Canada progressed to the Round of 16 as they won the battle of teams making knockout stage debuts.
FC Bayern’s Alphonso Davies makes his 2026 World Cup debut off the bench in Canada’s injury-time win over South Africa. It was the first-ever knockout stage game for both national teams. Stephen Eustáquio scored the only goal of the game in injury-time.
Despite the fast paced start to the match, there were only few clear-cut chances throughout at either end. Despite missing out on a home Round of 32 tie after finishing second in their group, it did really feel like Canada were still at home at SoFi Stadium.
Before the all-important goal, the biggest cheer of the night came when Davies entered the field to make his tournament debut twenty minutes before time. The flying full-back even created a couple of dangerous opportunities immediately after coming on as a substitute.
At the end, Eustáquio, who handed the captain’s armband to Davies, decided the tie with a brilliant effort from outside the box in the 92nd minute. Hannover’s center-back Ime Okon played every minute for South Africa in the tournament.
Canada will face the winners of the clash between Netherlands and Morocco in the Round of 16. That game will be played in Houston on July 4th.
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