How Stephen Eustáquio controlled Canada’s 1-0 win over South Africa

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After scoring the historic goal that secured Canada’s place in the Round of 16, Stephen Eustáquio will receive all of the praise and plaudits. His late game winner will live long in the memory of Canadian supporters.

But Eustáquio wasn’t just the game winner. The 29-year-old was the best player on the pitch even without his goal, shepherding Canada to victory through his organization and leadership in midfield. Here is how Stephen Eustáquio controlled Canada’s 1-0 win over South Africa.

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Right from the outset, Canada defended high up the pitch with a 4-1-3-2 shape, shifting and sliding with the play. They wouldn’t press aggressively to the extent that Mexico mustered on the opening day. But they would aim to cut off all possible shorter passing lanes, forcing play into the half-spaces near Eustáquio.

Unfortunately for South Africa, the Canadian midfielder was excellent at reading these passes, stepping in quickly to intercept.

With Tajon Buchanan and Liam Miller narrowing the angles from the wing, South Africa struggled to find the inside passing lanes they desired. Their attempts to play between Canada’s lines were consistently cut off by Eustáquio’s reading.

When South Africa responded by trying to make shorter passes, Saliba was quick to intercept or usher play back out wide. When they tried to go more direct into their strikers (over Eustáquio), he would get his body in the way of South Africa’s strikers to allow his centre-backs to climb higher.

With Eustáquio shifting with the play in Canada’s 4-4-2 defense, South Africa were restricted to shots from outside the box. They couldn’t find much of a solution to break down Canada’s defense, and Maxime Crépeau was up to the task on the few chances Canada conceded.

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As far as the Canadian captain’s individual role, he completed a team-high eight recoveries and three tackles, making him one of Canada’s key men in the thwarting of the opposition.

But a man of the match performance wouldn’t be complete for a player like Eustáquio without a stellar night in the attack. This is where the 29-year-old really shone against South Africa.

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Eustáquio controlled how Canada utilized the ball to their advantage. He was involved in everything good for Marsch’s team, creating a team-high five chances, and scoring that all-important goal.

Canada’s first chance of the match came through him. So too did their last.

The first chance came from a perfectly executed free kick cross, putting the ball on a plate for Derek Cornelius. It should have been Canada’s opener.

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It was also one of Eustáquio’s five completed crosses out of seven. Normally about a 30% cross completion rate would be impressive for a player, let alone 71%.

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Every time the Canadian midfielder picked up possession, he wanted to play forward. He often played nice bounce passes to his midfield partner, but also helped to kick-start several key attacks.

Even when not directly involved, he was quick to help through his communication and leadership. Here he can be seen directing his teammate to play forward quickly into Jonathan David or Niko Sigur to kick-start a counter attack against South Africa.

This moment nearly resulted in a goal, until Mbokazi’s last-ditch kick stole the ball off Jonathan David’s head.

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Eustáquio’s ability to involve himself not only on the ball but off the ball was a key feature of his man of the match performance, and a great learning opportunity for any young player watching him. He was able to direct play from midfield not only through his own quality and wizardry, but through his voice and leadership.

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Raising the level of those around him, Eustáquio grew with more attacking importance after Niko Sigur entered as his new midfield partner. Sigur brought similar box-to-box energy to Saliba, but also some tough tackling and defensive knowhow, freeing Eustáquio to get further forward.

He had linked up nicely with Liam Millar in the first half, but really flourished as soon as Alphonso Davies entered the fold and started linking with him down the left wing.

The two men combined for some of Canada’s best attacking chances in the second half, all the way until he found himself in that all-important position to hammer home the winner.

Stephen Eustáquio’s goal will live long in the memories of Canadian fans and future stars. But it wasn’t just his goal that should be remembered. Eustáquio’s captain performance was formidable throughout the 90 minutes, leading Canada at all ends of the pitch. If Marsch’s men are to win their next match, he will need to be absolutely on top of his game again, especially in the continued absence of Ismaël Koné.

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