Stephen Eustáquio lost his mom to brain cancer a few years ago, then his dad a year later from a heart attack. Today he scores the biggest goal in Canadian men’s soccer history with his Angels looking on ❤️ 🇨🇦 #fifaworldcup#canadasoccer
Zlatan Ibrahimović on Canada qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 for the first time ever:
🗣️ “This is why people fall in love with football. Today wasn't just about Canada qualifying for the Round of 16 it was about an entire nation creating history that nobody can ever take away.”
“I looked at the faces of the Canadian players after the final whistle. Some were crying, some couldn't believe what had just happened. Those weren't tears of weakness; they were tears of people who had spent their whole lives dreaming of this exact moment.”
“To the supporters, never let anyone tell you football is just a game. I saw families celebrating, children hugging their parents and fans singing with tears in their eyes. These are the moments that unite a country forever.”
“People will remember the goals and the result, but they'll never understand the sacrifices behind it. Years of criticism, disappointments, injuries and pressure have all led to one unforgettable night. That's what makes history so beautiful.”
“For every Canadian player wearing that shirt tonight, remember this feeling. You are no longer just footballers you are the generation that changed your country's football story forever. Every child who picks up a ball tomorrow will believe because of what you achieved today.”
“The knockout stage doesn't care about history, reputation or big names. It rewards courage, belief and those who refuse to give up. Canada earned this moment because they never stopped believing when the rest of the world doubted them.”
“And to the fans, celebrate like there's no tomorrow because nights like these don't come often. Years from now, people won't ask where you watched the match they'll ask how it felt to witness the night Canada reached the Round of 16 for the very first time.”
“This is bigger than football. This is the night an entire nation stopped dreaming about history and started living it.”
🚨🗣️NEW: Zlatan Ibrahimović on FIFA’s new mouth-covering red card rule: as Almiron was given a red card for covering his mouth in the game between Paraguay and Turkey
“I have seen football at its highest level, the real football. Not this watered-down version they are serving us now. What happened with Almirón? A straight red card for covering his mouth? This is not football anymore. This is a circus run by bureaucrats in suits who have never felt the fire of the pitch.”
“Covering your mouth is now a red card? What is this, Big Brother on the field? FIFA wants to read lips, punish thoughts before they even become words. Next they will put muzzles on players like dogs. Players cannot even talk, cannot even breathe passion without some VAR robot or referee deciding your emotions are illegal. This is dystopian. Football is dying.”
“This rule was born because some players cry every week. One incident in the Champions League and suddenly the whole world must change. But elbow a man, break his leg, or spit — sometimes you get a yellow and a pat on the back. Two-tier football. Protect the protected, punish the rest. I have played in every league and I have seen it.”
On the softness of the modern game:
“Maradona would be sent off in the tunnel. Roy Keane? He would laugh at the referee and walk off with a smile while the stands burn. Pepe would have collected five reds before half-time. Today? Players are becoming actors, not warriors. They fall, they cry, they hide behind rules. Where is the masculinity? Where is the character? Football is not ballet. It is war. And they are turning it into a polite conversation with red cards as punctuation.”
“I, Zlatan, have scored goals that made stadiums shake and said things that made opponents tremble — without hiding. This generation is being raised soft. If you cannot handle words on the pitch, how will you handle life? FIFA is not protecting football. They are burying it. And one day, the real fans will rise and say: enough. Bring back the game.”
Canada’s head coach Jesse Marsch says that Qatar’s Assim Madibo came into Canada’s dressing room to apologize to Ismael Koné & the team about the leg injury he caused. 🇨🇦🇶🇦
Just heard the news on #ClaudeLemieux
This is extremely sad no matter what feelings from past or present you hold. My thoughts and prayers to his family and friends and people who got to see the person off the ice wasn’t the person on. As I’ve said and will always call it as I see it
“If your on the ICE with Claude Lemieux and your turn your back. YOU Are an IDIOT.
But off the ICE I’ll turn mine”
And please. If you are struggling at all please reach out and talk to someone
Godspeed my friend
More people need to know that ancient Roman engineering was so precise, their aqueducts still produce clear water to this very day - 2,000 years later.