Co-hosts Canada put on a show in front of their fans in Vancouver, firing six goals past a nine-man Qatar to secure a 6-0 win; the biggest FIFA World Cup victory by a Concacaf nation.
Jonathan David scored a hat-trick as Canada earned their first-ever World Cup win in rampant style, brushing aside nine-man Qatar 6-0.
Cyle Larin and Nathan Saliba also got on the scoresheet in a brilliant performance at BC Place that sends them top of Group B with one game to play, with Homam El Amin and Assim Madibo both sent off for Julen Lopetegui’s side.
It was total dominance by Canada, with David seeing a volley parried early on before he played his part in the 16th-minute opener.
He sent another volley straight at Mahmoud Abunada, but this time, the goalkeeper spilled it into a dangerous area, and Larin pounced to get his second goal of the tournament.
Canada doubled their lead just before the half-hour mark, with David putting his laces through Tajon Buchanan’s blocked shot to pick out the bottom-right corner.
Qatar’s first red card came just moments later; Canada were initially awarded a penalty for El Amin’s clumsy challenge on Buchanan, but replays showed contact was outside the box, so he was shown a straight red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
Akram Afif was then on the line to keep out Buchanan’s scuffed effort, but the co-hosts got their third on the stroke of half-time, with David reacting quickest to turn in Larin’s saved header.
The only blip on a historic day for Canada came five minutes into the second half as Madibo caught Ismaël Koné awkwardly from behind. The Sassuolo midfielder seemingly suffered a broken leg, which led to Madibo’s red card.
Kone waved to fans as he was stretchered off, and his replacement, Nathan Saliba, then whipped a stunning free-kick around the Qatar wall and in off the right post 64 minutes in.
Canada’s perfect day in Vancouver got better in the 75th minute as Jacob Schaffelburg’s off-balance effort was swiped into the net by the unfortunate Mohammed Al Manai.
But it was David who had the final say in the 92nd minute. Saliba fizzed a throughball into David’s feet, and he swivelled to plant his hat-trick goal beyond a helpless Abunada, becoming the second player to score a treble this tournament after Lionel Messi.
Canada Hit New Heights in Vancouver
Canada enjoy playing in Vancouver, so it should be no surprise they got their first World Cup win there; they have now won their last five matches played in the city, scoring 23 goals and conceding only two.
This is their eighth World Cup match, and they finally broke their duck, doing so in style. Having never before scored more than once in a game, they are now the first Concacaf nation to score six or more goals in a single outing.
Larin got the goalscoring started, becoming the first Canadian player to score multiple career goals in the World Cup, and the first Concacaf player to score in consecutive matches since Clint Dempsey in 2014 for the United States against Ghana and Portugal.
Qatar’s two red cards means there have already been more sendings-off at this World Cup (six) than across the whole of the 2022 tournament, which they hosted.
So Canada’s dominance is perhaps no real surprise; their eight shots on target were the most in the first half of a World Cup match since Romania in 1994 vs Argentina (also eight).
Overall, they finished with 32 attempts (10 on target), worth 4.46 expected goals (xG), and they head into their final match against Switzerland high on confidence, with the pair set to fight it out for top spot, while Qatar’s chances of making the round of 32 take a major blow.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Canada vs Qatar stats from their 2026 FIFA World Cup Group B meeting at BC Place Vancouver on 18 June.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Canada 6-0 Qatar: Post-Match Opta Facts
Canada’s six goals were the most ever scored in a FIFA World Cup match by a Concacaf nation, besting the four goals scored by Mexico (1970 vs. El Salvador) and the United States (2026 vs. Paraguay) and the most ever scored in a FIFA World Cup match by a nation from outside Europe or South America.
Jonathan David became the second player representing a Concacaf nation to record a hat-trick in a FIFA World Cup match, joining Bert Patenaude (1930) of the United States.
Jonathan David became the first Juventus player to record a hat-trick at the FIFA World Cup since Italy’s Paolo Rossi in 1982 against Brazil.
Qatar became the first AFC team to receive two red cards in a single match in FIFA World Cup history. The six total red cards shown in this year’s edition are the most in a single FIFA World Cup since 2014 (10).
Nathan Saliba’s goal was the first goal scored directly from a free kick at the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the fourth such goal from a Concacaf player since 1966, joining Mexico’s Luis Chávez (2022), Costa Rica’s Ronald Gómez (2006) and the USA’s Eric Wynalda (1994).
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