Canada have reached the last 16 of the World Cup for the first time after beating South Africa with a late winner, sparking celebrations across a country that is rapidly falling in love with football.
Head coach Jesse Marsch was characteristically emotional after the final whistle, calling his players “Canadian heroes” and declaring: “The future of the sport in this country is huge because of you.” It is the kind of grandiose, high-impact statement Marsch has become known for — but on this occasion, few would argue with the sentiment.
Captain Alphonso Davies, who regularly plays in front of football-mad crowds for Bayern Munich and in the Champions League, has spoken openly about witnessing the shift back home. He said he cried seeing so many fans in red and white in Toronto for Canada’s opening group game against Bosnia-Herzegovina. “It was surreal because I’ve never seen so many Canadians at a football match before,” Davies said ahead of the South Africa fixture. Thousands more packed out fan zones across the country to cheer on the national team.
The turnaround in Canada’s World Cup fortunes has been remarkable. Before this tournament they had played six and lost six at the finals, yet they immediately made history by claiming a draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the opening game — and have now gone one better by winning a knockout tie for the first time.
Co-hosting the tournament alongside Mexico, who staged the opener, and the USA, who host the final, Canada had largely been overshadowed in the build-up. But while attention focused elsewhere, they quietly built momentum and passion from within. “It is starting to become known as football now, not soccer,” one fan told BBC Sport before the match — precisely the kind of cultural shift Marsch set out to achieve when he took the job two years ago.
Image credit: BBC Sport / BBC Sport
