Canada thrash Qatar 6-0 for first World Cup win
Get the Health newsletter
Daily health & science — research, biotech, public health, the studies worth knowing. Free.
- Canada thrashed Qatar 6-0 at Vancouver Stadium — their first World Cup win in 40 years since first appearing at the tournament, leaving them almost certain of a place in the last 32.
- Ismael Kone suffered a visibly broken leg eight minutes into the second half after a badly-timed challenge by Qatar's Assim Madibo; coach Jesse Marsch said "everyone could hear the bone snap" and confirmed the 24-year-old faces surgery.
- Madibo was sent off for the foul, while teammate Homam El Amin was also dismissed in the first half for a professional foul on Tajon Buchanan, leaving Qatar to finish the match with nine men.
- Replacement Nathan Saliba scored Canada's fourth goal and held up Kone's shirt in tribute; Canada added two more to complete the 6-0 rout after the injury halt.
- Jesse Marsch was visibly emotional and in tears at the half-time water break, but rallied his side to push on; he said Madibo visited Canada's dressing room afterward to apologize.
- Canada next face Switzerland, knowing a win would guarantee top spot in their group and keep them in Canada for the knockout rounds.
Why it matters: Canada's first World Cup win in four decades is a landmark moment for a nation that had never even registered a point at the tournament until this summer, and it comes at a home World Cup Marsch has cast as a chance to "change the sport in the country." The cost is steep: Kone, a 24-year-old Sassuolo midfielder Marsch called "the heart of our team," now faces surgery and a tournament-ending layoff.
