Updated / Friday, 19 Jun 2026 07:55
Canada claimed their first World Cup win in style with a 6-0 thrashing of nine-man Qatar in front of a raucous home crowd in Vancouver – although a serious-looking injury to Ismael Kone threatened to overshadow the result.
The co-hosts were aided throughout by some poor Qatar defending and red cards to defender Homam al Amin and midfielder Assim Madibo – the latter for a challenge which appeared to leave Kone with a broken leg.
After both sides exchanged chances to open the scoring, Canada went ahead in the 15th minute through Cyle Larin and very quickly made it two when Juventus forward David's volley flew past the outstretched hands of Qatari goalkeeper Mahmud Abunada.
The first red came just after the half-hour mark, when VAR upgraded Al Amin’s last-gasp challenge on Tajon Buchanan. Referee Cristian Garay had initially given a penalty and yellow card but the tackle was ruled to be just outside the box, causing the card to be upgraded, with the extra man paying dividends just before half-time when David pounced on a rebound to nab his second.
The second half began in nightmarish fashion for both sides as Madibo was sent from the field for an aggressive challenge on midfielder Kone, who was stretchered off with what appeared to be a serious leg injury.
Substitute Nathan Saliba brought some joy back for Canada in the 65th minute, finding the back of the net from a free-kick and immediately rushing to his bench to raise a jersey with Kone’s name and number on the back.
The result was rudimentary from there, with a Mohamed Manai own goal and a late hat-trick for David extending the lead for the host nation.
Canada now know that one more point will see them finish top of Group B, with their final group stage game coming against Switzerland on Wednesday.
Canada now know that one more point will see them finish top of Group B, with their final group stage game coming against Switzerland on Wednesday.
Following the match, Canada head coach Jesse Marsch said the team "embody everything that's great about this country".
He told fifa.com: "We wanted to play the kind of football that would electrify the crowd. We wanted to show the kind of talent and mentality that we have. There’s going to be 40 million Canadians claiming they were in the stadium today. What a performance from our team.
"I’ve said all along that the best resource of this national team programme is the players. They’re incredibly kind, and generous and giving to each other but they’re also great players, great talent and great competitors. Coming into today I really wanted just to showcase their potential and I think we showed that today."
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