Horror injury overshadows Canada's first World Cup win

Canada celebrated their first ever World Cup victory with a commanding 6-0 win over nine-man Qatar, yet the night in Vancouver was overshadowed by a gruesome injury to midfielder Ismael Kone. Jonathan David struck a hat-trick, Cyle Larin opened the scoring, and Nathan Saliba added a superb free-kick, while a Qatar own goal completed the rout. But the defining moment came early in the second half when Qatar’s Assim Madibo clattered into Kone from behind, leaving the midfielder screaming in pain and clutching his left leg.

Players urgently signalled for medical help before Kone was stretchered off, waving weakly as he inhaled oxygen. Madibo’s yellow card was upgraded to red after VAR review, adding to Homam el-Amin’s earlier dismissal. With Qatar reduced to nine, Canada surged forward relentlessly. Saliba honoured Kone by lifting his teammate’s shirt after scoring, and David completed his hat-trick in stoppage time to seal a bittersweet milestone.