soccer fans rejoice as canada delivers 6-0 win vs. qatar
5 minute read
we apologize, but this video has failed to load.
try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
for years, vancouver’s world cup story was told through construction updates, budget concerns, security plans and traffic warnings.
at b.c. place thursday afternoon, for canada’s second world cup match on home soil and first in vancouver, it was defined by something far more fun: goals. lots of them.
canada routed qatar 6-0, with a hat trick from jonathan david and goals from cyle larin, nathan saliba and jacob shaffelburg, sending the sold-out stadium into celebration.
chants of “canada! canada!” thundered through the seats as jubilant spectators cheered, hugged, and exchanged high-fives, celebrating the national men’s team’s first world cup victory.
vancouver, british columbia – june 18: alistair johnston #2 and players of canada applaud fans after the team’s 6-0 victory in the fifa world cup 2026 group b match between canada and qatar at bc place vancouver on june 18, 2026 in vancouver, british columbia.
alex grimm
/
getty images
“i feel so proud of our team being on the world stage,” said susanne milner, who took the afternoon off work after scoring a last-minute $600 ticket to the game in the hopes of witnessing a historic win for canada.
“it’s great to be at home and cheering them on with other fans. it feels like one big community.”
the stakes on the field are high: canada and qatar each earned their first-ever world cup point in their opening matches — canada against bosnia and herzegovina and qatar against switzerland. thursday’s match offered both countries a chance to claim their first world cup win.
canada soccer fans make their way north on quebec street towards b.c. place ahead of the canada vs. qatar game.
arlen redekop
/
png
but the excitement surrounding the game had begun long before kickoff.
hours earlier, soccer fans, including members of canada’s national supporters group the voyageurs, flooded the last mile as they marched toward b.c. place.
national pride was on full display, with canadian flags mounted on hockey sticks bobbing above the crowd and bursts of red smoke billowing overhead. supporters beat drums, danced and sang, and broke into impromptu chants.
joe chan, who moved to vancouver two years ago, said he was surprised by the scale of the crowds.
advertisement
“soccer is huge in europe. in asia. not that big in north america. but it’s growing. you can see how playing on home soil really brings out the fans and the atmosphere. it’s really great to see here in canada,” said chan.
nahili mohamed, 9, and her brother nayad, 10, skipped school in victoria to experience canada’s first men’s world cup match in vancouver. they’re excited to see their favourite soccer player ali ahmed, the former vancouver whitecap who started at midfield for canada thursday.
(l-r) jibril mohamed, nayad, nahili and ali adnan
dan fumano / png
their father, jibril mohamed, said he wanted his children to witness a moment they might never see again.
“this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said outside b.c. place before the game started. “i brought them to inspire them.”
nayad, who plays centre midfield for a youth team in victoria, already has bigger dreams. “i want to play for canada when i grow up,” he said.
omar alzubaidy and his family were among the small contingent of qatari supporters making their way to the stadium.
their maroon-and-white outfits stood out amid a sea of red-and-white, but alzubaidy said they had been warmly received by fellow fans.
(l-r) zeena ta, haneen alzubaidy, aleena alzubaidy, and omar alzubaidy
dan fumano / png
“everybody is so hospitable, saying good luck and wanting to shake our hands and give us high-fives,” said alzubaidy, a port coquitlam resident who used to live in qatar’s capital city, doha. “because really this is what the sport is about.”
the world cup atmosphere extended well beyond b.c. place to watch parties scattered across metro vancouver, where the mood during the game shifted from cautious optimism to outright conviction as canadian players piled on the goals.
after canada’s third goal, bashar kadmani, a young vancouverite with a canada flag draped around his shoulders joined the triumphant cheers on granville street, which has been turned into a pedestrian zone for the world cup.
advertisement
“we’re absolute killing it! i think now we have a chance to win the whole thing,” kadmani said. “we might go all the way, i’m telling you! you heard it here first.”
at the fifa fan festival at the pne grounds, fans packed the area in front of a giant screen more than an hour before kickoff.
david hunter, 80, stood among the crowd with a canadian flag draped over his shoulders and a maple leaf painted on his cheek by his daughter.
a former soccer coach from kamloops, hunter felt compelled to be part of the occasion.
“we’re really happy we came down to see all of this,” he said before the game. “this is a historic match. it’s a great opportunity to show the world who canada really is.”
on a quiet patch of grass near the amphitheatre, carlos aceves lifted his 8-year-old daughter amelia out of her wheelchair and held her close against his chest at the fifa fan festival canada match — a quiet, emotional moment in the middle of the crowd’s rising anticipation.
carlos aceves and 8-year-old daughter amelia at the fifa fan festival at the pne
sarah grochowski / png
with mexico jerseys on and the colours of the national flag painted on their cheeks, the family had come to experience the atmosphere of the world cup in vancouver, even if they could not afford stadium tickets, said aceves.
“we’re not canadian, but we didn’t want to miss seeing the atmosphere of canada playing here in this city,” he said.
across burrard inlet, north vancouver’s canada soccer house, at full capacity with 5,000 fans, gyrated with applause as canada scored its first, second and then, amazingly, its third goal in the first half.
fans at canada soccer house react to referees calling a penalty kick for canada.
lori culbert / png
the jubilant crowd broke out into a chorus of “ole, ole, ole” after the third strike. pandemonium erupted.
“it was one of the louder experiences of my life. people were jumping and screaming and high-fiving,” said kari chyzyk, who was there with sister jodie mruk. “it’s lovely to see so many people having such a good time.”
sisters jodie mruk (left) and kari chyzyk at north vancouver’s canada soccer house.
lori culbert
advertisement
among the fans were julia berljacic and daler aliberdiev, who watched the match surrounded by fellow fans dressed in red and white.
draped in a flag and donning a cowboy hat, aliberdiev, originally from tajikistan, came to cheer on his new country, where he has started an events business.
“this is the country that really opened doors and gave support from the beginning of starting my career. it’s stands for values and openness,” he said, shouting over a quintessentially tragically hip song blaring from the speakers.
“i think canada is a great place in the world.”
julia berljacic and daler aliberdiev cheer for canada at north vancouver’s canada soccer house.
lori culbert / png
canada may be nice, but can it win its first world cup game? absolutely, said berljacic, originally from argentina.
“i think canada is going to score two,” she said. “we’re here to enjoy the game and support canada.”
as it turned out, berljacic’s prediction was far too modest.
with a tie and a win, canada now stands at four points, boosting its chances of advancing from group b. its next match is against switzerland next wednesday at b.c. place.
share story
