VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) 鈥� Qatar鈥檚 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鈥檚 Jacob Schaffelburg.
鈥淚t was a tough match, because everything that could go wrong, did go wrong,鈥� coach Julen Lopetegui said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how football is sometimes.鈥�
Qatar played two men down for most of the second half after a pair of red cards and went on the worst defeat in the Persian Gulf country’s short 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.
The second red card was issued to midfielder Assim Madibo, who tackled Canada’s Isma毛l Kon茅 from behind, breaking Kon茅’s lower left leg. Kon茅 was stretchered off the field and taken to a hospital for surgery.
Kon茅鈥檚 replacement, Nathan Saliba, buried a 20-yard free kick in the 64th minute for Canada鈥檚 fourth goal.
Controlling rebounds was a struggle for the Qatari defenders, who could not clear the ball after two of Abunada鈥檚 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.
鈥淚t was a very tough match for many reasons,鈥� Lopetegui said. 鈥淭he players did their best. It was very difficult to face this match with two players less with this environment.鈥�
After Canada’s postgame huddle, Lopetegui and Canada coach Jesse Marsch had a heated exchange.
Marsch said Madibo apologized to Kon茅 after the game, but he took issue with the way Qatar players reacted after the injury.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 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鈥檚 leg,鈥� Marsch said. 鈥淪o, strange behavior.鈥�
Qatar is last in Group B but still has a chance to reach the knockout round. It faces Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday in Seattle.
___
Ben Kule is a student in the University of Georgia鈥檚 Carmical Sports Media Institute.
___
AP World Cup coverage:
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
