VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Qatar’s 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’s Jacob Schaffelburg.“It was a tough match, because everything that could go wrong, did go wrong,” coach Julen Lopetegui said. “That’s how football is sometimes.”Qatar played two men down for most of the second half after a pair of red cards and went on to lose 6-0, the worst defeat in the Persian Gulf country’s short World Cup 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 Ismaël Koné from behind, breaking Koné’s lower left leg. Koné was stretchered off the field and taken to a hospital for surgery.
Koné’s replacement, Nathan Saliba, buried a 20-yard free kick in the 64th minute for Canada’s fourth goal.Controlling rebounds was a struggle for the Qatari defenders, who could not clear the ball after two of Abunada’s saves. Canada had 10 shots on goal while Qatar had none.
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