By Frank Pingue
TORONTO, June 29 (Reuters) - Not all Canadian heroes wear skates.
Canada has produced a long list of sporting memories, and the ones that tend to leave the deepest mark on the Great White North have almost always unfolded on a frozen sheet of ice.
But the hockey-mad country's latest entry into its national sporting folklore came not from a high-speed game with punishing body checks and blistering slapshots — but on a pristine World Cup soccer pitch in southern California, where a moment
of pure magic rewrote history.
Midfielder Stephen Eustaquio played the hero, chesting down a ball in the second minute of second-half stoppage time on Sunday and sending a right-footed shot swinging into the bottom of the net to give Canada a 1-0 victory over South Africa, the first-ever win in a World Cup knockout match for the Canadian men's team.
And the entire world was watching.
Canada's round-of-32-match against South Africa was the only game on Sunday's World Cup schedule. There were no competing narratives, no other scores to check, no other highlights to chase. For one afternoon, the eyes of the planet were fixed on a single game and Canada rose to the occasion.
CANADA PM SALUTES 'TRUE CANADIAN HEROES'
Eustaquio's goal, and the historic result it secured, has dominated highlight reels and social media feeds ever since and will live not just in the annals of Canadian soccer, but in the broader story of sport in a country more accustomed to celebrating on ice.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney posted a photo on social media not long after Eustaquio struck in which he is shown down on his knees on a tarmac in celebration while appearing to watch the game on a phone: "True Canadian heroes," Carney wrote on X. "What a game. What a team. What a country."
The win was all the more remarkable given the circumstances.
Canada, who are co-hosting the World Cup with the United States and Mexico, lost the privilege of playing a last-32 match on home soil after finishing second to Switzerland in Group B and, as a result, became the first host nation to play a World Cup match outside their country.
They also pulled off the win despite playing most of the match without captain Alphonso Davies, who came off the bench in the 75th minute to make his first appearance since suffering a hamstring injury in May while playing for his club Bayern Munich.
"CANADA MEETS THE MOMENT," screamed the front page of Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper. "Spectacular! Making us proud!" Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield posted on social media.
WINNING KNOCKOUT ROUND MATCH 'STILL SOUNDS SURREAL'
While the appetite for the beautiful game is insatiable in other parts of the world and soccer has overtaken ice hockey as the most played sport among Canadian youth, the professional game has never truly taken root in the country from a viewing perspective outside major events like the World Cup.
The Canadian women's soccer team won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but the men's program has, until now, never enjoyed meaningful success on the global stage.
Sidney Crosby's overtime winner in the gold medal game of the men's ice hockey final at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics is one of the most defining moments in Canadian sports history from the last 30 years. Eustaquio's goal may now sit alongside it.
After the final whistle, Canada coach Jesse Marsch gathered his players on the pitch and delivered a message that will resonate far beyond the dressing room.
"You guys are Canadian heroes now," American-born Marsch told them. "Canadian heroes, for the future children of this country. This sport has a big future because of you guys. You should be so proud of who you are, because of this game."
Eustaquio, who served as stand-in captain with Davies sidelined, was characteristically humble after the biggest goal of his career.
"We have a special group, we feel like we are brothers. When we fight for each other, special things can happen," he said. "I'm over the moon but the job's not finished."
Seeing Canada advance to the round of 16 not only has taken the country by storm but is also something the players are struggling to comprehend.
"I don't think it's really dawned on us yet," Canada defender Alistair Johnston said. "We just won a knockout round match in a FIFA World Cup. That's something that still sounds surreal when you say it out loud."
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Ed Osmond)
