What’s next for Team Canada after advancing to top 16 at FIFA World Cup

What a game on Sunday!

Canada is continuing to perform well at the FIFA World Cup, advancing to the Round of 16 in an exciting match over the weekend.

With a win over South Africa, Canada became the first team from the Round of 32 games to advance, knocking out South Africa.

The win is Canada’s first ever in the knockout stage.

The match looked evenly matched for majority of the game, with both teams sitting scoreless at the end of regular time.

While the game was tied for a large portion, it was anything but dull. It was tense all the way through, with a building feeling that the match was on a knife’s edge and momentum could change at any moment.

Finally, in the third minute of extra time, Canada’s vice captain Stephen Eustáquio scored a heroic goal to put the Canadians up 1-0.

Eustáquio has been important to the Canadian squad in recent years. Born in Leamington, Ontario to Portuguese parents, Eustáquio has played the majority of his career in Portugal and is currently on loan from FC Porto in the Primiera Liga in Portugal.

He committed to the Canadian national team in 2019, and has been a vital piece to the roster ever since.

The goal put Canada into an ideal situation. South Africa would only have a few minutes left to score and tie the game up, but with Canada defending well in the final minutes, the goal ended up being the game winner.

While Canada was favoured in the match, the South Africans played well. South Africa held possession for 58% of the game, with Canada having possession of the ball for only 42%.

Canada did make their possessions count though, with seven shots on goal versus only one for South Africa.

The host nation also had four corner kick opportunities, and while they weren’t able to finish on these opportunities, they looked promising.

In Victoria, the downtown core was buzzing with excitement. With Market Square closed for an event, the large crowds that have been filling the square were spread across businesses across the city.

Morning buses heading downtown for the game were full, as were many pubs and restaurants around the city as the game started at 12 p.m.

Market Square will be showing Canada’s next match at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 4th.

We’ll find out who they play today, which will be the winner of the Netherlands versus Morocco game at 6 p.m. today.

Both of these teams are strong, and the next match will be Canada’s most difficult task in the tournament to date.

The Netherlands team has a storied history on the national stage and are favoured in the match, but Morocco has also looked strong in the tournament and will be eager to upset.

With Canada Day taking place on Wednesday this week, national pride is bound to be at an all-time high for their next match, and the energy will be electric in Market Square, Langford Station, Boomtown, the Irish Times Pub, Herald Street Brew Works and many other venues across the city as the Canadians try to continue their Cinderella run at this year’s FIFA World Cup.

Make sure to wear your red and white and take in the atmosphere in Victoria’s downtown core next Saturday. If Canada is going to advance to the top eight in the tournament, they’ll need as much support as they can get.