Jonathan David's hat-trick fires Canada to historic first World Cup win in 6-0 rout of Qatar

Jonathan David scored a hat-trick and Canada recorded their first-ever FIFA World Cup victory, thrashing Qatar 6-0 at BC Place in Vancouver on Thursday to move to the brink of the knockout round.

The result was as emphatic as it was historic. Canada had never won a World Cup match before Thursday — they were shut out in all three games at the 1986 tournament — and the margin of victory tripled the country’s entire World Cup goal tally in a single evening.

Cyle Larin opened the scoring in the 16th minute, pouncing on a rebound after Qatar goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada parried David’s volley. David then doubled the lead with a right-footed volley in the 29th minute, his first goal in open play in more than a year, before completing a first-half brace in stoppage time after a shot cannoned off the crossbar and fell to him in a scramble in front of goal.

Qatar’s task became near-impossible when Homan Ahmed was sent off in the 33rd minute following a challenge on Tajon Buchanan. The referee initially pointed to the spot, but a video review upgraded the punishment to a red card and awarded a free kick just outside the box instead.

The chaos continued early in the second half when Assim Madibo received a red card for a tackle on Ismael Koné, who was stretchered off with a serious injury to his lower left leg. Substitute Nathan Saliba marked his introduction by curling home a free kick in the 64th minute to make it 4-0, before Mohamed Manai deflected a shot past his own goalkeeper in the 75th.

David completed his hat-trick in stoppage time, joining Lionel Messi as the only players to score three goals in a single match at this World Cup.

“No one will forget this, and no Canadian will forget this day,” said head coach Jesse Marsch, who held up six fingers as he walked off the pitch. “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’s a lot of things that make this country special.”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was among the 52,497 fans at BC Place, watching alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino after missing the opening group game in Toronto due to the G7 summit in France.

Qatar coach Julen Lopetegui acknowledged the scale of the defeat but pointed to the red cards as a decisive factor. “It was a very tough match for many reasons. The players did their best. It was very difficult to face this match with two players less with this environment,” he said.