Stephen Eustaquio was fighting tears after scoring the stoppage-time goal that sent Canada through to the FIFA Men’s World Cup Round of 16 for the first time in their history.
It was a memorable moment for Eustaquio, who is on loan at MLS outfit Los Angeles FC from Portuguese giants Porto.
The 29-year-old tragically lost both his parents in recent years. His mother passed away following a battle with brain cancer in 2023, before his father suffered a heart attack in 2024.
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Eustaquio was asked about losing his parents and how he would reflect on Monday’s moment in the years to come.
The Canada vice-captain immediately put his head in his hands and choked up with tears before telling a reporter during his on-field interview: “Everything I do is for my family, for my parents, for my girlfriend, for my daughter, for my brother, for my friends back home, for all of them.”
Before the reporter added: “Canada says thank you, Stephen.”
The Netherlands or 2022 semi-finalists Morocco await Canada in the World Cup Round of 16.
It has already been a history-making World Cup for Canada but they are not done yet thanks to Eustaquio’s last-gasp strike in the second minute of stoppage time.
“We worked a lot to get this victory. We really want to give this win to all the Canadians,” said Eustaquio. “We kept believing and kept pushing. We couldn’t image it any other way.
“It was an amazing goal but when I shot, I felt everybody shot with me. Everybody put a little bit of power on it and it went into the back of the net.”
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He added: “When it comes to a knockout at the World Cup, the belief brings a big part to it.
Now we’re going to get Morocco or the Netherlands and who knows on a good day, we can make things happen
“If we keep believing and keep working, things might go our now.”
As for Canada head coach Jesse Marsch, the American is relishing the country’s latest World Cup quest.
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“I’m flying to Monterrey today to go see the game (between the Netherlands and Morocco),” he said.
“I’ll see it tomorrow. I’ll be in the stadium. I’ll check what’s going on. We will make sure our guys get a good regen.
“Then we are going to be ready to throw everything at a giant. Maybe it’s Netherlands, maybe it’s Morocco. But this is what I wanted.
“I wanted this team to show they deserved the right to go after a giant, and that’s what we’re going to do.”