Football won today in the World Cup: But Canada deserved better from FIFA

Last Updated on 29 June 2026

It took 92 minutes, one composed finish and four decades of waiting. Canada are in the World Cup Round of 16 for the first time in their history.

However, the scenes at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles told only half the story. The other half was happening 1,400 miles away, in a Vancouver that should have witnessed every second of it.

Here’s how FIFA’s poor mismanagement in the World Cup has carried on and denied Canadians of watching a historic moment.

Stephen Eustaquio’s moment of magic makes Canadian history

Canada defeated South Africa 1-0 at SoFi Stadium, with Stephen Eustaquio scoring deep into stoppage time in the 92nd minute to send the co-hosts into the Round of 16 for the first time ever.

The Porto midfielder, calm, precise, devastating, struck low into the corner after a flowing move. In that instant, every Canadian who has ever pulled on a shirt and dreamed felt it.

Canada applied 100 pressures in the attacking third in the first half alone: the most of any team in a World Cup knockout first half since 2010. They had more than three times as many touches in South Africa’s box as their opponents.

The performance was disciplined, intense and relentless. Coach Jesse Marsch had his team primed. He gave an impassioned speech in the dressing room, telling his squad they were all “Canadian heroes” and that “this sport has a big future because of you guys.”

FIFA’s planning failure robbed Canadians of their moment

Here is where the celebration requires an asterisk. Because Canada finished second in Group B behind Switzerland due to heartbreak in Vancouver, and the rules dictated they play their Round of 32 match in Los Angeles, not Vancouver. That’s where their fans were gathered and where a city had spent weeks preparing for exactly this occasion.

A host nation, making the most historic achievement in their football history, did it in front of a largely neutral crowd at SoFi Stadium while an entire country watched on television from thousands of miles away. And, this was foreseeable.

FIFA knew the bracket structure before the tournament began. They knew that if Canada finished second, a likely scenario given they were drawn alongside Switzerland, they would be routed out of their own country for the knockout rounds.

Eustaquio is the third active MLS player to score in a knockout World Cup match, but the first to do it for a host nation playing away from home. No proper host nation has ever had to do this. The win matters enormously but the circumstances deserved better.