BC Place Vancouver turned into a battleground as Corn was carried away on a stretcher, Qatar received two red cards, and both teams scuffled after full time.
Published June 19, 2026
Canada defeated nine-a-side Qatar 6-0 in a Group B match for its first World Cup victory, but it was marred by a serious injury to home team midfielder Ismael Cohn and disciplinary issues during and after the match.
A hat trick from Jonathan David, goals each from Cyle Larin and Nathan Saliba, and an own goal from Qatar sealed a memorable victory for the Canadian team on Thursday at BC Place Vancouver Stadium.
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Canada needs only a draw with Switzerland in the final game to finish first in the group, but Qatar and Bosnia-Herzegovina will aim for third place in Wednesday’s match.
However, the celebratory mood in Vancouver, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rooting for Les Rouges, was soured when Cohn suffered a serious injury in the 51st minute.
Qatar’s Asim Madibo tipped Kone over with a clumsy challenge from behind, leaving the Italy-based midfielder clutching his left leg and writhing in agony.
The severity of the injury quickly became apparent as teammates frantically called for help from Canadian medical staff on the sideline.
Cohn was eventually carried off the pitch on a stretcher and waved to the crowd while breathing in through an oxygen pipe.
Madibo was initially given a yellow card for the tackle, but was upgraded to a red card after a VAR review and was sent off, making it Qatar’s second sending off after Homam Ahmad was given his marching orders in the first half.
With Qatar down to nine men, Canada made the most of it and scored 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 ran to the sideline and celebrated his goal by holding up a replica of Cone’s injured Canada uniform and pointing to the number 8 on his back.
Substitute Jakob Schaffelburg also contributed to the 5-0 victory, his powerful shot being converted by defender Mohamed Manai into Qatar’s goal.
After Cyle Larin’s opening goal in the 16th minute, David, who had scored twice in the first half, completed his hat-trick in the second minute of stoppage time to end the rout.
“It’s hard to concentrate.”
It was David’s 56th hat-trick at the Men’s World Cup and his second at the 2026 tournament.
Argentina superstar Lionel Messi led his team to a 3-0 victory over Algeria, setting several records and scoring his first goal of the tournament in the process.
David is also the first North, Central American and Caribbean Football Confederation (CONCACAF) male player to score a hat trick since 1930, and the first Canadian male to score multiple goals in a World Cup.
The embers of the carnage during the match were reignited after full-time, with both teams scuffling on the halfway line and had to be forced out by FIFA volunteers and team officials.
“It was a great game even before (Kone) got injured, but after he got hurt, I think it was hard to concentrate on the game, hard to finish the game…I wanted to finish the game so everyone could come together,” David said after the game.
“It’s going to take a few days to sink in, but obviously we know what we did today was historic for this country, our first World Cup win, and it’s really great to do it in that way.”
