World Cup Round-Up: Canada Finally Win, Switzerland Explode Late, Ghana Steal It in Stoppage Time

Canada got their first-ever World Cup victory. Switzerland needed 74 minutes to find a way through. Ghana waited until the fifth minute of stoppage time to settle theirs. Five matches, five different stories, and almost none of them went to plan.

Canada 6-0 Qatar

Jonathan David scored a hat-trick at BC Place in Vancouver as Canada secured their first-ever World Cup win.

Cyle Larin opened the scoring in the 16th minute. David doubled the lead with a 29th-minute volley, then added a third in first-half stoppage time.

Qatar were already down to ten men by that point. Homam Ahmed was sent off before the break for a last-man foul on Tajon Buchanan.

Nathan Saliba made it 4-0 with a free kick in the 64th minute, moments after replacing an injured Ismael Koné. Mohammad Al Mannai turned a deflected shot into his own net for the fifth in the 75th minute. David completed his treble in stoppage time.

The scoreline isn’t the story everyone is talking about, though.

Assim Madibo was shown a red card for the challenge that left Koné with a broken leg. He was carried off with oxygen and is expected to need surgery. Canada coach Jesse Marsch called it “a big loss for us.”

David’s hat-trick was the second of this tournament, after Lionel Messi’s treble against Algeria. It also made David the first CONCACAF men’s player to score a World Cup hat-trick since 1930.

Canada sit on four points and need only a draw against Switzerland in their final group game to finish top of Group B.

Switzerland 4-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia held Switzerland scoreless for 73 minutes at Los Angeles Stadium. Then Johan Manzambi happened.

The 20-year-old substitute had been on the pitch for three minutes when he volleyed Switzerland into the lead in the 74th minute. Bosnia’s night unravelled fast from there.

Tarik Muharemovic was sent off for a foul on Breel Embolo, leaving Bosnia with ten men. Ruben Vargas punished the extra space in the 84th minute, and Manzambi struck again in the 90th.

Ermin Mahmić pulled one back for Bosnia seconds after coming off the bench, but captain Granit Xhaka restored the three-goal cushion with a stoppage-time penalty.

Manzambi became the youngest Swiss player to score twice in a World Cup match.

Switzerland now lead Group B on four points, level with Canada, with the two sides meeting next.

Czechia 1-1 South Africa

Michal Sadílek scored the fastest goal of the tournament so far, finishing inside six minutes at Atlanta Stadium after a quick exchange with Alexandr Sojka.

Patrik Schick missed two further chances that could have put the game out of reach for Czechia.

South Africa levelled in the 83rd minute. Teboho Mokoena converted from the penalty spot after Thapelo Maseko’s shot struck Pavel Šulc’s arm in the box.

Mokoena was visibly emotional before kickoff. “I felt his presence in that moment,” he said afterward, referencing his late grandfather. “I know wherever he is, he would be proud of me.”

Both sides sit on one point after losing their tournament openers: South Africa to hosts Mexico, Czechia to South Korea.

Uzbekistan 1-3 Colombia

Colombia made their World Cup return at the Estadio Azteca against tournament debutants Uzbekistan, and it wasn’t comfortable.

Daniel Muñoz opened the scoring in the 40th minute, finishing off a Luis Díaz assist. Uzbekistan failed to register a single touch inside Colombia’s box in the entire first half.

Abbosbek Fayzullaev equalized in the 60th minute, heading in a rebound for Uzbekistan’s first-ever World Cup goal in front of a crowd of over 80,000.

Díaz restored Colombia’s lead five minutes later, his shot squirming through goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov’s grasp. Jaminton Campaz sealed it with a header in the ninth minute of stoppage time, set up by fellow substitute Cucho Hernández.

Colombia move top of Group K. Uzbekistan leave with their first World Cup goal on record.

Ghana 1-0 Panama

For 94 minutes at Toronto Stadium, this looked headed for a draw. Ghana didn’t manage a single shot in the entire first half.

Panama created the better chances throughout, with Cecilio Waterman and Jiovany Ramos both denied.

Then, in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, Brandon Thomas-Asante drove down the left and squared the ball across the box. Caleb Yirenkyi, 20 years old, tapped it in for his first international goal.

It stands as the latest match-winning goal scored at this World Cup so far.

Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz is now coaching at his fifth consecutive World Cup, a feat matched by only one other manager in history: Bora Milutinović.

Panama remain without a point in four World Cup appearances, and have now conceded in every one of them.

What to Watch Next

Canada and Switzerland play a winner-take-all final group match for top spot in Group B. Colombia face DR Congo next as they try to extend their lead in Group K. And Czechia, South Africa, Ghana, and Panama all enter their final group games knowing one result could end their tournament.