{"id":646477,"date":"2026-06-19T03:01:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T03:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/646477\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T03:01:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T03:01:09","slug":"canada-rout-nine-man-qatar-but-kone-injury-sours-first-ever-world-cup-win-world-cup-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/646477\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada rout nine-man Qatar but Kon\u00e9 injury sours first-ever World Cup win | World Cup 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

At full strength, Canada can go toe-to-toe with any opponent in the Americas. After steady climbs up the Concacaf charts and a credible run to the 2024 Copa Am\u00e9rica semi-final, all hope was that a talented squad could find their stride at a home World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That belief came to life on Thursday, as Jesse Marsch\u2019s side played a dominant 6-0 win over Qatar<\/a> before a crowd of 52,497 for the country\u2019s first-ever victory at a men\u2019s World Cup. Jonathan David\u2019s hat-trick led the celebration of the program\u2019s progress over the past decade, marred only by a horror leg injury suffered by midfielder Isma\u00ebl Kon\u00e9 in the second half.<\/p>\n

The Vancouver crowd opened with a rousing rendition of O Canada<\/a>, forging the proverbial 12th-man atmosphere that Marsch ordered up entering the match. Their team wasted no time in keeping their block of possession in the Qatar half, eager to ratchet up the pressure from the very start.<\/p>\n

For the first eight minutes, save for one break, Canada kept Qatar pinned back. Only after an Akram Afif scamper and a drawn foul did the visitors find some semblance of balance. It would prove the proverbial calm before a storm settled into BC Place and rocked Julen Lopetegui\u2019s side.<\/p>\n

Cyle Larin beats Qatar goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada to open the scoring in Vancouver. Photograph: Anne-Marie Sorvin\/IMAGN\/Reuters<\/p>\n

In their World Cup opener, a 1-1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina<\/a>, Canada sent in nine corners without posing much of a scoring threat. Drawing three in the opening half-hour on Thursday, one proved indirectly vital toward the breakthrough. Ali Ahmed\u2019s service caromed around as Qatar failed to clear their lines. The ball fell to Cyle Larin, the hero in the opener, to kick off a raucous celebration.<\/p>\n

After the first-half hydration break, Canada got back to work. Alastair Johnston played a ball up the channel to Tajon Buchanan, who fashioned a shot that was eventually blocked. The ball took a curious loop right into David\u2019s patch of pitch. The Juventus forward connected on a silky volley before the ball hit the ground, with no chance for the diving Mahmoud Abunada to stop it.<\/p>\n

Things got worse for Qatar. Minutes after David\u2019s goal, Canada played another ball beyond the defense into Buchanan, who bolted toward the box before being taken down by a desperate Homam Ahmed. While a VAR check was necessary, its purpose was more to ensure that Buchanan hadn\u2019t been fouled inside the box rather than any effort to spare Ahmed\u2019s blushes. The Qatar left-back was given a straight red card for denying a goal-scoring opportunity.<\/p>\n

Canada continued to seize their opportunities. In the 38th minute, with Abunada committed to a dive at his far post, the ball found Buchanan for a potential poacher\u2019s goal, only for Akram Afif to clear it off the line. Even as the stadium announcer indicated there would be six minutes of stoppage time, nearly everybody wearing red in the stands stayed in their seats.<\/p>\n

Jonathan David (right) jumps to celebrate his second goal with Stephen Eust\u00e1quio. Photograph: Agust\u00edn Marcarian\/Reuters<\/p>\n

The loyalists were rewarded just before half-time. Buchanan played a far-post cross from the right to Larin, whose header was saved. The ball again hung in the air just long enough for David to get a vital touch and send it into goal. David and midfielder Stephen Eust\u00e1quio engaged in a chest bump, closing a 51-minute run through dreamland.<\/p>\n

Once the second half began, Canada wasted no time advancing into the attacking third, pinning Qatar and toying with them with passes around the box\u2019s perimeter. In the 51st minute, Kon\u00e9 turned his back to help send a pass to his defensive line. Qatar midfielder Assim Madibo put a little extra into a tardy attempt to stop his pass. Instead, he clattered with the back of Kon\u00e9\u2019s leg, an initial yellow card that sent Eustaquio into hysterics as he notified Marsch and the Canada bench of what he\u2019d seen \u2013 Kon\u00e9\u2019s leg dangling in an unnatural shape.<\/p>\n

The cameras caught Kon\u00e9\u2019s reaction as he assessed his lower left leg, a look of shock and disbelief. Madibo looked dismayed, hands on the sides of his head. Video review upgraded his offense to a red card and sent Qatar down to nine players. Several of Kon\u00e9\u2019s teammates were visibly beside themselves.<\/p>\n

Isma\u00ebl Kon\u00e9 acknowledges the crowd as he\u2019s stretchered off following his injury. Photograph: Emma Peterson\/AP<\/p>\n

And yet, the heart of Canada met the moment. A nation known for its neighborly nature soundtracked Kon\u00e9\u2019s stretchering to the sideline with an ovation, with the player stopping the process briefly to take in the sight of support. As he was carried past both benches toward the tunnel behind Maxime Cr\u00e9peau\u2019s net, he sat straight up and waved to the tens of thousands chanting his name.<\/p>\n

Canada did their best to resume the domination. When Nathan Saliba \u2013 the midfielder who took Kon\u00e9\u2019s place \u2013 buried a direct free kick in the 64th minute, he immediately turned to point toward the tunnel down which Kon\u00e9 went and fashioned a No 8 with his hands. Two minutes later, the stadium sustained a wave with seemingly perfect participation, with the corner of Qatar supporters keeping their momentum in spite of what had become a gruesome affair for the visitors.<\/p>\n

Hours after Switzerland opened the second round of Group B play with a 4-1 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina<\/a>, Canada continued to pad their goal difference. Another sequence off a dead ball in the 75th found Jacob Shaffelburg, whose far-post shot would have flown wide if not for a desperate Mohamed Al Mannai throttling it into his own net.<\/p>\n

Jonathan David<\/a><\/p>\n

The loudest cheer of the day beyond the goal celebrations was for an 86th-minute scoreboard shot of Christine Sinclair, the sport\u2019s all-time leading international goalscorer of any gender.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the Canadian men will have their own hero\u2019s welcomes after their careers come to a close. While star defender Alphonso Davies \u2013 available for selection after recovering from a hamstring injury<\/a> \u2013 was understandably spared from joining a game that already saw two red cards, players such as David and Kon\u00e9 are well on their way to famous careers for club and country alike.<\/p>\n

Jonathan David completes his hat-trick. Photograph: Lee Smith\/Reuters<\/p>\n

In the second minute of stoppage time, David was fortunate to block one of his teammate\u2019s shots without anyone nearby, turning what could have been Saliba\u2019s second goal into an assist and completing his hat-trick.<\/p>\n

David, already Canada\u2019s all-time leading male goalscorer, is one of several players achieving things that haven\u2019t been done before. In fact, all 26 players are now in the history books: the first group of Canadian men to win at a World Cup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At full strength, Canada can go toe-to-toe with any opponent in the Americas. After steady climbs up the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":646478,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":["post-646477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=646477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/646478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=646477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=646477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=646477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}