World Cup 2026: Canada captures history in momentous 6-0 victory vs. Qatar, but not without heartbreaking injury for Ismaël Koné
Along with now sitting atop Group B, Canada made history by securing its first ever win at a men’s World Cup game
Canada’s Jonathan David (10) celebrates after scoring during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group B match between Canada and Qatar at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, Canada, on June 18, 2026.
Canada v Qatar – FIFA World Cup 2026 – Group B
Team Canada’s historic performance versus Qatar will be remembered for a number of milestone moments, as it marks the country’s most successful game in men’s World Cup history.
With the dominant 6-0 outcome, it’s the largest-margin win for a CONCACAF team at a World Cup, and places Canada at the top of Group B in the 2026 FIFA tournament.
To make matters even sweeter, Canada’s first ever men’s World Cup win also took place in front of a roaring home crowd at BC Place in Vancouver.
“We just showed the world who Canada is, showed many Canadians they can do what we did,” said striker Cyle Larin. “A lot of the players came from nowhere basically, and we showed we can make this level of play on the world stage.”
Along with Larin scoring for the second straight game, Jonathan David contributed with a hat trick against Qatar. However, the most emotional goal was courtesy of Nathan Saliba, who was subbed into the match following a heartbreaking moment for Ismaël Koné.
To start the second half — with Canada already up 3-0 — Qatar picked up its second red card as Assim Madibo tackled Koné from behind. A live angle showed Koné in disbelief as his lower left leg appeared to be snapped. He was stretchered off the field in front of an emotional crowd at BC Place.
“He’s gonna be missed a lot, but now we just have to make him proud and make sure that we go really far in the tournament for him,” said Moïse Bombito.
Post-game, head coach Jesse Marsch said that Koné is now preparing for surgery, while Madibo made the effort to visit Canada’s dressing room and personally apologize.
With only one more group stage match to play — and so many goals in their back pocket — it becomes highly unlikely Canada won’t advance to the Round of 32. In doing so, it would also mark another historic first for the men’s program.
While they’ll surely bask in today’s monumental win in Vancouver — which has already included a visit from Prime Minister Mark Carney to their dressing room — Canada’s team understands that they’ve yet to reach their potential.
“Switzerland’s around the corner, and we need to get ready for them, and the job’s not finished,” said Larin. “I think we’ve just shown what we can do, and I think we can do it way better.”
By pulling off a win or a tie against Switzerland on June 24, they’ll secure first place in Group B, which means they get to play their Round of 32 match in Vancouver. By finishing in second, they’ll have to make the trip to Los Angeles.
Regardless of what happens in the future of this tournament, it’s safe to say that the world has been put on notice about how great this team can be, for a multitude of reasons.
“They embody everything that’s great about this country,” said Marsch. “They’re incredibly kind and generous and giving to each other, but they’re also great players, they’re great talent, and they’re great competitors. … I’m so proud to be their coach, and we’re going to keep going.”
Despite a favorable result for Canada in Thursday’s Group B match against Qatar, the team lost star Ismaël Koné to a brutal, unnecessary injury.
Koné was carted off the pitch in the second half of Thursday’s match after sustaining a leg injury in a collision with a Qatar player. The 24-year-old is one of Canada’s rising young stars and an injury of this magnitude certainly will have him missing the rest of the 2026 World Cup in a really unfortunate way.
World Cup 2026: ‘I’ll be back very soon,’ Ismaël Koné offers hopeful update to Canadian fans
Canadian soccer star Ismaël Koné is leaning on faith and gratitude after suffering a devastating leg injury during Canada’s World Cup clash against Qatar in Vancouver Thursday evening.
The 24-year-old midfielder from Montreal broke his left leg early in the second half of Canada’s 6-0 victory Thursday night after a tackle from Qatar’s Assim Madibo.
The injury unfolded directly in front of Canada’s bench, with head coach Jesse Marsch later saying coaches and players could hear the bone snap as Koné fell to the turf, according to reports by Canadian Press. Trainers rushed onto the field and Koné was eventually stretchered off as more than 52,000 fans at BC Place chanted his name.
