Canada is facing Qatar in Vancouver in its second group match at the FIFA World Cup tonight. Alphonso Davies is not in the starting lineup but he is available to come off the bench if needed. Canada is coming off a 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina last Friday in Toronto and will look to keep pace with Switzerland atop Group B. These two teams last met in 2022, with Canada winning 2-0 in a World Cup tune-up friendly.
Here is the latest:
45 (3-0)
Entering the second half, Canada will be looking to score a fourth goal against an undermanned Qatari squad because if they can win by 4 goals, they would only need a draw in their final game against Switzerland to finish atop the group.
Moise Bombito, who has been recovering from an injury, replaces Derek Cornelius in the Canadian backfield.
45+3 (3-0)
Jonathan David has his second goal of the first half, knocking in the rebound after Cyle Larin’s original shot was saved by the Qatari goalkeeper.
35 MIN (2-0)
Canada had a chance to grab a 3-0 lead, but Jonathan David sailed a shot over the goal following a free kick inside the Qatari box. The free kick was earned after Tajon Buchanan was hauled down inside the box by Qatar defender Homam Ahmed, who was sent off with a red card on the play.
29 MIN (2-0)
Striker Jonathan David, who has come under scrutiny for his lack of offence, powers a shot past the goalkeeper to give Canada a 2-0 lead.
16 MIN (1-0)
For the second straight match, Cyle Larin has scored for Canada, knocking in a rebound past Qatar goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada to give Canada the early 1-0 lead.
Canada striker Johnathan David, all alone on the right side of the goal, nearly made it 1-0 at the seventh minute but was thwarted by a diving save by Qatar keeper Mahmoud Abunada. Qatar had their own chance two minutes later but failed to convert a free kick just outside the box following a yellow card handed to Derek Cornelius.
CARNEY AT THE MATCH
Prime Minister Mark Carney will be at the match and he says “the atmosphere is going to be unbelievable in BC Place.” He says Canada has an exciting, attacking team and with Alphonso Davies available on the bench, Canada has “a lot of options.”
Canada fans flooded Vancouver’s streets and BC Place Stadium as the city counted down the last hour before kickoff. The “last mile” walk to the stadium was a sea of red as the Voyageurs supporters’ group set off on its pre-game march, blowing trumpets, beating drums and waving flags and smoke canisters ahead of the match against Qatar. Canada fan Duncan Mackey, his bald head painted in the home team’s colour, says the atmosphere on the march was “phenomenal.”
SWISS ATOP GROUP B
Switzerland took a decisive lead atop Group B with a 4-1 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in Los Angeles. Johan Manzambi scored twice for Switzerland, which now has four points from two games. Ruben Vargas also scored for the Swiss, and veteran Grant Xhaka capped the scoring on a penalty in the seventh minute of added time. Erman Mahmic scored for Bosnia, which drew Canada 1-1 in Toronto in its first game last Friday.
FONZI ON THE BENCH
Alphonso Davies is not in Canada’s starting lineup for today’s game against Qatar. The co-host nation will begin with both Jonathan David and Cyle Larin on the field. Larin came off the bench and scored in Canada’s 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina last Friday, while David is the all-time leading scorer for the country’s men’s program.
Canada soccer fans march prior to a World Cup Group B soccer match, against Qatar in Vancouver, on Thursday, June 18, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
VANCOUVER — Canada fans have flooded Vancouver’s streets and BC Place Stadium as the city counts down to its first home-team match of the 2026 World Cup.
The “last mile” walk to the stadium was a sea of red as the Voyageurs supporters’ group set off on its pre-game march, blowing trumpets, beating drums and waving flags and smoke canisters ahead of the match against Qatar.
Canada fans had been encouraged to wear red, and they’ve heeded the call as they fill the stadium ahead of the match that Prime Minister Mark Carney is also set to attend.
There had earlier been a long queue at the official FIFA Fan Festival in East Vancouver, where total tournament attendance is set to surge past the 100,000 mark today, after hitting 98,000 on Wednesday.
Canada fan Duncan Mackey is taking the instruction to wear red to the extreme, getting his teenage son and his friends to paint his bald head in the home team’s colour.
He was on the Voyageurs’ march and says the atmosphere was “phenomenal.”
“It’s not that often when you see 10,000 people in red, all walking together, so it’s good to see,” he says.
Mackey, from Lethbridge, Alta., says he’s impressed by how Vancouver has “come alive” for the World Cup, where Canada’s men’s team is hoping for its first win in finals history after drawing with Bosnia-Herzegovina last week.
Noor Kamel says she’s originally from Yemen and will be sitting with Qatar’s fans, but Canada is also “in my heart.”
The former Vancouver resident, who also used to live in Qatar but now lives in Burnaby, says she scored a free ticket to the match in a lottery by Qatari authorities.
Dressed with a Qatari flag as a sash, she says she’s more interested in “the vibe and to celebrate diversity.”
“I’ll cheer for both, Canada and Qatar. It’s a game at the end of the day,” she says, adding that she was “so proud” of her former home city’s performance hosting the World Cup.
“Good luck for all the teams, actually,” she says, calling the tournament “a celebration for the world.”
The male Qatari fans are distinctive in the stadium, dressed in their flowing white robes. Qatar’s fans had staged a small-but-vocal supporters’ march on Wednesday evening, chanting to the beat of traditional darbuka drums as they set off from a hotel near the stadium.
In the hours before kickoff, FIFA’s official resale platform had been showing tickets were still available with prices starting around $1,000, but those without tickets were heading to the fan festival at Hastings Park and other watch parties around Metro Vancouver.
Toronto’s FIFA Fan Festival has meanwhile run into another weather-related problem, with organizers saying the site won’t open until two hours before the Canada-Qatar kickoff because more time is needed to prepare following recent severe weather.
There was significant rain and thunderstorms overnight. Fans were evacuated last Thursday on the first day of the tournament because of a lightning threat, and the site also opened late on Sunday because of thunderstorm concerns.
The Qatar match is the second of seven World Cup matches at BC Place after the stadium’s tournament debut on Saturday between Australia and Turkey.
New Zealand will play Egypt on Sunday in the next match at BC Place, before Canada’s final group-stage encounter against Switzerland next Wednesday.
— With files by Nono Shen
Keep it Factual
Add CityNews Calgary as a trusted source on Google to see more local stories from us.
