David nets hat-trick as Canada smash six past nine-man Qatar in tempestuous affair

In a truly dominant first-half showing, Canada overwhelmed Julen Lopetegui’s side with a high energy, relentless performance.

David was predictably central to everything positive the home nation produced, and it was his fierce volley that goalkeeper Mahmud Abunada could only parry into the path of Cyle Larin, and the Southampton striker bundled home the opening goal of the game after 15 minutes.

After a scheduled hydration break that featured Bon Jovi blaring over the speakers, Qatar were very quickly livin’ on a prayer as the game drifted away from them as David smashed home a volley from 18 yards to double Canada’s lead.

On the half-hour mark, Les Rouges were given a penalty when Tajon Buchanan was brought down by Homad Al Amin, but in a bittersweet moment for the Asian side, the contact was shown to be outside, meaning the booking was upgraded to a red card for denying a goal-scoring opportunity.

On the stroke of half-time, David scrambled home his second of the game, to turn his side’s dominance into a rout.

Having been outclassed in the first half, Qatar’s discipline deserted them after the break. They were reduced to nine men after a challenge from Assim Madibo left Ismael Kone visibly in distress, with the former being sent off while the latter left the field on a stretcher with a suspected broken leg. 

Even from that dark stain on an otherwise perfect day, the North Americans found a positive, as Koné’s replacement, Nathan Saliba, curled in a delightful free kick from 22 yards to make it 4-0.

The imbalance in both quality and manpower between the two teams made a fifth goal inevitable, and it arrived when Mohammad Al Mannai’s attempted clearance of a Jacob Shaffelburg shot veered into his own net.

Despite the disappointment of that serious injury to Koné still lingering in the air, David made sure the game ended on a positive note, as the Juventus man hammered home his third of the game in stoppage time.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Jonathan David (Canada)

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