“Last night, Ismaël Koné underwent successful surgery to repair a lower limb fracture. He is expected to make a full recovery but will miss the remainder of FIFA World Cup 2026. You will come back stronger, Isma!” a statement from the Canada team said on Friday.
Koné, who wears No. 8, called the setback a test of his faith and character in a heartfelt social media statement following the injury.
“He knows and sees everything before it even happened,” the soccer star wrote. “He has a plan and a vision for all of us. This battle is test to my faith in him and to my character. And honestly I’m ready for it because, ALLAH will never give you a challenge that you can’t overcome and being tested is the best of gift from god.”
Koné also expressed gratitude for the outpouring of support and thanked his Canadian teammates, joking that he had briefly become an “assistant coach” on the sideline, and promising: “I’ll be back very soon and we’ll keep making more memories together.”
In a detail that adds an unmistakably Canadian twist, the team’s coach reports that three surgeons at Vancouver General Hospital who had been watching the match on TV ended up operating on the injured star Thursday night, rushing in once they learned the severity of the injury.
‘I just want to say Get well soon’: Fans offer the injured star well-wishes
Fans and teammates flooded social media with messages of support after Koné shared the hope and faith-filled statement following his injury, turning the midfielder’s promise to return into a rallying point online.
Across posts and comments, supporters praised his resilience, faith and gratitude, with many echoing his own words that he would “be back very soon” and continue building memories with the national team.
Koné wasn’t alone in hospital, with teammate Moïse Bombito sharing an image on social media of the pair together at Vancouver General Hospital.
With uncertainty swirling on how long Koné may be off soccer to allow his leg to heal, one thing remains clear — Canada has his back.
Several of his teammates were also in the comments offering their support.
Other’s praised the doctor’s actions, thanking them that the injured soccer star was getting “The best care.”
Some fans are already referring to Koné as “goat,” short for “greatest of all time,” a label usually reserved for players operating at the very highest level of the sport.
Jonathan David, Cyle Larin make history in World Cup win over Qatar
The World Cup has seen several brilliant, historic, and record-setting performances across the first week of matches, including standout scoring from Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, and Harry Kane.
Add Canada’s Cyle Larin and Jonathan David to that list of players, as they just achieved history for their nation in a dominant 6-0 victory over Qatar.
Larin scored Canada’s first goal at 16 minutes into the match, which officially gave him the record as the nation’s first player to achieve two goals in the World Cup. He scored the lone goal in his team’s first game at this year’s event against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
However, David wouldn’t allow Larin’s record to stand for long as he decided to take over the record for himself, recording a hat trick to achieve the best performance in the nation’s history in a single World Cup game.
He connected on the team’s second goal 13 minutes later, and then added his second of the game during three minutes of extra time in the first half. David then scored in two minutes of extra time before the game ended, giving his third goal for an impressive day on the pitch in Vancouver.
Per ESPN Insights, David’s feat marked the first time a CONCACAF men’s player scored a hat trick since 1930. He now holds the record for most goals scored for Canada, which could easily be tied or broken with upcoming matches, especially since his teammate is right there with him on the leaderboard.
Their teammate, Nathan Saliba, also recorded a goal in the team’s 6-0 victory, with the other goal arriving as an own goal from Qatar’s Mohamed Manai.
That also makes Saliba eligible to tie or take over the record, depending how the rest of the tournament plays out for Canada.
All of the players who scored achieved history for Canada today, as the team’s six goals set the record for most goals ever scored in a World Cup game by a CONCACAF team.
Larin and David’s feats might seem small to many people, due to Canada’s limited history in the World Cup. This is their third appearance in the event, with the previous two coming in 1986 and 2022.
Being a co-host country for the event with the United States and Mexico is a significant boost, as it lends support to the team as they compete. They definitely gave the home crowd in Vancouver an impressive showing today
Their win follows an opening draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina in their first Group B match last Friday. Canada currently has four points and is tied with Switzerland for the group lead.
