When Canada’s concluding moment does eventually arrive this summer, Stephen Eustaquio would be forgiven for not wanting to leave the bright sunshine of California. The Canadian midfielder, contracted to Porto, joined Los Angeles FC in February on a four-month loan deal, desperately hunting minutes on the pitch ahead of the World Cup. A much-admired member of the squad, Eustaquio tragically lost his mother to brain cancer in April 2023 and his father to a heart attack one year later. Now, the 29-year-old is the match-winner in his new home away from home, sending his country through to the last-16 with a dramatic stoppage-time strike.
It should be noted: this was not a classic, thrilling start to the knockout phase. A match between two group-stage runner-ups – in groups naturally weaker due to host nation participation – failed to fire for the vast majority, under this 70,000-seater greenhouse. To a wider point, what does that say for the World Cup’s knockout expansion? Perhaps it’s too early to judge, but this was certainly two teams who were afraid to lose the contest, rather than setting out to win. Food for thought, maybe, for Fifa president Gianni Infantino, an unsurprising spectator in the VIP area.
