Canada and Qatar meet in Group B on Thursday at BC Place in Vancouver, with both teams looking for their first World Cup win in history.
No nation has ever won a game at soccer’s biggest tournament, a streak that continued in this summer’s opening matches when Canada drew 1–1 with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Qatar played to a goalless draw with Switzerland.
With qualification for the knockout rounds potentially in sight, both sides will be desperate to finally get three World Cup points on the board.
Here’s everything you need to know about the match, including predicted line-ups and how to watch.
Cyle Larin scored Canada’s first goal at the World Cup, a moment that will surely be remembered for years to come.
Canada should have enough to easily get past Qatar for a few reasons, starting with their attacking talents like Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Promise David.
Despite drawing with Bosnia and Herzegovina in their opener, Canada were the better side for long periods and were ultimately punished for poor finishing in the final third.
Second, while Qatar won a tie against Switzerland, the result was more down to Swiss waste than anything else, and Canada will look to capitalize on this.
Finally, Canada has home support behind it again, which should give the team a significant boost and help them secure the first World Cup win in the nation’s history.
Head-to-head: Canada and Qatar have only met once before, in a friendly in 2022, with the Canucks emerging victorious 2–0 thanks to goals from Larin and David. That winless run stretches back to November last year and now stands at seven games – almost encouraging form heading into a must-win clash with Canada.
Given the disappointment of the draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada is expected to make several changes for its match against Qatar.
Notably, up front, Cyle Larin — Canada’s scorer against Bosnia — could replace Tani Oluwaseyi, where he is expected to partner Jonathan David.
Alistair Johnston endured a difficult outing at right-back and was also booked so he could be replaced by Niko Sigur.
Elsewhere, Canada is expected to be unchanged, but the team will be looking to make an impact with their new lineup.
Qatar are expected to stick with largely the same starting XI that earned a respectable point against Switzerland, with no real need for wholesale changes after a solid opening performance.
The only change is expected to come up front, where Almoez Ali could come in for Yusuf Abdurisag at centre-forward.
After getting a positive result against Switzerland in their opener, Qatar are unlikely to rock the boat too much on the team sheet.
You can catch the match on Prime Video UK, ITV 1 UK, ITVX, STV Scotland, STV Player, TalkSport Radio UK, BBC Radio 5 Live in the United Kingdom.
In the United States, fans can watch on FOX Network, fuboTV, Telemundo, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, FOX One, SiriusXM FC, Futbol de Primera Radio.
The match will be broadcast on TSN+, TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, TSN5, RDS, CTV, RDS App, CTV App, Noovo, Crave in Canada.
In Mexico, fans can watch on ViX Mexico.
Location: Vancouver, CanadaStadium: BC LocationDate: Thursday, June 18 Kickoff Time: 6:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM PT / 11:00 PM BST (June 17)
Our predicted lineup for Canada vs. Qatar is: Crepeau; Sigur, De Fougerolles, Cornelius, Laryea; Buchanan, Koné, Eustaquio, Ahmed; J.David, Larin.
Our predicted lineup for Qatar vs. Canada is: Abunada; Al-Oui, Miguel, Khoukhi, H. Ahmed; Gaber, Laye; Junior, Madibo, Afif; Ali.
For those looking for a score prediction, we’re going with a 2-0 win for Canada.
The match will take place at 3:00 PM local time at BC Place in Vancouver.
Fans can watch the match on various TV channels and live streams, including Prime Video UK and FOX Network in the United States.
For the latest World Cup news, updates, and analysis, stay tuned to our website.
MORE: Complete list of worldwide broadcasters for Canada vs. Qatar
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