They’ll next face Switzerland in a crucial game on Wednesday, June 24, at 3 p.m. ET, with David, Larin, and Sabali attempting to make further history by scoring goals as they look to advance deeper into the later stages of this event.
Jonathan David silences doubters with historic hat-trick as Ismael Koné injury darkens Canada’s first World Cup win – Winners and Losers of dominant Qatar.
Canada made history with their first men’s World Cup win as Jonathan David delivered a hat-trick and Jesse Marsch’s press overwhelmed Qatar, but Ismael Koné’s serious injury cast a shadow over a dominant night in Vancouver.
The Canadian men’s national team is on the board at the World Cup and played with a confidence like never before, but it wasn’t an overwhelmingly celebratory mood at the end of the 6-0 win in the afternoon at Vancouver’s BC Place.
After a first half that saw Jonathan David silence doubters with a brace and Cyle Larin score his second goal in as many games, the second half saw key midfielder Ismael Koné suffer a serious injury after taking a tackle from behind.
Assim Madibo was sent off for the challenge, putting Qatar down to nine men in the 51st minute after they had already fallen to 10 following Homam Elamin’s dismissal for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity in the first half. Koné, who looked more stunned than in pain, left on a stretcher, sitting up and waving at fans, after appearing to suffer a serious lower-leg injury on the close-up broadcast angle.
It didn’t take long for Canada to respond. Nathan Saliba, who replaced Koné off the bench, scored Canada’s fourth from a free kick in the 64th minute. He held up Koné’s jersey in celebration, bringing the crowd back into the game and lifting some of the somber mood that had overtaken BC Place after Koné’s injury. Jacob Shaffelburg then scored a fifth before David netted a sixth to complete his hat-trick.
The win marked Canada’s first at a men’s World Cup. David became the first player to score a hat-trick for a host nation since 1966, and Canada’s electrifying first-half performance saw them pepper Qatar with eight shots on target, a feat not seen at a World Cup since 1994.
“No Canadian will forget this day,” Marsch said. “There will be 41 million people that said they were here, and it’s an incredibly seminal moment for everyone to understand that there’s talent in this country, that there’s mentality, desire, that there’s a lot of things that make this country special.”
“I’ve learned in this business that big moments don’t come so easily, and you have to appreciate them, and you have to celebrate them, and I wanted to make sure that the stadium did.”
Entering the final matchday, Canada will hold the tiebreaker advantage over Switzerland, with a draw enough to secure top spot and a home match in the Round of 32, with the potential for another in the Round of 16..
Jonathan David is a mercurial player, and throughout the week, he faced plenty of noise after a disappointing showing in the opening draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he was pulled before the hour mark.
The Juventus striker has always said that he lets his goals do the talking – he rarely speaks to the media – and he did just that against Qatar. Early on, his energy was emphatic, pressing Qatar’s defenders and winning second balls. It didn’t take long for him to make his mark on the scoreboard and shut everyone up
In the 16th minute, a thunderous volley off his right foot created the rebound for Larin to score his second goal of the tournament. Minutes later, David got on the end of a perfectly worked triangular exchange between Tajon Buchanan and Alistair Johnston, before sending a perfectly placed shot into the net for his first World Cup goal. Later on, it was Larin taking the initial shot before David barreled in the rebound.
In the dying moments, he broke through again to add insult to injury, scoring Canada’s sixth and becoming the first Canadian to score a hat-trick at the World Cup. Still, the celebrations were largely reserved after Koné’s injury.
“It was amazing. After every goal, it got louder and louder,” David said of the crowd. “It gave us motivation to get the next goal and the next goal.”
After all the doubt around his ability to deliver in the biggest moments, David finally showed up. The country’s all-time leading goalscorer, now with 42 goals, found the exact confidence that millions had been hoping he’d find.
“That’s a player, that’s a striker, that’s a goal scorer. I never had any doubts in Jonny, and the one thing I said is, for us to really be successful as a team, we need Jonny driving what we do in the attacking part of the pitch,” Marsch said post-match. “He set up the first goal with the shot, then he obviously scored the hat trick, but I thought he was fantastic in general.”
