VANCOUVER \u2013 There is no doubt about it. On Thursday, in front of 52,497 fans in Vancouver, the Canadian national team<\/a> played the best game in the country\u2019s men\u2019s soccer history.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cI\u2019m trying to think of one that would be comparable,\u201d said former Nashville SC<\/a> and CF Montr\u00e9al<\/a> defender Alistair Johnston. \u201cI think [it is].\u201d<\/p>\n After picking up the CanMNT\u2019s first FIFA World Cup<\/a> point with a 1-1 draw<\/a> against Bosnia and Herzegovina last week in Toronto in their Group B opener, Les Rouges throttled Qatar on the West Coast. Jonathan David scored a hat-trick, and Nathan Saliba, Cyle Larin, and LAFC<\/a>\u2019s Jacob Shaffelburg<\/a> helped push the score to an\u00a0emphatic 6-0<\/a> over the tournament’s 2022 hosts.<\/p>\n Yet, for as much as the moment will be everlasting in its positivity, Canada couldn\u2019t fully embrace the dominance. Instead of explosive celebrations, the group came together at the final whistle and huddled with all players and staff on the pitch. They leaned on each other after midfielder Isma\u00ebl Kon\u00e9 was forced to leave the match after sustaining a serious leg injury<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s such a bittersweet night,\u201d Johnston said, after head coach Jesse Marsch and those on the bench described a shot-like sound when Kon\u00e9 suffered the tackle and hit the grass in shock and pain.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s tough, but now it’s given us another reason for what we’re gonna play this tournament for… we\u2019re going to look at 6-0 in a World Cup game. I don’t care who you’re playing against, what the situation is, that’s something that puts ourselves in the history books and sets us up really well.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 19, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Even after losing their creative maestro in midfield, the victory marked a defining moment for Canadian soccer.<\/p>\n The day will transcend the result. Before the match, veins of red and white streamed through Vancouver streets, with the stadium as the heartbeat, before spilling into celebrations that stretched late into the night throughout downtown.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the same time, the match itself showcased Canada’s arrival as a nation that can command attention on the world’s greatest sporting stage.<\/p>\n Beyond being the first win, it marked the first time the team scored multiple goals in a single World Cup match and put them in a strong position to reach the knockout rounds for the first time in history.<\/p>\n \u201cNo Canadian will forget this day,\u201d Marsch said. \u201cThere will be 41 million people that said they were here, and it’s an incredibly seminal moment for everyone to understand that there’s talent in this country, that there’s mentality, desire, that there’s a lot of things that make this country special.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve learned in this business that big moments don’t come so easily, and you have to appreciate them, and you have to celebrate them, and I wanted to make sure that the stadium did.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 CANMNT (@CANMNT_Official) June 19, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Even the most optimistic of Canadian soccer fans wouldn\u2019t have expected the type of game David played. The Juventus striker was electrifying from the start, leading an unrelenting attack after facing harsh criticism due to his struggles against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the opener.<\/p>\n It all came just 18 hours after Marsch told a room full of reporters to \u201cput on their seatbelts,\u201d as he assured that David\u2019s goalscoring form would return.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI said buckle up, so I hope you guys had your seatbelts on today,\u201d Marsch told reporters Thursday. \u201cI never had any doubts in Jonny, and the one thing I said is, for us to really be successful as a team, we need him driving what we do in the attacking part of the pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n Already the all-time leading goalscorer for Canada (42 goals), the 26-year-old forced a save that created Larin\u2019s opening goal before perfect link-ups, thunderous strikes and elusive runs brought him to the hat-trick moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n By the end of the match, David had 15 of Canada\u2019s record 97 touches<\/a> in the opposition\u2019s penalty area, becoming\u00a0the first player since 1966 to score a hat-trick for a host nation.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt was amazing,\u201d David said of the atmosphere. \u201cAfter each goal, it got louder, and it gave you even more hunger, more determination to get the next goal and the next one… It was very difficult, especially in a game that was basically won already, but we had to stay strong for [Isma\u00ebl].\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Jonathan David just did something no Canadian has ever done before pic.twitter.com\/eyumT0PSsq<\/a><\/p>\nA special night<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
David makes history<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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