History at the World Cup: Canada advanced to the round of 16 in the 92nd minute

History at the 2026 World Cup: The Canadian national team qualified overnight for the World Cup round of 16 for the first time in its history. This after a dramatic and nerve-racking 1:0 victory over South Africa, in Los Angeles. Celebrating this huge victory are fans in Toronto and Vancouver, including superstar rapper Drake, whose bet of $770,000 earned him a clean one million dollar win.

This was the first ever knockout game for both teams in the World Cup, and it was as tough as the commentators had predicted. Canada, under Coach Jesse Marsch, controlled the tempo and played attacking football throughout the 90 minutes, but ran into a stubborn South African defence and a magnificent performance from goalkeeper Ronwen Williams. Williams himself broke a World Cup record held since 1966 with 77 accurate passes by a goalkeeper.

Just when it seemed the game was heading into overtime, the 92nd minute arrived. A poor clearance from the South African defense found its way to Stephen Eustáquio. The midfielder, who is currently on loan to local club Los Angeles FC, controlled the ball with his chest and from the edge of the box fired a sharp, accurate shot into the bottom left corner, igniting wild celebrations on the field and in the stands.

In the final minutes of the match, national team star Alphonso Davies, who had recovered from injury, was also featured in the tournament for the first time, coming on as a substitute in the 75th minute to help secure the victory.

Now official, Canada is celebrating a historic advancement to the round of 16, where they will await the winner of the highly anticipated matchup between the Netherlands and Morocco next Saturday.