Right now, week after week, we are witnessing and writing about Canadian men’s soccer history. This week, however, felt like something on a whole different level.

The CanMNT earned their first World Cup win in Vancouver in a match filled with electric highs and devastating lows.

We’ll recap it all, plus a week of draws in the Northern Super League in this week’s World Cup edition of The Northern Pitch.

First Concacaf country to score six. Canada has become the first-ever Concacaf nation to score six goals in the World Cup as they defeated Qatar in Vancouver 6-0. After struggling to score in recent play, CanMNT have sent out a strong statement about their attacking prowess.

Cyle Larin and Jonathan David fired on all cylinders as the Brampton bagsman opened the game with his second goal in the tournament. JD silenced the critics as he picked up an historic hat-trick. The only other player to score a hat-trick in this World Cup so far? Lionel Messi.

We’re with you, Ismaël Koné. As the game was going brilliantly for the CanMNT, the Montreal talisman suffered a shocking injury early in the second half. The Sassuolo midfielder will miss the rest of the tournament.

Nathan Saliba scored a banger for Koné. Montreal boys looked out for one another. Saliba came off the bench for Ismaël and responded minutes later with a banger of a free-kick. In honour of his teammate, lifted Koné’s jersey to the crowd—A moment that went viral globally.

A big win for a big match before Switzerland. Canada now sit on top of the table with four points and a goal differential of +6. They head into the final game of the group stages against Switzerland, who also enter this game after defeating Bosnia & Herzegovina 4-1. This game will determine who finishes first in the group.

If Canada finishes first, they will play the round of 32 in Vancouver against the third-placed team in either group E, F, G, I, or J.

If Canada were to finish second, they would play in Los Angeles against the second-placed team in group A. As it stands, Canada could play the Republic of Korea in LA, where it has over 300,000 Koreans. This will truly be a home game for the Koreans. Otherwise, they would pay Mexico in LA, which would also be a home game, as there are 1.2 million Mexicans and people of Mexican ancestry. In Canada’s interest, finishing first would be ideal.

A national day of celebration across Canadian soccer on Thursday took a bit of a dark turn.

Early in the second half, Ismaël Koné was the victim of a horror tackle, even if it didn’t seem malicious, and snapped his leg. In a flash, one of Canada’s best players saw his World Cup over.

He was immediately transported to the hospital, where he underwent surgery — with some of the city’s top surgeons who watched the game on TV rushing to the hospital to operate.

It was the second major tournament in a row where Canada had been rocked by a major injury after Tajon Buchanan broke his leg in training during Copa América.

Max Crépeau and Moïse Bombito are two of the other players on Canada’s team to have suffered a similar injury, with Crépeau missing the 2022 World Cup as a result. Both were quick to comfort Koné.

It’s heartbreaking timing for Koné, because he played the best football of his career this past season with Sassuolo and Serie A, and after a strong start to the World Cup, it felt like this could be his chance to catch the eye of a truly big club in Europe.

Now, it is a long road back. But Koné has already faced plenty of adversity in his young career and has battled back.

Canada have already been rocked by injuries in the buildup to this tournament. With Marcelo Flores missing the World Cup with an ACL tear and plenty of others, including captain Alphonso Davies.

It’s had to be next man up, with Luke de Fougerolles along the backline, Richie Laryea at left back, and now it looks like Nathan Saliba in midfield.

Canada, of course, will also now rely more on midfielders Jonathan Osorio, Mathieu Choinière and midfielder/full-back Niko Sigur. Prime opportunity for them to showcase themselves.

Wednesday is going to be a huge test against a talented Swiss midfield featuring players like Granit Xhaka, Remo Freuler, and the exciting young Johan Manzambi. If Canada can get a dub against Switzerland, they can become tournament favourites.

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🌊 The Tides held to a draw at home. The Halifax Tides hosted the Vancouver Rise in a coast-to-coast rivalry. Vancouver drew first blood in the second half with a quality finish from Anaïs Oularbi. Halifax replied with a clutch last-minute header from Julianne Vallerand. The game ended 1-1.

🪽 Ottawa stay on top. The Rapid hosted AFC Toronto at TD Place for the Battle of Ontario. The Rapid came into this game to maintain momentum, whereas AFC Toronto are desperate for points. This game did not disappoint as both teams ended the game 1-1, but absolute bangers were scored.

🌹 The Roses complete the match day with another 1-1 draw. It’s gotta be a record somewhere where all teams in a league finish a match day with a 1-1 draw. Montreal ended the week with a 1-1 draw against the Calgary Wild at home. The last time both teams faced each other, it ended in a 2-2 draw.

Thursday, June 25
Montréal Roses vs. Ottawa Rapid (7PM ET @ Stade Boréale)

Saturday, June 27
Calgary Wild vs. Halifax Tides (6PM CT @ McMahon Stadium)

Sunday, June 28
Vancouver Rise vs. AFC Toronto (3:30PM PT @ TD Place)

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