Canada Defeats South Africa 1-0 to Reach Round of 16

A goal in the second minute of second-half stoppage time gave Canada a 1-0 victory over South Africa on Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The match stayed scoreless through 90 minutes. A long pass into the box was cleared by a South African defender directly to a Canadian midfielder, who chested the ball down and struck a first-time volley from outside the penalty area into the bottom corner.

The goalkeeper finished with five saves.

Canada advanced to face the winner of the Netherlands-Morocco match in Houston on July 4. Both teams reached the knockout stage for the first time after finishing second in their groups. Canada had played its first three group matches in Toronto and Vancouver before losing 2-1 to Switzerland on the road last Wednesday.

A substitute entered in the 75th minute after missing the group stage with a hamstring injury. The player created two scoring chances, though both shots were saved or went wide. South Africa reached the knockout rounds with a 1-0 win over South Korea on the same day.

After the final whistle, the coach gathered the players and said, “You guys are Canadian heroes! Canadian heroes for the future children of this country who play this sport. This sport has a big future because of you guys. " — Midfielder, post-match (match report) The opposing coach said the team lacked power and speed compared with Canada but added, “When we look back, we can be fairly satisfied with what we did.