Canada's national football team secured a historic victory against South Africa on Sunday, advancing to the last 16 of the World Cup for the first time. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.
After the match, coach Jesse Marsch gathered his players and staff in a huddle and delivered an inspiring speech. "You are Canadian heroes," he told the team. "The future of the sport in this country is huge because of you."
Marsch is known for grandiose comments, but his words rang true this time. Football is changing in Canada. One fan told BBC Sport before the match: "It is starting to become known as football now, not soccer."
Marsch set this goal when he became Canada's coach two years ago, a goal that seemed unlikely for a country where ice hockey is the primary sport.
Mexico hosted the World Cup opener, while the USA stages the final. Canada was somewhat the forgotten co-host. But Canada quietly built interest and passion for the tournament.
Captain Alphonso Davies, used to large crowds at Bayern Munich, noticed the change in Canada. He said he cried seeing so many fans in red and white in Toronto for the opening game against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Canada's performance has been impressive. Before this tournament, they had played six World Cup matches and lost all six. But they immediately earned a historic point with a draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina, followed by a first-ever win, thrashing Qatar 6-0. A defeat by Switzerland denied them a home knockout game, but fans traveled in large numbers to Los Angeles.
South Africa seemed determined to take the game to penalties, but Stephen Eustaquio scored the winner in stoppage time.
"People will say it is performative to meet in the middle of the pitch," Marsch said. "All I care about is our team. I wanted to voice how important this moment will prove to be for the sport in the country."
Next up for Canada is either the Netherlands or Morocco. Regardless of the outcome, football in Canada has arguably changed forever.