Eustáquio takes nothing for granted on road to World Cup

In September, Canadian midfielder Stephen Eustáquio was named the Portuguese Liga’s midfielder of the month. The award punctuated a run where Eustáquio solidified his starting spot on FC Porto, one of Portugal and European club soccer’s most successful teams.

But unlike national team teammates Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David, and Tajon Buchanan, Eustáquio’s rise to the top level of European club football has not been a straight line. The 25-year-old is just three years removed from suffering a major knee injury that threatened to derail his career.

Now Eustáquio, who also regularly starts for Canada, celebrates every milestone for club and country proudly, because he knows nothing has come easy.

“I always worked for it,” Eustáquio said. “Now it’s like in this natural way of seeing things that when something good happens I try to appreciate it. But at the same time, I try to look back and say that I came from the bottom, and that’s what I really appreciate the most.” 

Eustáquio was born in Leamington, Ont., to Portuguese parents who eventually moved the family back to Portugal. He comes from a soccer family and credits his father, Armando, and brother, Mauro, for instilling a sense of tenacity and stubbornness in him – traits that helped him deal with rejection early in his career.

“Every time I heard a no, they were just there to say this is normal, you know, it’s hard to be in football,” Eustáquio said. “…Football involves a lot of decisions. Its involves a lot of pressure and this is normal. You just have to work hard, and things will turn your way.”

Eustáquio played his way through clubs in Portugal’s lower leagues, earning a spot in the country’s under-21 team alongside future stars João Félix, Diogo Jota, and Rúben Dias. But Eustáquio wanted to feel more pressure and get a sense of expectation in a club environment. He moved to Mexican giants Cruz Azul in January 2019 but injured his ACL and meniscus in his first league appearance. Eustáquio would miss nearly 11 months and never played for Cruz Azul again.

While his family gave him the mental tools to deal with months of gruelling rehab, Eustáquio said Canada’s men’s head coach John Herdman gave him a different kind of perspective. After indicating Canada’s interest in Eustáquio, Herdman never pressured the midfielder. According to Eustáquio, the coach’s invitation was open and patient: “We’re here, we’re available, and we really want to count on you.”

“That’s why I think I wanted to represent Canada,” Eustáquio said. “There was never pressure for me to make a decision. [Herdman] always waited, he was very patient, and I just did what I needed to do back then with Portugal. And when I felt that the time was right, I moved to Canada. I appreciate that he never put pressure on it because probably if he did it would be way worse, and he never did. I’m very happy about that and I’m happy to be here.”

Eustáquio’s first professional game back from rehab was Canada’s 4-1 lost to the U.S. in November 2019. Since then, Eustáquio has made 26 appearances for Canada, playing in 17 World Cup qualifying games.

As Eustáquio’s international career flourished, so did his play at the club level. Cruz Azul first loaned then sold Eustáquio to mid-table Portuguese side Paços de Ferreira. And then, from the time Canada began its qualifying campaign in March 2021 to making the tournament a year later, Eustáquio moved on loan from Paços de Ferreira to Porto.

To hear Eustáquio describe Canada’s work ethic is to hear a player praise a team that has inspired him.

“There’s no space for people to not run, to not work,” Eustáquio said. “Everybody has to work and that’s how the chemistry of the team is at such a high level, because everybody gives 100 per cent and that’s why we made it to Qatar.”

“It’s really about touching the heart before you try and take people’s hands,” Herdman said of his coaching philosophy. “It’s about making sure you connect those spirits. You see people, their spirit first, and their potential through that before you get stuck in to ‘This is what I need from you.’”

What Herdman needs from Eustáquio now is to potentially start alongside Canada’s captain Atiba Hutchinson in big World Cup matches against Belgium and Croatia, and to stall, if not stop, Belgium superstar Kevin De Bruyne and Croatia maestro Luka Modric.

Eustáquio’s game is vision, pace, and intensity. Davies, David, and Buchanan might get more headlines for their skill and their goals, but Eustáquio knows Canada can only pass and move if his effort drives everything.

“Just work hard again,” Eustáquio said of who he is and how he plays. “I never expected nothing from my career.”