Canada make history with first knockout win at World Cup

Minutes after the final whistle of Canada's historic World Cup victory against South Africa on Sunday, coach Jesse Marsch gathered his players and staff in a huge huddle and delivered an inspirational speech. He called them "Canadian heroes" after they won a knockout game for the first time to reach the last 16, adding that the future of the sport in the country is huge.

Canada, a co-host of the tournament alongside Mexico and the United States, has often been the forgotten partner in the hosting trio. But the team quietly built interest and passion at home. Before this tournament, Canada had lost all six of their previous World Cup matches. This time, they earned a historic draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina, followed by a first-ever win—a 6-0 thrashing of Qatar—to secure a knockout spot. A defeat by Switzerland meant they could not play their last-32 game in Canada, but fans traveled in large numbers to Los Angeles to support them.

Captain Alphonso Davies, who plays for Bayern Munich, said he cried at seeing so many fans in red and white in Toronto for their opening game. "It was surreal because I've never seen so many Canadians at a football match before," he said before the South Africa match.

The winning goal came from Stephen Eustaquio in stoppage time. Marsch defended his post-match huddle, saying he wanted to emphasize the importance of the moment. "People will say it is performative to meet in the middle of the pitch. All I care about is our team and what we do together," he said.

Canada's next opponent will be either the Netherlands or Morocco, both top-10 ranked teams. But given how Canada has already exceeded expectations, they cannot be ruled out. Fan Harry recalled that in the 1990s, Canadian fans were a minority at home matches. "It is incredible to see how many fans have come down into the USA to watch us," he said.