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BC Place was a battlefield as Kone was sent off, Qatar received 2 red cards, and both teams clashed after full time.
Updated on 19 Jun 2026
Canada thrashed Qatar 6-0 with nine men to claim their first World Cup victory in a Group B match that was marred by a serious injury to home team midfielder Ismael Kone as well as coaching issues during and after the match.
Jonathan David’s hat-trick, one each from Cyle Larin and Nathan Saliba, as well as his Qatar goal, sealed a big win for the Canadians at BC Place Stadium on Thursday.
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Canada now needs a draw against Switzerland in their final game to finish top of the group, while Qatar and Bosnia and Herzegovina will look to finish third when they meet on Wednesday.
But the excitement in Vancouver, where Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is cheering for “Les Rouges”, was disappointed by Kone’s serious injury in the 51st minute.
Qatar’s Assim Madibo tackled Kone with a difficult challenge at the back, leaving the Italian midfielder reeling in pain and clutching his left leg.
The seriousness of the injury was immediately apparent as his teammates called for help from Canadian paramedics on the sidelines.
Kone was then brought out of the arena, dragging the oxygen pipe to the crowd.
Madibo, who was initially shown a yellow card in the match, was sent off after it was red following a VAR review – the second sending-off for Qatari Homam el-Amin after he was given his rules in the first half.
With Qatar down to nine men, Canada took advantage of three more goals.
Saliba – who replaced the injured Kone – curled in a free kick to make it 4-0 in the 64th minute.
The substitute celebrated his goal by running to the line to pick up a photo of the stricken Canadian Kone’s jersey and showing his jersey number, eight, with his hands.
Substitute Jacob Shaffelburg then helped make it 5-0, his fierce shot being turned into Qatar’s goal by defender Mohammad Manai.
David, who scored twice in the first half after Cyle Larin’s opener in the 16th minute, then completed his hat-trick in the second minute of stoppage time to complete the strike.
‘Tough to focus’
It was David’s 56th hat-trick scored at the men’s World Cup and his second in 2026.
Argentina star Lionel Messi scored his first win of the tournament as he led his team to a 3-0 win over Algeria as well wrote several articles in the way.
David is also the first male CONCACAF player to score a hat-trick since 1930 and the first Canadian to record a multi-goal World Cup game.
Threats to kill the match erupted after full-time when both sides clashed on the halfway line and were separated by FIFA volunteers and team staff.
“It was a good game even before (Kone) got injured, but I think when he got injured it was difficult to watch the game, even to finish the game… we just want the game to end so we can all be together,” David said after the game.
“It’s going to take a few days to sink in but obviously we know what we’ve done today is a world record, our first win in the World Cup, and to do that is amazing.”
