Canada's FIFA World Cup hero fights back tears in emotional tribute to late parents
Stephen Eustáquio lifted Canada to a 1-0 victory over South Africa in the Round of 32, scoring a second-half stoppage time winner for the biggest victory in the program’s history.
In his post-match interview, TSN’s Matthew Scianitti asked Eustáquio about his late mother Esmeralda and father Armando, who passed away in 2023 and 2024 after brain cancer and a heart attack.
“Everything I do is for my family, for my parents, for my my girlfriend, for my daughter, for my brother, for my friends back home, for all of you,” Eustáquio told TSN after the match, while fighting back tears.
“We really wanted to give this win to all the Canadians, and we just kept believing, we kept pushing. I don’t think we could have imagined it any other way,” Eustáquio added.
“Maybe Steph is the most deserving to have a moment like that. So I’m really happy for him, and I think from somewhere his parents are looking down, and they saw that,” Canada head coach Jesse Marsch told reporters post-match in the press conference. “I couldn’t think of a more deserving human being in a group of incredible human beings… it was good to see him in that moment… and thinking about how to strike the ball in a way to give it the best chance to go in.”
Marsch also gave a shoutout to his goalscorer’s brother, Mauro, who is the head coach of Canadian Premier League club Inter Toronto FC.
“We really wanted to give this win to to all the Canadians. We just kept believing. We kept pushing and I think we couldn’t have imagined it any other way. I think it
was an amazing goal. But when I shot, I felt that everybody shot with me,” Eustáquio also said.
When does Canada play next in the FIFA World Cup?
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Canada is set to face the winner of Netherlands-Morocco, who face off Monday night at 9 p.m. EDT/6 p.m. PDT. Canada’s match against one of those two teams will start at 1 p.m. EDT/10 a.m. PDT on Saturday, July 4, taking place in Houston.