The 2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stages began on Sunday with Canada taking on South Africa at Los Angeles Stadium in the Round of 32. Both teams had qualified past the group stages for the first time on the global stage, thus promising an exciting battle of underdogs.
Safe to say, the fans were left majorly disappointed, and one in the stands in particular.
Bafana Bafana dominated possession of the ball through the encounter, keeping 58% of it across the 90 minutes. However, most of it was a result of aimless passing in their own half. Their efforts culminated in just six shots on goal, of which only two were on target.
Canada, meanwhile, looked more alive throughout the 90 minutes. They created the first real chance midway through the first-half when Derek Cornelius headed one straight to the keeper from a set piece.
Dead ball situations would remain Canada’s best hope thereafter. Despite their intent, at no point did the side look like breaking through the Rainbow Nation’s resolute defense.
https://t.co/NNt6DCjWDq pic.twitter.com/sNxrRfljUx
— xakundo (@xakundo) June 28, 2026
The match seemed destined for extra-time, until Stephen Eustaquio produced a moment of magic to seal the deal in stoppage time. The Porto midfielder chested down a feeble clearance at the edge of the box, and rifled a half volley into the bottom corner past a sprawling Ronwen Williams.
Delirium ensued in the Canadian ranks. Normally, social media would have followed suit given the stakes at play. Yet, the prevalent feeling was of relief that there would not be 30 more minutes of an absolute snoozefest.
The lack of action completely put fans off, so much so that they were left celebrating an otherwise mundane moment that had occurred earlier in the stands.
In the 49th minute of the game, a customary Mexican wave made the circles around the arena in Inglewood. At one point, the cameras focused on a woman donning the Canadian away jersey who rose jubilantly to do her part in making the wave a success.
However, tragedy struck amidst the excitement as she keenly opened her palms, forgetting it was holding her phone. To make matters worse, the woman was sitting right by the railings. The device thus went summersaulting down while cheers echoed in the stadium.
Canada fan stands to cheer and drops her phone😮💨😳🥴pic.twitter.com/Ksd3T4idqU
— TheEuropeanLad (@ThaEuropeanLad) June 28, 2026
The realization came immediately for the woman. Her hands had not even made it all the way upwards before they were wrapped around her face in shock and regret. The broadcasters then added salt to her wounds by showing a cinematic slow motion replay of the incident, which quickly caught on in the social media world.
That woman dropping her phone has been the highlight of the game so far
— Mark Goldbridge (@markgoldbridge) June 28, 2026
“At least the crowd got an unexpected highlight”, a user on X commented.
“The phone drop has more highlights than the match itself”, another snarked.
“The game was so boring even the phone gave up”, the fans simply kept piling on.
Canada will now face the winner of Netherlands versus Morocco in the Round of 16 on July 4 in Houston. One way or another, the contest is bound to have more for the fans than the match just gone by.
Do you know anything about football? The game was not boring rather exciting, much more exciting than other games. South Africa were unlucky but good on Canada for winning the game. A good goal.