Canada recorded their first-ever FIFA World Cup victory in emphatic fashion on Thursday, thrashing nine-man Qatar 6-0 in Vancouver to move to the brink of the last 32.
The tournament co-hosts, who had lost all six of their previous World Cup matches across the 1986 and 2022 tournaments, ended that run in style at BC Place Stadium with a dominant Group B performance.
Backed by a passionate home crowd that included Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Jesse Marsch’s side surged to victory through a hat-trick from Juventus forward Jonathan David, while Cyle Larin and Nathan Saliba also found the net. Qatar’s Mohammad Manai added to the scoreline with an own goal.
The win leaves Canada needing only a point from their final group match against Switzerland to secure top spot in Group B.
However, the victory was overshadowed by a serious injury to midfielder Ismael Kone, who was stretchered off after a heavy challenge from Qatar’s Assim Madibo in the 51st minute.
Madibo was initially shown a yellow card before the decision was upgraded to a red card following a review. Kone received oxygen treatment on the pitch before being taken to hospital.
Canada coach Jesse Marsch later revealed that Kone was being treated for a suspected broken leg and was expected to undergo surgery.
“It was right in front of us, and everyone could hear the bone snap,” Marsch said. “He’s at the hospital and will prepare for surgery. It’s a big loss for us because Ismael is a huge part of the heart of this team.”
Earlier in Group B, Switzerland revived their campaign with a convincing 4-1 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina at SoFi Stadium.
Johan Manzambi scored twice, while Ruben Vargas and Granit Xhaka also got on the scoresheet as the Swiss strengthened their hopes of progressing beyond the last 16 for the first time at the tournament.
The defeat left Bosnia-Herzegovina, who qualified after a playoff victory over Italy, facing a likely early exit with just one point from two matches.
Elsewhere, South Africa kept their qualification hopes alive with a 1-1 draw against the Czech Republic in Atlanta.
Michal Sadilek gave the Czechs the lead before Teboho Mokoena converted a penalty to earn South Africa a share of the points.
The result leaves both teams still in contention for a place in the knockout stage, although victory in their final Group A matches may be required to secure progression.
