In their first World Cup knockout tie, Canada became the first side to book their place in the last 16 courtesy of a dramatic 1-0 victory over South Africa in Los Angeles.

The knockout stage opener was seemingly set for extra time, until Stephen Eustáquio thumped a stoppage-time half-volley into the bottom corner to send the co-hosts (playing away from home) into frenzied celebration. 

Timed at 91:03 by Opta, Eustáquio’s goal was the first last minute (or later) winner in a World Cup knockout match since the 2018 finals in Russia, when Nacer Chadli struck for Belgium against Japan.

🇿🇦🇨🇦 On the whistle match report

The left-back’s lack of involvement at this World Cup has become a really frustrating and confusing storyline for Canada fans to grapple with. 

In their Group B decider for top spot, Jesse Marsch said that Davies was a “decoy” and he didn’t make it onto the field as Canada lost 2-1 to finish as group runners up.

However, after recovering from a hamstring injury, Canada’s most famous player strolled onto the pitch in the 75th minute, donned the captain’s armband, and instantly lifted the team’s attacking quality in what was his first appearance for his country since March 2025.

The Bayern Munich star could now play a huge role in Canada’s last-16 clash.

The Nice centre-back is one of Canada’s most renowned players, and fans have also been nervously tracking his match fitness since he suffered a left tibia fracture in October 2025. 

Bombito hadn’t started a game for Canada for over a year and had to come off injured against Uzbekistan in a friendly just before the tournament, but commendably brushed off any worries regarding his sharpness, playing the full match, and helping his side to a clean sheet on his return. 

It could have been even sweeter had the 26-year-old’s towering header from Eustáquio’s corner not been cleared off the line in the first half. 

The fact that Jesse Marsch threw Bombito into the starting line-up for the biggest game in Canadian football history illustrates the sky-high regard that the defender is held in.

The Canada head coach gathered his entire squad and coaching staff into a post-match team huddle to deliver a rousing speech, which was picked up by the television broadcast. 

“You guys are showing your character, you guys are Canadian heroes now,” Marsch said. “You’re Canadian heroes for the future children of this country. This sport has a big future because of you guys. You should be so proud of who you are, because of this game.”

With Canada set to meet either Netherlands or Morocco in the next round, Marsch underlined that he will prepare his players to “throw everything at a giant.”

It reaffirmed the togetherness and positive culture of this current squad, who will start as heavy underdogs in their last-16 tie, regardless of the opponent.

🇨🇦🗣️ Jesse Marsche’s post-match battle cry

We were teased with just one game to kickstart the Round of 32 yesterday.

Today, three eye-catching encounters take place as the intensity of the knockouts begins in earnest.

The first match sees Brazil take on Japan in Houston, before 2014 winners Germany play Paraguay in Boston.

To round off an intoxicating day of action, we head over to Monterrey in Mexico as Netherlands go up against Morocco, with the winners of this tie facing Canada in the last 16. 

After a troubling 1-1 draw against Morocco in their opening group game, where Brazil were overran for large parts of the match and were perhaps fortunate to escape with a point, the attacking duo of Vinícius Junior and Matheus Cunha have emphatically assumed creative responsibility and look to be the pair who can spearhead Brazil to potential World Cup glory. 

In fairness to Vinícius, his emphatic effort had levelled the score against Morocco, while Cunha was on the bench, with Carlo Ancelotti choosing to start Igor Thiago as the central striker. In the following two games, Ancelotti didn't make the same mistake and saw the vision, starting Vinícius and Cunha together. Both forwards have registered three goals each in back-to-back 3-0 victories over Haiti and Scotland, allowing Brazil to finish top of Group C.

Group F runners-up Japan are no pushovers, however, and their unbeaten record at this year’s tournament, including a 2-2 draw with Netherlands, where they twice fought back from behind, illustrates that they can trouble a Brazil side that is far from perfect.

🇯🇵 Japan preparing for ‘biggest ever’ World Cup test

Julian Nagelsmann’s side stormed through their opening two outings, thrashing Curaçao 7-1, before recording a last-gasp 2-1 comeback victory over Ivory Coast to stay in control of their group. 

Targeting maximum points, Germany suffered a reality-check and a confidence-denting 2-1 loss to Ecuador in their final group fixture. The 2014 winners have now equalled their longest run of World Cup games without a clean sheet (nine). Although a plethora of attacking talent, which includes the likes of Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz, Leroy Sané and Kai Havertz, ensures that Germany remain the clear favourites to progress. 

After a dismal 4-1 loss to the United States, Paraguay looked destined for a swift elimination from the World Cup, but against the odds, they grabbed four points from their final two games against Türkiye and Australia to qualify for the Round of 32 as one of the best-ranked third-place sides.

A last-16 showdown with either France or Sweden awaits the winner of this one. 

🇩🇪🇵🇾 Match preview

The last game of the day is perhaps the hardest to call as these two evenly-matched sides do battle to secure a last 16 berth. Netherlands’ frustrating 2-2 draw against Japan raised questions about their tournament-winning credentials and Ronald Koeman’s supposedly pragmatic style. 

However, both these doubts were silenced in their next outing as the Dutch smashed Sweden 5-1, with Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo both bagging braces, while Crysencio Summerville netted the other. Another win against Tunisia followed as Netherlands claimed top spot in Group E.

Morocco missed out on winning their group on goal difference, with Brazil’s star-studded attack helping the five-time World Champions pull away from the 2022 semi-finalists. Nevertheless, Morocco still beat Scotland and Haiti (1-0 and 4-2, respectively) and, with better finishing, they probably should have done so by a more convincing scoreline in each.

🇳🇱🗣️ Koeman demands improvement from Netherlands in the knockout stages