Serious Injury Dampens Canada Festivities
- Timothy Belin
- 9 hours ago
- 4 min read
Credit Abbie Parr/AP via Sportsnet
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
A serious injury to Canada’s Ismael Kone took some of the shine off a stellar performance and first-ever World Cup win for the tournament co-hosts.
Canada defeated Qatar with a resounding 6-0 scoreline, with striker Jonathan David grabbing a hat-trick. With three goals and a Qatari red card either side of the half, the result was never really in doubt.
Cyle Larin got the party started in the 16th minute, reacting fastest to a rebound to poke home his second of the tournament. The opportunity came after a save from a David volley, and David buried his second volleyed attempt in the 29th. The ball looped in the air following a deflection off a shot, and the Juventus forward struck it sweetly to open his account for the evening.
Just two minutes later, Tajon Buchanan went down in the box, and the referee blew for the penalty. After VAR review, however, the foul was deemed to have originated outside the box, and a free-kick was given instead. But with no more double-jeopardy in play, Qatar’s Homam Elamin received his marching orders for denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity.
While Canada were denied the opportunity for a third, they still got it before the first period was up.
got his goal following a save off David, and the strike partnership exchanged roles in the third minute of stoppage time for the 3-0. Larin had a header on goal pushed back by a flying save, but this time it was David who was quickest to react to get his brace.
As halftime blew, the Vancouver stadium was rocking with nearly 55,000 fans celebrating their country’s phenomenal display.
“We wanted to play the kind of football that would electrify the crowd,” Jesse Marsch, Canada’s head coach, said. “We wanted to showcase the talent and mentality that we have. There are going to be 40 million Canadians who claim they were in the stadium today. These 55,000 were lucky and what a performance they saw.”
That party atmosphere was however brought to a brief halt just five minutes into the second half following a wild challenge on Kone by Qatar’s Pedro Miguel.
The defender ran into Kone from behind and sent him flying to the floor. As the camera panned to the midfielder on the ground, it quickly became clear he was likely done for the tournament, let alone the game. Spectators saw him grab his leg and react in real time to a visibly distorted limb.
The broadcast wisely chose not to share any replays of the incident, but the reaction from the players around him told the story.
As medics rushed to the stricken player, Miguel put his hands on his head with a look of horror on his face at the realization of what his challenge had caused. Some tensions flared up between the Canadian and Qatari players, but most of them were too shocked to feel anger. Multiple Canadian players were very visibly shaken, with David notably seen in tears.
The injury break lasted nearly seven minutes, with the Canadian players forming a huddle to refocus prior to the restart. During that time, Miguel’s original yellow card was upgraded to a red by VAR, sending Qatar down to nine men.
Canada took advantage soon after, as Kone’s replacement, Nathan Saliba, struck a great free-kick into the goal’s top corner in the 64th minute. The 20-yard strike went in off the upright, and the substitute quickly celebrated by raising a Kone jersey to the crowd.
Play was then paused for a “hydration break” even though it had only just restarted and the game was taking place in a closed, air-conditioned stadium, causing frustration with the local fans who were loving their team’s display.
But any fears the break would dampen the free-flowing attack were quickly ruled out.
In the 74th minute, Canada got a fifth, this one from a Qatari own goal. Jacob Shaffelburg attempted a strike from the left of the goal, and Mohamed Al Mannai blasted it into his own net while trying to clear the ball.
David then put a bow on the performance in the second-minute of stoppage time. Saliba attempted a shot from the edge of the box, and after pinballing off a few players the ball fell to the striker. He turned on the spot and placed his third goal of the night past a helpless goalkeeper.
The 6-0 victory was Canada’s first ever World Cup win and put them in pole position to win Group B. With Switzerland the other team on four points in the group, the two’s June 24th encounter at BC Place will determine who finishes top.
The Canadians will go into the game filled with confidence, and knowing a draw would be enough to secure first place.
“We showed the world who Canada is,” Larin said. “A lot of players came from nowhere, basically. We showed the fight we have in us. And we showed that we can perform on the world stage. We are just getting started. Ismael Koe's injury hurts and was emotional, but we went back out there and got the job done.
“Switzerland are around the corner and the job is not finished,” he continued. “I think we can do way better, and we will have Kone in the back of our minds and do it for him.”
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