Canada made it to the top-16. (Photo- GETTY)
Canada vs South Africa FIFA World Cup 2026: In the very first match of the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup 2026, co-host Canada wrote the most golden chapter in its football history. In this tough match of ‘Round of 32’ played at Los Angeles Stadium, Canada defeated South Africa 1-0 and showed the way out of the tournament. With this thrilling victory, the Canadian team was successful in qualifying for the ‘Round of 16’ of the FIFA World Cup for the first time. This match was historic for both the countries, because neither Canada nor South Africa had ever played a World Cup knockout match before.
Tough competition between the two teams in the first half
The huge pressure of knockout was clearly visible on the field right from the beginning of the match. Both teams played a very defensive game and got very few chances to score goals. South Africa made the first dangerous move of the match, but Canadian goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau made an excellent save and dashed their hopes. After this the Canadian team made fast attacks through the wings. In the 43rd minute of the first half, Canada had the golden opportunity to take the lead when Tajon Buchanan pounced on the rebound after Moise Bombito’s shot, but South African goalkeeper Ronwen Williams made a magical save to keep the score 0-0.
Entry of Alphonso Davis in the second half changed the game
The match continued equally in the second half also. South Africa’s Oswin Apolis made some good efforts, but he could not penetrate Canada’s defence. Then in the 74th minute of the match, Canada’s star player Alphonso Davis came on the field for the first time in this tournament after recovering from injury. Davis’ speed breathed new life into Canada’s forward line and increased the pressure on the South African defence.
Stephen Estacio scored a historic goal in injury time
Just when it seemed that the match would go into extras, at that very moment Canadian midfielder Stephen Estacio created history. In the 92nd minute (injury time), Estaquio beautifully fired a powerful and accurate shot straight into the net without making any mistakes. South African goalkeeper Williams had no chance to stop this shot. With this goal, the entire stadium and the Canadian fans went into celebration. With this, Canada has become the first host country after Brazil in 2014 to win a knockout match in regulation time. After this historic victory, Canada will now face either Netherlands or Morocco in the ‘Round of 16’ on July 4 in Houston.
