Canada thrash Qatar 6-0 for first-ever World Cup win as Mexico also advance

Canada made history at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Day 8, routing Qatar 6-0 at BC Place in Vancouver to claim their first-ever win at a men’s World Cup — and in the process equalled the record for the largest margin of victory by a host nation, matching Argentina’s 6-0 defeat of Peru on home soil in 1978.

Jonathan David was the architect of the historic result, scoring a hat-trick to become the first Canadian man or woman to achieve that feat in a World Cup match. David is also only the second CONCACAF player to score a hat-trick in a men’s World Cup match. Canada became the first team from outside Europe or South America to score five or more goals in a single World Cup fixture, and it was also the first time the country had scored multiple goals in any World Cup match.

Mexico, the third host nation, also had reason to celebrate, securing their place in the Round of 32 to keep the tournament’s home-nation storylines very much alive.

Elsewhere, Switzerland produced the performance of the day among the European sides, dismantling Bosnia and Herzegovina 4-1 at Los Angeles Stadium. It was Switzerland’s first four-goal haul at a World Cup since they beat Romania by the same scoreline in 1994. Johan Manzambi came off the bench to score twice, becoming the youngest Swiss goalscorer at a World Cup since 1950 — at just 20 years and 247 days old — and only the tenth player in history to score multiple goals as a substitute in a World Cup match, and the youngest to do so.

Switzerland are now unbeaten in 11 consecutive World Cup matches when scoring first, a run stretching back to a defeat against Spain in 1966.

In Group A, South Africa and Czechia shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw at Atlanta Stadium, leaving both sides with ground to make up. Czechia scored directly from a throw-in for the second time in this tournament, equalling a record set by Ecuador in 1966 according to OPTA. Teboho Mokoena converted a penalty for South Africa — the country’s first World Cup penalty goal since 2002 and third overall.

The match also made a piece of managerial history: it was the first game in World Cup history where both head coaches were over 70 years old. Czechia’s Miroslav Koubek was 74 years and 290 days old, while South Africa’s Hugo Broos was 74 years and 69 days old on the day.