Jonathan David powers Canada to historic World Cup win over Qatar

Co-hosts Canada moved to the brink of the knockout stage at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after Jonathan David scored a hat-trick in a commanding 6-0 victory over Qatar on Thursday, a landmark win that was tempered by the serious injury suffered by midfielder Ismaël Koné.

The result earned Canada their first-ever World Cup victory and continued the country's impressive start to Group B after opening the tournament with a draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina. It also represented an unprecedented attacking explosion for a team that had scored only two goals across all of its previous World Cup appearances.

David led the way with three goals, while Cyle Larin, Nathan Saliba and an own goal by Mohamed Manai completed the rout. Qatar finished the match with nine players after Homan Ahmed and Assim Madibo both received marching orders.

Canada's celebrations, however, were overshadowed by concern for Koné, who was stretchered off early in the second half after suffering a broken left leg following a challenge from Madibo. The midfielder was taken to hospital and was preparing for surgery, with his family by his side.

Head coach Jesse Marsch described the occasion as a defining moment for Canadian football despite the emotional scenes surrounding Koné's injury.

"No one will forget this, and no Canadian will forget this day," Marsch said. "It's an incredibly seminal moment for everyone to understand that there's talent in this country, that there's mentality, that there's desire, that there are a lot of things that make this country special."

In other matches on the day, Switzerland's breakthrough finally arrived in the closing stages after coach Murat Yakin introduced Johan Manzambi in the 71st minute. The 20-year-old immediately changed the game, meeting a loose ball near the penalty spot with a powerful side volley after Amar Memic's attempted clearance from Ruben Vargas' cross to give the Swiss the lead.

Bosnia and Herzegovina's hopes of salvaging a result suffered another blow six minutes later when defender Tarik Muharemovic was shown a straight red card for bringing down Breel Embolo from behind and denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity. Switzerland quickly took advantage of the numerical edge, with Embolo setting up Vargas before Manzambi completed his brace in the 90th minute. Bosnian substitute Ermin Mahmic briefly reduced the deficit with a stunning volley in stoppage time, but captain Granit Xhaka converted a late penalty to complete the scoring.

The 4-1 victory put Switzerland in control of Group B with four points from two matches following its opening draw against Qatar. Bosnia and Herzegovina remained on one point and now faces a difficult task in its final group match against Qatar after conceding all five of its goals in the tournament after the 70th minute.

South Africa had struggled to create clear-cut opportunities for much of the match and looked set to leave Atlanta empty-handed before a late turning point helped them salvage a point. Pavel Sulc handled Thapelo Maseko's shot inside the penalty area in the 81st minute, allowing Teboho Mokoena to convert from the spot and secure Bafana Bafana's first point of the tournament.

Czech Republic had numerous opportunities to put the match out of reach long before the equalizer arrived. Patrik Schick headed wide inside the opening minute, while Vladimir Darida and Schick both squandered promising chances early in the second half. South Africa, meanwhile, rarely tested goalkeeper Matej Kovar until the closing stages, but the late goal sparked a surge of momentum that nearly produced a winner.

The result keeps Group A finely balanced heading into the final round of fixtures, with both South Africa and the Czech Republic still in contention for a place in the knockout stage. South Africa coach Hugo Broos praised his team's response after the opening defeat to Mexico and highlighted his players' resilience against a physically imposing opponent. "I am very proud of my team when you see the reaction after the Mexico game," Broos said. "The Czech Republic team is very powerful, and very tall. We did very well with the second balls. It was a fantastic performance."

In the other clash of Group A, Mexico edged the Republic of Korea 1-0 to become the first team to reach the last 32.