Canada celebrated its first-ever World Cup win on Thursday night into Friday in Vancouver, routing Qatar 3-0 and moving into the second half with the match already decided. Before this game, Canada had never won a World Cup match.
Cyle Larin opened the scoring with his second goal of the tournament, after also scoring in the draw with Bosnia. Jonathan David then struck twice, giving Canada a 3-0 lead by halftime and sending Canadian fans into celebration. Supporters hailed it as, “the biggest day in the history of our football,” and declared, “We are officially a football nation.”
The first half was described as total dominance, and the crowd reportedly booed at halftime because it did not want the game to stop. Canada took eight shots on target in the first half against Qatar, the most by any team in a World Cup first half since Romania also had eight against Argentina in 1994.
The result also changed a long-standing national stat, as no Canadian player had previously scored more than one World Cup goal. Larin and David both surpassed that mark in this match. Canadian praise was also directed at coach Jesse Marsch, with fans saying the result did not matter so much as the team’s overwhelming performance.
