At full strength, Canada can go toe-to-toe with any opponents in the Americas. After steady climbs up the Concacaf charts and a credible run to the 2024 Copa América semi-final, all hope was that a talented squad could find their stride at a home World Cup.
That belief came to life on Thursday, as Jesse Marsch’s side played a dominant 6-0 win over Qatar before a crowd of 52,497 for the country’s first-ever victory at a men’s World Cup. Jonathan David’s hat-trick led the celebration of the program’s progress over the past decade, marred only by a horror leg injury suffered by the midfielder Ismaël Koné in the second half.
The Vancouver crowd opened with a rousing rendition of O Canada, 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.
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 calm before a storm settled into BC Place and rocked Julen Lopetegui’s side.
In their World Cup opener, a 1-1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada sent in nine corners without posing much of a scoring threat. Drawing three in the opening half-hour, one proved indirectly vital toward the breakthrough. Ali Ahmed’s 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.
After the first-half hydration break, Canada got back to work. Alistair 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’s 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.
Things got worse for Qatar. Minutes after David’s 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 video assistant referee check was necessary, its purpose was more to ensure that Buchanan hadn’t been fouled inside the box rather than any effort to spare Ahmed’s blushes. The Qatar left-back was given a straight red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
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’s 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.
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 the goal. David and the midfielder Stephen Eustáquio engaged in a chest bump, closing a 51-minute run through dreamland.
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’s perimeter. In the 51st minute, Koné turned his back to help send a pass to his defensive line. The Qatar midfielder Assim Madibo put a little extra into a tardy attempt to stop his pass. Instead, he clattered into the back of Koné’s left leg, an initial yellow card that sent Eustáquio, Koné’s midfield partner into hysterics as he notified Marsch and the Canada bench of what he had seen – Koné’s leg dangling in an unnatural shape.
The cameras caught Koné’s 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. Several of Koné’s teammates were visibly beside themselves. Following the left-back Homam Ahmed’s sending-off in the 33rd minute for denying a goalscoring opportunity just outside the box, that sent Qatar down to nine players.
Eustáquio was the first to alert the rest of Canada to Koné’s injury. “I saw his leg,” Eustaquio said after Thursday’s 6-0 win over nine-man Qatarthe match. “I saw that something wasn’t right, and I just wanted for the medical staff to get in as quick as possible.
“They tried to defend their players, and we tried to defend ours. I think it’s normal, they still want to go far in this competition, but at the same time it’s a clear red. Like, there’s no debate in that he basically broke his leg. They want a yellow, but for me it makes no sense.”
Johnston, the Canada and Celtic defender, said: “He’s a kid that’s so easygoing, and just loves the sport so much. To see someone like that go down in such a needless challenge as well? It’s frustrating.”
The fracas resumed after the final whistle with a confrontation between Marsch and the Qatar coach, Julen Lopetegui.
During the match the heart of Canada met the moment. A nation known for its neighbourly nature soundtracked Koné being carried to the sideline on a stretcher 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 Crépeau’s net, he sat straight up and waved to the tens of thousands chanting his name.
When Nathan Saliba – the midfielder who took Koné’s place – buried a direct free-kick in the 64th minute, he immediately turned to point toward the tunnel down which Koné 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.
The loudest cheer of the day beyond the many goal celebrations was for an 86th-minute scoreboard shot of Christine Sinclair, the sport’s all-time leading international goalscorer of any sex. Perhaps the Canadian men will have their own hero’s welcomes after their careers come to a close. While the star defender Alphonso Davies – available for selection after recovering from a hamstring injury – was understandably spared from joining a game that already had two red cards, players such as David and Koné are well on their way to famous careers for club and country alike.
In the second minute of stoppage time, David was fortunate to block one of his teammate’s shots without anyone nearby, turning what could have been Saliba’s second goal into an assist to complete his hat-trick. David, already Canada’s all-time leading male goalscorer, is the first player on a host nation’s team to score a World Cup hat-trick since Geoff Hurst in 1966.
Considering Koné’s importance to Canada, David wasn’t able to relish the spotlight. “He means everything to this team,” David said. “If you [ask] the same question to any guy on the team, they will tell you the same. I don’t even know how to describe him. He’s someone that we love a lot.”
