Canada beat South Africa 1-0 thanks to a stoppage-time strike by Stephen ⁠Eustaquio from distance to reach the FIFA World Cup last 16 for the first time in their history.

Eustaquio received the ball on the edge of the ⁠South Africa penalty area and hammered it past diving goalkeeper Ronwen Williams in a thrilling conclusion to the first knockout-round match of the tournament on Sunday.

South Africa, who had seemed ⁠content to play for extra time and a possible penalty shootout, made a few furious but unsuccessful attempts to level before the final whistle as the sun broke through the clouds at Los Angeles Stadium.

Canada will next face either the Netherlands or Morocco on July ‌4 in Houston for a place in the quarterfinals.

“It’s about the two years we’ve been together,” Canada coach Jesse Marsch told the team in a huddle after the final whistle.

“Think about how we talked about sticking to the plan – you guys showing your character. You guys are Canadian heroes here.”

Chances were scarce in a cagey first half, with little to separate the sides, who were both playing ⁠in the knockout rounds for the first time.

Canada’s best opening ⁠came just before half-time when a corner sparked a scramble in the South Africa box. Moise Bombito sent a header goal-wards, which was cleared off the line by Aubrey Modiba, before Tajon Buchanan’s close-range effort struck ⁠Williams in the chest.

Moments later, Richie Laryea went down in the area, prompting Canadian appeals for a penalty, but the decision ⁠not to award a spot kick stood after a ⁠VAR review, prompting loud boos from Canada’s red-clad army of supporters dominating the stands.

Marsch continued to protest as the teams left the field at half-time, with Bombito appearing to urge him away from the referee.

Frustration ‌for Canada only grew early in the second half, as South Africa appeared in no rush to press the issue.

Canada had another chance just before the second-half hydration ‌break, ‌when Tani Oluwaseyi’s shot hit the keeper, and Jonathan David was unable to head the ricochet home, thanks to an excellent defensive effort by Mbekezeli Mbokazi to clear the ball.

Eustaquio dedicated the win to “all Canadians” when he spoke to reporters after the match.

“I think it was an amazing goal. When I shot, I thought everyone shot with me. Everyone added a little power to it when it went into the back of the net.

” It started when we came out of group stage. Belief is a big part of it. We will now get either Netherlands or Morocco. Anything can happen. If we keep working like we are doing, we might even win it.”

[Aljazeera]

So nice they had to do it twice. Ireland have swept the T20 World Champions 2-0. That meant India’s unbeaten run which spanned 16 series and nearly three years has been irrevocably broken. The stars of this supreme result were Harry Tector, who scored a determined half-century to help put 154 on the board, and Jai Mondra, who picked up three wickets in the blink of an eye.

Tector, playing his 100th T20I, was brought to the crease in the second over. His first runs were off the inside edge. The rest were both timely and thought out. He held the innings together for Ireland and in doing so highlighted just why he is a valued member of this side. Tector absorbed the pressure at one end, willing to countenance risk only when the odds were in his favour, like when Suryansh Shedge, in the middle of leaking 22 runs in a over bowled a free hit ball that was full toss. That went for six. Ben Calitz, at the other end, was a little more willing to go for his shots. Their 65-run partnership, off 44 balls, formed the backbone of a total of 154. At that point, Cricinfo’s forecaster only gave Ireland an 18% chance of victory.

Kemar Roach rampaged his way to his 300th Test wicket, Jayden Seales, Shamar Joseph and Alzarri Joseph all bowled menacing spells, and West Indies blasted Sri Lanka out for 101, completing a behemoth innings-and-217-run victory.

Gaining significantly more movement in the air and off the surface than Sri Lanka’s quicks had, West Indies’ fast bowlers threatened to take wickets right through day four’s 27.2 overs. It was Roach that was getting the ball to hoop most, however, finding massive inswing into the right-hander, often late in the ball’s trajectory, to threaten the pads and stumps of the right-handers he bowled to, and the outside edges of the left-handers.

Roach’s 300th wicket was the ninth of Sri Lanka’s innings, Asitha Fernando’s stumps being clattered by a full one speared in from wide of the crease. He was mobbed by adoring team-mates who seemed to take even more delight in his milestone than him, and was later presented a West Indies Test shirt with the number 300 on it to commemorate the occasion. He is the first West Indies bowler since Curtly Ambrose to the milestone. Among fast bowlers, only Courtney Walsh, Ambrose, and Malcolm Marshall have more wickets for West Indies than him.

Sri Lanka were woeful with the bat, and played like a team fatigued from 160.5 overs in the field on days two and three. Dinesh Chandimal was the only batter who managed even some semblance of resistance, batting out 60 balls for his 43. No other batter in the top six managed a double figure score. Some were pinged in front by balls that jagged in. Others nicked off against deliveries that moved away. Two – Kamindu Mendis and Kusal Mendis – had the tops of their off stumps pinged after they had left the ball. West Indies bowled exquisite lines, and rarely bowled a bad ball. Even Sri Lanka’s exceedingly rare boundaries tended to come from full deliveries when the bowlers had gone looking for swing.

After Roach opened the day’s wicket-taking in the first over, swinging a ball into Nishan Madushka’s pads, Seales struck in his own first over, getting nightwatcher Kasun Rajitha to edge to the cordon. Soon after, Shamar Joseph struck twice, pinging Kamindu’s off stump as he shouldered arms, before pinging Dhananjaya de Silva’s front pad to catch him lbw. Late in the session, Alzarri got himself a wicket too, in similar fashion. Having got a ball to leave Kusal, he had the next one jag back into Kusal, who had also let the ball hit his off stump uninterrupted.

Sri Lanka went to lunch at 81 for 6 and it only took West Indies 6.1 further overs to remove the remaining batters. Roach struck twice in two overs to get to his 300th, and after some strong words exchanged with Lahiru Kumara and Sonal Dinusha, Seales took the final wicket to complete a stunning victory.

West Indies, essentially, have dominated this Test from start to finish. And they were so spectacularly dominant in days three and four, they crushed an opponent that had been expected to compete.

Scores:
West Indies 626 for 9 dec in 160.5 overs (Amir Jangoo 233, Roston Chase 194; Milan  Rathnayaka 5-124) beat Sri Lanka 308  in 71.5 overs (Dhananjaya De Silva 120, Dinesh Chandimal 54; Justin  Greaves 3-39) & 101 in 31.2 overs (Dinesh Chandimal 43; Kemar  Roach 4-51, Jayden Seales 3-14, Shamar Joseph 2-19)  by an innings and 217 runs

[Cricinfo]