Almost Became South Korea's Manager... Now Leads Canada to First-Ever Round of 16

[Anchor]

There is more frustrating news for South Korean football fans. Two years ago, Jesse Marsch was a strong candidate to lead our national team, but the contract fell through. Now, he has led Canada to its first-ever appearance in the Round of 16. Their opponent was South Africa, the team that dealt us a shocking defeat.

Reporter Jeon Yeongmin has the story.

[Reporter]

Canada dominated South Africa throughout the match but struggled to find the back of the net.

They had a golden opportunity from a corner kick late in the first half, but were denied by the opponent's desperate defense. In the second half, numerous sharp shots were either saved by the goalkeeper or narrowly missed the goalpost.

Just as it seemed the tournament's first extra time was imminent, Canada scored a dramatic opening goal in stoppage time.

After the opposing defense headed the ball away, Stephen Eustaquio—a teammate of Son Heung-min at LAFC—controlled it with his chest and fired a right-footed non-stop shot into the corner of the net for the winning goal.

With a 1-0 victory over South Africa, Canada celebrated its first-ever win in this tournament, its first-ever advancement to the knockout stage, and the thrill of reaching the Round of 16.

After the match, head coach Jesse Marsch, who has rewritten Canadian football history, gathered his players and delivered an inspiring speech to boost their morale.

[Jesse Marsch / Canada National Football Team Head Coach: You are heroes of Canada. You are heroes of Canada. For the kids in the future in Canada that are going to play soccer, you are heroes. You should be proud of yourselves, and you should be proud of this game. You gave everything for the goal in every moment. You are heroes of Canada.]

Two years ago, Marsch was a final candidate for the new head coach of the South Korean national team, but negotiations with the Korea Football Association fell through, and he later took the helm of the Canadian national team.

Although they were ranked five spots lower than South Korea in the FIFA rankings before the tournament, Canada has now surpassed South Korea following their strong performance. They will challenge for another piece of history on July 5 against the winner of the Netherlands-Morocco match.

(Video Editing: So Ji-hye, Design: Seo Seung-hyun, Kim Ye-ji)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.