Canada continues to make history at the World Cup: it wins its first match and has all but secured its spot in the next round

Canada continues to make history at a World Cup. The host team secured its first victory of the tournament with a 6-0 rout of Qatar and has all but secured its spot in the next round. On a negative note, midfielder Ismaël Koné left the game with a serious injury after a hard tackle by Assim Madibo that earned him a red card.

The star of the match was Juventus forward Jonathan David, who scored a hat trick that was also historic for the Canadians. Cyle Larin (16'), Nathan-Dylan Saliba (64'), and Mohamed Naceur Almanai (75')— an own goal—scored the other goals.

With this victory, the team coached by American Jesse Marsch is tied for first place in Group B with Switzerland, both on four points, and is well on its way to advancing, for the first time in its history, to the World Cup knockout stage.

Qatar finished the match with nine men following the red cards shown to Homam Al-Amin (32') and Assim Madibo (53'), the latter for the foul that caused Koné to suffer a severe fracture to his left leg, for which he was taken to a hospital.

"We could all hear the bone snap"

"We could all hear the bone snap," Marsch lamented in comments reported by AFP. "We were shocked by the nature of the injury and because Ismaël is a key player on our team. It will be a significant loss."

Larin, who had also scored in Canada's opener, put his team ahead after pouncing on a rebound from the goalkeeper following a shot by David. Moments later, David began a scoring showcase of his own, becoming just the second player to record a hat trick at the 2026 World Cup after Lionel Messi.

Qatar's first red card tilted the match even further in Canada's favor. Just before halftime, David struck again after pouncing on a rebound from a Larin header that had been parried by goalkeeper Mahmud Abunada.

The injury to Koné cast a somber shadow over Canada's historic World Cup victory. He was stretchered off the field amid scuffles and protests. Before play resumed, the Canadian players gathered in a tight huddle, with David visibly breaking down in tears.

"I don’t blame him"

Marsch reported that Madibo went to apologize to the Italian Sassuolo player in the locker room. “I don’t think he intended to make such a horrific tackle and cause such a horrific situation. I don’t blame him,” he said.

Nathan-Dylan Saliba, who came on for Koné, celebrated by holding up his teammate’s jersey after scoring on a free kick.

Another player who came off the bench, Jacob Shaffelburg, contributed to the home team’s victory by taking the shot that Almanai deflected into his own net. David sealed the rout, the most lopsided victory ever achieved by a CONCACAF team in a World Cup.

Other Results

Group A

Czech Republic 1 - South Africa 1

Mexico 1 - South Korea 0

Group B

Switzerland 4 - Bosnia 1