Although there has been no official update, it appears Canada may have to go ahead without Koné for the rest of the tournament and potentially well into the future. Without him, Canada don’t have another player who can thread passes through defenses, pierce defensive lines, and bring that same level of confidence on the ball.
“You could hear the bone snap,” Marsch said after the game, adding that Koné had gone to the hospital for surgery. “Your heart goes out to him. Everybody’s shaken for him.”
Injuries ravaged Canada’s lead-up to the World Cup, so the “next man up” approach is nothing new. They’re getting Alphonso Davies back, and Saliba did score off a free kick after coming on for Koné – all good profiles, but players who lack the specific skillset Koné brought.
“For us to be at our best, he’s a big part of it. But, look, it’s given us now something else to play for,” fullback Alistair Johnston said. “That’s what this team is all about, it really is a brotherhood. So it’s really difficult to see one of your brothers go down. But, look, if we needed any extra motivation for this tournament, we got it now.”
Alistair Johnston was on the edge throughout Canada’s match, with the threat of a yellow card ruling him out of the Group B finale against Switzerland. Instead of playing in a reserved manner, the Celtic fullback was tenacious in his approach, making himself a central figure in wide overloads with Buchanan, Koné, and David.
He picked up the assist on Canada’s second goal and finished the night with four accurate crosses and six big chances created. At the same time, he avoided a yellow card, keeping himself in contention for the final group-stage match, with cards set to be wiped before the Round of 16.
“We knew that the idea was kind of to build up against the Akram Afif. He’s a maverick; you could see some of the quality he had on the ball. Defensively, though, the idea was to play against him, make him defend, because we didn’t think he was going to,” Johnston said of the approach down the right side. “We’re trying to find that balance of me being in the defensive three in a build-up, but then also give me the license, as I have with my club, to really join in and help Tajon.”
When Koné went down injured, Johnston, one of the most vocal players in the locker room, went to comfort several teammates while also looking cautiously over at his teammate on the ground. He’s a critical player to the team’s success, but he also showed his leadership in a challenging moment.
Qatar struggled to a point that no other team had reached in this World Cup so far. After finishing last at their home World Cup four years ago, the team looked unprepared for the moment against this edition’s co-hosts.
They showed grit and defensive resolve against Switzerland, including the late goal that secured a World Cup point in a 1-1 draw, but the moment got away from them on Thursday.
Head coach Julen Lopetegui, despite his experience in some of the sport’s biggest moments, struggled to maintain his group’s composure.
Qatar will now most likely bow out of Group B and will play their final match without two starters. If Thursday’s performance is anywhere close to the level they plan to play at in the future, it may be a while until they reach a World Cup stage again.
Canada’s aggressive press, with a focus on overloading players in wide areas, paid off in spades on Thursday. Within minutes of kickoff, Buchanan and winger Ali Ahmed had won balls back and forced turnovers, while Qatar were reduced to long balls and only a few brief moments in possession.
Throughout the afternoon, Canada forced players into duels and won 33 of them, while consistently forcing their opponents to chase the game. With their aggressive approach, Canada also managed to win back balls that looked as if they were dribbling out of play, sparking attacking opportunities from those moments.
It was an unrelenting effort from Canada until the final minute, and it showed the fruition of everything Jesse Marsch had dreamed of tactically, under the spotlight.
Heading into the first matchup against Bosnia, there was noise around Larin’s impact in front of goal – so much so that Marsch dropped him from the XI in favor of Tani Oluwaseyi. Larin has since scored twice, once in each match.
After Larin silenced the doubters in Toronto, the noise moved to David’s struggles in front of goal. Consider those doubters washed away, too, after his hat-trick.
With the resounding win, Canada showed they can not just compete on the World Cup stage, but thrive. They managed to do it without Davies as well, giving the captain and superstar another week to recover before playing for the top of the group against Switzerland.
Now, it’s about unifying around the loss of Koné, with the hope that this group can carry him with them as the tournament moves into its biggest moments.
And Morocco is there again after beating Scotland. Are you kidding me. This is great football and we are watching it live. Marvelous.
