canada's experienced captain Stephen Eustaquio found the net in the closing moments to send his team into the next round. He was thus the man who broke the goalless deadlock that had held since the first half, just as the game was ending, in Canada's favour.

In truth, given the run of play, the win was no surprise. Canada were the more dominant side from start to finish; they led on expected goals (xG) 0.94-0.06, on total shots 7-3 and on big chances 3-0. But with Marsch's team failing to take three clear chances, they could not find the goal for a long time. Hugo Broos' South Africa, despite having more of the ball (55%), were ineffective in front of the opposition goal and tried to hold on for a draw to the end; the last-second goal, however, meant Bafana Bafana left their first-ever World Cup knockout match in defeat.

Another important moment came in the 75th minute: star Alphonso Davies, who had yet to feature at the tournament due to injury, came on to return to the pitch in a Canada shirt. Reaching the knockout stage of a World Cup for the first time in their history, Canada will face the winner of Netherlands-Morocco in the Round of 16.

Goal: Eustaquio 90+2' (Canada)
Match stats (South Africa-Canada): xG 0.06-0.94 · Possession 55%-45% · Total shots 3-7 · Big chances 0-3 · Touches in opposition box 5-17

Image: Free Press