Jesse Marsch had heard the sickening crack before. The moment he saw Ismaël Koné crumple to the turf on Thursday night, Canada’s head coach knew exactly what injury his midfielder had sustained. “It happened right in front of the bench. We could all hear it. I knew right away,” Marsch said. “It was right in front of us, and everyone could hear the bone snap.” As he dashed up field early in the second half of Canada’s FIFA World Cup match with Qatar, Koné was tackled by Assim Madibo, an act that broke the 24-year-old Montrealer’s left leg. The sound, Marsch said, was similar to the noise he heard when Canadian midfielder Tajon Buchanan suffered the same injury in training at the 2024 Copa America. “Your heart goes out to (Koné), and everybody’s a little shaken by the whole experience, because of the nature of the injury, and also because Ismaël is a big part of the heart of our team,” the coach said. “It will be a big loss for us. He’s been an amazing player these last two games.” There was pushing and shoving between Canadian and Qatari players as trainers ran out to the field to assess the ailment. Medics eventually moved Koné to a stretcher and he was wheeled off the field as fans in the red-clad crowd of 52,479 at BC Place chanted his name. Madibo was shown the red card for the play and the hometown crowd jeered him with chants of “Shame!” as he walked off the field, leaving Qatar down to nine men. Marsch said Madibo went into Canada’s locker room to apologize to Koné. Koné headed to hospital where, surrounded by his family, he awaited surgery late Thursday night. Canada, meanwhile, closed out the game, thumping Qatar 6-0 for the nation’s first-ever win in a men’s World Cup. As play continued, the Canadians kept their fallen teammate forefront in their minds. Nathan Saliba replaced Koné on the field, a task he described as challenging. Asked how he levelled his emotions in the moment, the 22-year-old midfielder said he didn’t, really. “I just had to do it,” he said. ”It’s like throwing a baby in the ocean and he figures out how to swim. That’s kind of how it was. And it’s never easy to do something like this.” Saliba wasted no time making an impact. Six minutes after coming on, he stood over a free kick, sending the ball up and over Qatar’s wall, and pinging it in off the post to give Canada a commanding 4-0 lead. He formed his fingers into an eight — Koné’s number — as he was mobbed by teammates midfield. Saliba then took Koné’s jersey from the bench and held it up for the crowd to see. “I was just trying to do something for him, and show that it’s not just a game where we move on and people just keep doing our lives,” Saliba said. ”I didn’t feel like celebrating. I was just thinking about my friend.” The Canadian contingent went to the hospital to be with their teammate after the game. Defender Moise Bombito — who fractured his left leg while playing for Nice in October — posted a photo on social media showing Koné mugging for the camera from his hospital bed. Before they headed there, Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke to the team in the locker room and lauded the character of Koné and the group following his injury. Koné, who made his 42nd appearance for the national squad on Thursday, is a special person, his teammates said. “He’s a very honest person,” Saliba said. ”He’s very calm, he’s very genuine. He’s a lovely guy, loves to joke around, he loves to bring people together. He’s just a really good guy. And we’re really going to be there for him. We’re a second family. So we’re going to do everything in our power to make sure he feels good and supported.” Koné has four goals for Canada, and plays his club soccer in Italy where he had six goals over 35 games for Serie A side Sassuolo this season. His speed and dribbling ability will be missed, said defender Alistair Johnston. “For us to be at our best, he’s a big part of it. But, look, it’s given us now something else to play for,” he said. “That’s what this team is all about, it really is a brotherhood. So it’s really difficult to see one of your brothers go down. But, look, if we needed any extra motivation for this tournament, we got it now.” This report by Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press, was first published June 18, 2026.
