FIFA World Cup 2026: The knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup 2026 began with excitement and history. In the first match of the Round of 32, Canada defeated South Africa 1-0 and entered the last-16. In this match played at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, Canada won the match by scoring a goal in injury time and registered its first knockout win in World Cup history.
The decisive goal came in injury time
The match played between Canada and South Africa remained goalless for a long time. Both teams created many chances, but failed to score. In the 92nd minute of the match, Canadian midfielder Stephen Eustaquio scored a brilliant goal to give the team a 1-0 lead, which remained till the end.
With this victory, Canada confirmed its place in the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Now Canada will face the winner of the match between Netherlands and Morocco.
African countries made a new record
The performance of African countries in the FIFA World Cup 2026 has been excellent this time. After the conclusion of the group stage, a record 9 teams from Africa managed to reach the knockout round. This is the first time in World Cup history that such a large number of teams from the African continent have reached the final stage.
African teams achieved this historic feat after DR Congo’s 3-1 win over Uzbekistan and Algeria’s 3-3 draw with Austria.
Now the competition will be more exciting
Now the tournament has become even more exciting with the knockout matches of the World Cup 2026. Every match will take a team’s dreams forward, while the losing team’s journey will end here. Canada’s historic victory has injected new excitement into the tournament, while the African nations’ success has also shown their growing influence in world football.