World Cup: Mexico edge South Korea, Canada pummel Qatar
In the second of our World Cup roundups, we check in with hosts Canada and Mexico, who both got big wins in Groups B and A respectively.
Canada 6-0 Qatar
After a big win by Switzerland over Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada needed a response if they wanted to raise the stakes when they take on the Swiss next week, and they duly responded. In Vancouver, Jesse Marsch's Canada made it look easy against a Qatar side which finished with nine men. Playing an attack-minded 4-4-2 with Cyle Larin -- the hero of Canada's previous match -- partnering former Lille striker Jonathan David, the hosts were up for it from the off, with both strikers netting in the match's first half hour.
After Qatar had a man sent off three minutes later, what had been one-way traffic increased, with David netting a second goal in stoppage time. Nathan Saliba added a goal and an assist off the bench, and David sealed his hat trick in second half stoppage time. OGC Nice's Moise Bombito featured from the bench, while Marseille's Derek Cornelius played 90 minutes in defence. The match's only bad note was the departure of former Marseille and Rennes midfielder Ismäel Koné through injury -- he is expected to miss a significant amount of time with a broken leg.
All the best for Ismaël Koné 🙏❤️ pic.twitter.com/hDtAFYmOhU
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) June 18, 2026
Mexico 1-0 South Korea
In a Group A match in Guadalajara, Mexico clinched a place in the knockout rounds, following up their opening victory over South Africa with a narrow win over a South Korea side featuring Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lee Kang-In. Lee was his side's most impressive player, but as had been the case in the previous match against Czechia, their finishing left much to be desired, allowing the hosts to record a narrow win thanks to Luis Romo's strike early in the second half. While Mexico will likely rest many of its stars against Czechia next week, South Korea will need to be sharp to beat South Africa as they look to advance to the knockout stages.
