Canada into the last 16 after beating South Africa

The measured take is that Canada did what they had to do and South Africa did not do enough with the ball when it mattered, so the winner is deserved even if the game itself was a slog. But honestly the bigger story is what this does to the whole national team conversation because once a side gets a result like this people suddenly remember every old ranking, every old failure, every old joke, and then it turns into this huge identity thing where everyone wants to claim they saw it coming or wants to act above it, and that is always weird to me because football at this level is supposed to be about moments and emotion and the fact that a team can change its own story in one night, and now everyone will be pretending they knew Canada were going to do this all along while the rest of us just sit here with the kettle on and the tabs open trying to work out whether the next match will be another lesson or another miracle
 
It was not a great spectacle, but knockout football often looks like that when one side is happy to keep it tight. Canada deserve credit for staying disciplined and taking their chance when it arrived.
 
nah i dont buy that south africa were some brave underdogs here they spent loads of the game slowing it down and hoping for something lucky and canada just looked more willing to actually win it
 
Canada fans are acting like this is the second coming and fair play to them for enjoying it but lets not pretend it was some sort of beautiful footballing display because it was messy and tense and at times really frustrating and South Africa did not help themselves at all with all the back passing and the slow buildup and the general lack of urgency but once Canada got the goal they just managed the whole thing better and that is all that matters in knockout football really and people online are already doing the usual thing where they say the winner will get smashed next round like that somehow makes the current result less important which is just nonsense because a nation can celebrate a proper milestone without having to apologise for not being elite
 
South Africa do not deserve the pile on they are getting because they defended with real spirit and there were moments where Canada looked like they were running into a wall and needed a bit more quality to break it down. People are acting like a team sitting deep is a crime when half the world has watched sides do exactly that in knockout football for decades, and the truth is South Africa were still in the game until the end because they made it awkward and physical and stopped Canada from getting clean rhythm, so yes Canada won and fair play to them but I am not having this nonsense that South Africa were some disgrace because they were not, they just got beaten by a team that took their chance and then shut the door
 
its mad how people are already acting like canada have no chance next round when the whole point is theyve already done the hard bit and now they can go in with nothing to lose and thats dangerous in a tournament like this
 
The interesting part is not just the result, it is how Canada handled the pressure after such a flat match. They did not try to force something desperate, and that composure is often what separates a team that survives a knockout tie from one that throws it away.
 
Canada fans can enjoy this one because it is a proper milestone and nobody can take that away from them, but I do think some of the victory lap stuff is getting a bit over the top considering how limited the game was for long stretches and how much work still needs doing imo
 
I am sorry but some of the criticism aimed at Eustáquio is just nonsense because he was the one who made the decisive contribution and people are acting like that somehow does not count if the match was not a five star highlight reel and that is exactly the problem with online football chat now because if a player does not produce a filthy outside of the boot screamer every ten minutes then apparently he is invisible and should be ignored even though he has literally won the match and dragged his side into the next round and I am seeing people try to reduce it to a lucky tap in or whatever and it is just pure agenda driven rubbish because in knockout football somebody has to take responsibility and somebody has to do the job and he did it and then everyone wants to talk about how boring the game was instead of giving the lad his due and it drives me up the wall because Canada fans have waited ages for this kind of moment and now people are choosing to be miserable about it and picking at the scorer like he owes them entertainment as well as the win
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top