Canada celebrated its first ever World Cup victory overnight Thursday to Friday, routing Qatar 6-0, but the match in Vancouver quickly turned into a night of concern after midfielder Ismaël Koné was badly injured in the 51st minute.
Koné was taken off on a stretcher after a hard challenge by Qatar’s Assim Madibo. Reports said he suffered a fracture in his tibia and fibula and was headed to hospital with his mother, Suzanne, beside him, ahead of a possible operation. Canada was awaiting an official update, but the expectation was that Koné’s tournament was over and he could be sidelined for four to five months.
Coach Jesse Marsch said the injury happened “right in front of the bench” and that everyone heard it. “Everyone could hear the bone break. My heart goes out to him, everyone was shocked,” Marsch said, adding that Koné is “a big part of the heart of this team.” Referee Cristián Garay initially showed Madibo only a yellow card, but after a VAR review upgraded it to a red. The match was paused for several minutes while medical staff treated Koné and teammates tried to shield the scene from view as fans in Vancouver chanted his name.
Madibo later went to Canada’s dressing room to apologize to Koné and the team. In an emotional response, substitute Nathan Saliba, who replaced Koné in the 56th minute, scored Canada’s fourth goal six minutes later and pointed to his own number 8 before lifting Koné’s shirt and dedicating the goal to him. “I couldn’t really balance the emotions. I just had to do it,” Saliba said. Defender Alistair Johnston said Canada now had “something else to play for,” while the team sent public messages of support, calling the squad “an unbreakable brotherhood” and dedicating the win to “our brother Ismaël.”
