‘No Canadian will forget this day,’ Marsch reacts to 6-0 win over Qatar
Coach of the Canadian national team Jesse Marsch has reacted after his charges beat Qatar 6-0 in a group B encounter securing the first men’s World Cup victory in the country’s history.
The game played at the BC Place in Vancouver saw striker Jonathan David netting a brilliant hat-trick in the encounter which was overshadowed by a freak injury suffered by Canadian midfielder Ismaël Koné.
The one sided game saw Cyle Larin open the scoring in the 16th minute, followed by a Nathan Saliba free kick, and an own goal conceded by Qatar’s Mohamed Al-Mannai.
Speaking to newsmen after the game, Marsch said sometimes one needs moments where every body remembers what happened while noting further that no Canadian will forget this victory against Qatar.
“When I came here, the vision was more than just this World Cup,” Marsch said after the match.
“Obviously, a big carrot was the fact that it was a home World Cup, but it was also to change the sport in the country, to drive interest, to drive expertise … to educate and to create a pathway for the future and to create an identity for what Canadian soccer could be.
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“And you can say and do all the right things, but you need moments like today. You need moments where everybody remembers what happened. No one will forget this and no Canadian will forget this day.”
The win was heavily dimmed by a severe challenge on Koné that left him with a broken leg. Marsch called it a “huge loss,” praising the midfielder as a fearless, imperfect player who embodies the grit of the Canadian squad.
He also talked up the potential of his top striker Jonathan David saying the player is not done with scoring more goals at the 2026 World Cup.
“Jonathan has scored a heck of a lot of goals, right?” Marsch said. “Of course, in the biggest games we want him to score and he will, and he has, and he won’t stop. He’s not done scoring, people.”
The final Group B fixtures for both teams take place on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. Canada will take on Switzerland while Qatar will square up against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
