Canada made a complete mess of Qatar in their second match of Group "A" at the World Cup, largely sealing their place in the eliminations. The "Maple Leafs" crushed their opponent 6-0.
This was also helped by the fact that the Asians finished the match with nine men on the field after red cards for Homam Ahmed and Asim Madibo. Kyle Larin in the 16th minute, Jonathan David in the 29th, 45th and 90th minutes, Nathan Saliba in the 64th and an own goal by Mohamed Manai in the 75th minute secured the home team's first World Cup victory.
Jesse Marsh had chosen to start the match with Maxime Crevaux in goal, while Alistair Johnston, Luc de Fougerol, Derek Cornelius and Richie Larreya were lined up in defence. The midfield was entrusted to Steven Eustaquio and Ismael Kone, while Ali Ahmed and Tejon Buchanan were on both wings. Jonathan David and Kyle Larin partnered in attack.
Julen Lopetegui had Mahmoud Abunada under the goalpost, while Ayub Al-Wi, Pedro Miguel, Boualem Kouki and Homam Ahmed started in defence. Issa Laye, Jasem Gaber Abdulsalam and Asim Madibo were the trio in midfield. The attack was led by Edmilson Junior, Yusuf Abdurisag and Akram Afif.
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At the beginning of the match, Canada requested a penalty for a foul against Madibo on the edge of the penalty area, but the referee was adamant that he would not point to the white spot.
In the 6th minute, Jonathan David took the first accurate shot for the "Maple Leafs", after shooting from a volley, but the goalkeeper saved.
The pressure of the hosts yielded results and in the 16th minute the score was opened. Jonathan David made a dangerous volley, the goalkeeper intervened, but the ball hit the feet of Kyle Larin, who made no mistake with the addition from close range.
The second goal for Canada was not long in coming. Jonathan David hit the opponent's goal with a beautiful volley in the 29th minute of the match.
Just two minutes later, Qatar was left with a reduced squad. Tejon Buchanan slipped behind the defense and was pushed back by Homam Ahmed. Initially, the referee awarded a penalty, but the situation was subsequently reviewed by VAR and the decision was a foul and a red card for the defender.
In the 38th minute, Canada came close to a third goal when Buchanan intercepted the ball from close range, but his shot was weak, and a Qatari player was standing on the goal line and managed to clear it.
Two minutes later, Jonathan David took a dangerous shot, but after a ricochet the ball went wide of the goal.
The Juventus striker still scored his second goal, and third in the match, in added time of the first half. Kyle Larin headed dangerously and made it difficult for the goalkeeper, who saved, but David was in the right place to stretch his leg and score from close range for 3:0.
Seconds later, Mahmoud Abounaada was again put under pressure after a shot by Kyle Larin, but he made a convincing save.
The second half started in a nightmare for the hosts. Asim Madibo recklessly stepped on Ismael Kone's legs and broke his leg, for which he also received a red card, leaving Qatar with 9 men on the field.
In the 64th minute, Canada added a fourth goal to their account. Nathan Saliba scored a beautiful goal from a free kick, which he immediately dedicated to the injured Kone.
In the 75th minute, Jacob Shuffleberg shot hard at the opponent's goal and, in an attempt to clear Mohamed Al Manai, scored an own goal.
Shuffleberg had a chance to shoot at the opponent's goal from long range again in the 80th minute, but this time it was much more inaccurate.
In the added time of the match, Canada reached the sixth goal. Saliba took a shot, which, however, turned out to be a passing pass for Jonathan David, who controlled the ball near the goal, turned and scored his hat trick - 6:0.
Thus, Canada collected an asset of 4 points and headed the provisional standings, with only some serious bad luck preventing the team from participating in the 1/16-finals. For Qatar, the situation is already becoming quite complicated. The team is in last place in the group with 1 point and its chances of advancing are not particularly great, although in theory they still exist.