Red cards and poor defense send Qatar to its worst World Cup loss, a 6-0 embarrassment vs. Canada

By: Ben Kule, The Associated Press Posted: 10:49 PM CDT Thursday, Jun. 18, 2026

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Qatar’s World Cup defeat to Canada on Thursday went so awry that goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada appeared to break down in tears after the final whistle, receiving comfort from a teammate and Canada’s Jacob Schaffelburg.

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“It was a tough match, because everything that could go wrong, did go wrong,” coach Julen Lopetegui said. “That’s how football is sometimes.”

Qatar played two men down for most of the second half after a pair of red cards and went on to lose 6-0, the worst defeat in the Persian Gulf country’s short World Cup history. Qatar debuted in the tournament as the host in 2022 and lost 2-0 to Ecuador, 3-1 to Senegal and 2-0 to the Netherlands.

Qatar's Ayoub Aloui, left, and Canada's Jacob Shaffelburg embrace after Canada's victory in the World Cup Group B soccer match against Qatar in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

The second red card was issued to midfielder Assim Madibo, who tackled Canada’s Ismaël Koné from behind, breaking Koné’s lower left leg. Koné was stretchered off the field and taken to a hospital for surgery.

Koné’s replacement, Nathan Saliba, buried a 20-yard free kick in the 64th minute for Canada’s fourth goal.

Controlling rebounds was a struggle for the Qatari defenders, who could not clear the ball after two of Abunada’s saves. Canada had 10 shots on goal while Qatar had none.

Standout left back Homam Ahmed was the first player sent off. His yellow card was upgraded to a red in the 33rd minute.

“It was a very tough match for many reasons,” Lopetegui said. “The players did their best. It was very difficult to face this match with two players less with this environment.”

After Canada’s postgame huddle, Lopetegui and Canada coach Jesse Marsch had a heated exchange.

Marsch said Madibo apologized to Koné after the game, but he took issue with the way Qatar players reacted after the injury.

“I don’t understand a reaction from their entire bench to try to start a fight about it being a red card when a clear foul just happened that broke a player’s leg,” Marsch said. “So, strange behavior.”