Scotland fans were left heartbroken after their triumphant World Cup start came to a juddering halt against Morocco in Boston on Friday.
The Tartan Army was in need of just one point to burnish their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages, but had cold water poured on their hopes of overturning a strong Moroccan side when Ismael Saibari scored within the opening two minutes.
After a first-half on the back foot, Scotland grew in confidence in the second-half, and may feel they have been hard done by after missing out on a strong penalty shout in the 1-0 defeat.
Looking on both Stateside and at home, supporters cut dejected figures, with fans at an official watch party at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow at times unable to watch as Steve Clarke’s side were unable to find the back of the net.
In Boston Stadium in Foxborough, even an impassioned crowd couldn’t keep the concern off their faces after Morocco scored.
Fans did however continue to create a strong atmosphere inside the stadium for the full 90 minutes, including a poignant minute’s applause on the 76th minute to honour Donny Strathie, a travelling fan who died in Boston just after the Haiti match.
Scotland fans looked a far cry from their upbeat pre-match preparations as Steve Clarke and Co lost to Morocco
No party for Scotland: Heartbreak for Tartan Army after first World Cup defeat to Morocco
Inside Boston Stadium, the Tartan Army were left downcast shortly after Morocco’s opener
Away from New England, at an official watch party in Brooklyn, fans appeared almost disbelieving at times, with the result unlikely to sink in until well after half-time.
‘For perspective, from Thursday to Sunday, the Tartan Army drank four times as much Boston Lager as we run through on a typical four-day holiday stretch like July 4,’ Devon Savage, who owns the company which runs Boston bar Samuel Adams Taproom said.
‘We had to schedule an emergency delivery on Saturday morning. We sold over 3,000 pints of lager over the weekend with our teams picking up 70 empty kegs on Monday.’
Handed a special Bank Holiday to celebrate the victory, Scotland fans partied through the early hours at home, with fans spilling into the streets chanting ‘No Scotland, No Party’.
In the stands, Scotland legends including Sir Rod Stewart were able to celebrate with their countrymen, with Scottish First Minister John Swinney, describing the match as ‘seismic’.
‘This is a seismic moment for Scotland which could pave the way for the squad to reach the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time,’ Swinney said.
‘I am absolutely ecstatic and I know people the length and breadth of Scotland will be jubilant and united in joy at this landmark win.’
Supporters clad in tartan and bearing Saltires also descended on Fenway Park this weekend, filling the stands and corridors with renditions of The Flower of Scotland and ‘Super John McGinn’.
At a watch party in Brooklyn, New York, one fan could scarcely believe what he was seeing
No party for Scotland: Heartbreak for Tartan Army after first World Cup defeat to Morocco
No party for Scotland: Heartbreak for Tartan Army after first World Cup defeat to Morocco
No party for Scotland: Heartbreak for Tartan Army after first World Cup defeat to Morocco
At the OVO Hydro in Glasgow, fans were unable to hide their disappointment with the result
At full-time in Foxborough, supporters in the stands struggled with the disappointing result
No party for Scotland: Heartbreak for Tartan Army after first World Cup defeat to Morocco
On the pitch, Steve Clarke’s players looked similarly affected after failing to secure a point
Scotland now have it all to do against Brazil in a bid to escape their challenging Group C
There was even some suggestion that the travelling fans may spark a Boston baby boom, with hundreds of local women flooding TikTok with videos suggesting the Tartan Army had ensured their ‘faith in men has been restored’.
Scotland will have one last chance to secure a vital point from their challenging Group C, against Brazil, who were unable to snatch more than a point in their opener against Morocco.
Brazil are the heavy favourites to beat Haiti in the match which follows Scotland’s defeat, and will look to play themselves into stronger form – but without the help of superstar Neymar Jnr, who remains unavailable as he recovers from a calf injury.
But regardless of their final match, Scotland could yet qualify as one of the strongest third-placed teams, due to having won their opener.
Adongo Ogony is a Human Rights Activist and a Writer who lives in Toronto, Canada
