Eustáquio and Canadian teammates refuse to be intimidated ahead of World Cup clash with Croatia
CBC
Chris Jones is in Qatar covering the men's World Cup for CBC Sports.
Stephen Eustáquio doesn't get the attention of his flashier colleagues on the Canadian men's national team: He's a defensive midfielder — less the spark, and more the gunpowder. But there are lessons for every one of his teammates, for all of us, in his slow and steady ascent.
"You can see why people get to the top of their craft," John Herdman, his admiring coach, said in Doha on Saturday, a little more than 24 hours before his team will play a "do-or-die" game here against fearsome Croatia.
That the Canadians have such a game to play is testament enough to their collective refinement. That they're talking credibly about winning it — "It's going to be tough for us, but it's going to be tough for them," Eustáquio said — feels almost surreal.
When Herdman took over as the men's coach in January 2018, Canada was ranked 94th in the world, between Gabon and the Faroe Islands (population 49,053).
The following year, Eustáquio joined the effort. He was born in Leamington, Ont., to Portuguese parents, and the family returned to Portugal when he was seven. He could have played for Portugal. He chose Canada instead.
WATCH | Canada faces must-win game vs. Croatia:
"Even if we didn't qualify, I made the best decision of my life to come play for Canada," he said after he and his teammates had finished their improbable run to their first World Cup since 1986.
When he'd made that fateful choice, Eustáquio had endured a brutal stretch in his career, which began in Portugal's third division. "He was written off," Herdman said.
In January 2019, he'd moved to Mexico to play for Cruz Azul; in his debut, he blew up his knee. There is footage of him being stretchered away, his leg in pieces, his hands pressed to his filling eyes.
He now plays his club soccer for Porto, where he has been a sensation, scoring in back-to-back Champions League matches before the World Cup break.
He has been equally brilliant for his country. In Canada's narrow opening loss to Belgium, Eustáquio nutmegged Kevin De Bruyne, one of the greatest midfielders on Earth, before delivering a beautiful ball into the box. Jonathan David just missed getting his head properly behind it.
The play happened right in front of Herdman. He turned and locked eyes with his son, Jay, sitting in the crowd behind him. "The two of us were looking at each other in awe," Herdman said.
How do you get up from a stretcher in Mexico to nutmeg Kevin De Bruyne at a World Cup in Qatar?
