Canada just did something it has never done in the entire history of the FIFA World Cup: win a match. And they didn’t just squeak by. They demolished Qatar 6-0 at BC Place in Vancouver on June 18, in a game so lopsided it barely qualifies as competitive.
Jonathan David scored a hat-trick. Qatar finished with nine players after collecting two red cards. The co-hosts are now within striking distance of advancing to the knockout rounds in front of their home crowd.
The match that made Canadian soccer history
Canada entered the 2026 World Cup as one of three co-hosts alongside Mexico and the United States, but hosting privileges don’t come with guaranteed results. The country’s only previous World Cup appearance, back in 1986, produced zero goals and zero wins across three matches. Four decades of waiting ended in roughly 90 minutes of one-way traffic.
David’s three goals anchored the performance, but he had plenty of help. Cyle Larin found the net, Nathan Saliba added another, and Qatar contributed an own goal to round out the rout. By the time Qatar was reduced to nine men through two separate red card incidents, the contest was already well beyond salvage.
The expanded 2026 World Cup format, which features 48 teams competing across 16 cities in three countries, means more matches, more upsets, and more opportunities for host nations to build momentum.
Crypto’s World Cup play is already in motion
Kraken became FIFA’s Official Crypto Exchange Supporter on June 9, just two days before the tournament opened on June 11.
Avalanche is providing blockchain infrastructure for FIFA’s digital initiatives during the tournament.
Chiliz runs a program called “Burn to Glory” that reduces the supply of fan tokens by up to 10% following national team victories. Think of it as a deflationary reward mechanism: your team wins, the token supply shrinks, and basic supply-demand dynamics theoretically push the price higher.
What this means for crypto investors watching the tournament
CHZ, the native token powering the Chiliz ecosystem, surged by as much as 28% in the lead-up to the World Cup’s June 11 start date.
A tournament with 48 teams playing 104 matches means a lot of potential burns if the “Burn to Glory” program covers enough participating nations.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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Editorial Team