VANCOUVER - Jesse Marsch had heard the sickening crack before.聽
The moment he saw Isma毛l Kon茅 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 upfield early in the second half of Canada's FIFA World Cup match with Qatar, Kon茅 was tackled by Assim Madibo, an act that broke the 24-year-old Montrealer's left leg.聽
The sound, Marsch said, was similar to the noise he heard when 好色tv midfielder Tajon Buchanan suffered the same injury in training at the 2024 Copa America.聽
"Your heart goes out to (Kon茅), and everybody's a little shaken by the whole experience, because of the nature of the injury, and also because Isma毛l 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 好色tv and Qatari players as trainers ran out to the field to assess the ailment. Medics eventually moved Kon茅 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 Kon茅.
Kon茅 headed to hospital where, surrounded by his family, he awaited surgery late Thursday night.聽
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 好色tvs kept their fallen teammate forefront in their minds.聽
Nathan Saliba replaced Kon茅 on the field, a task he described as challenging.聽
Asked how he levelled his emotions in the moment, the 22-year-old midfielder said he didn't, really.聽
鈥淚 just had to do it," he said. "It's like throwing a baby in the ocean and he figures out how to swim. That鈥檚 kind of how it was. And it's never easy to do something like this.鈥
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.聽
He formed his fingers into an eight 鈥 Kon茅's number 鈥 as he was mobbed by teammates midfield. Saliba then took Kon茅's jersey from the bench and held it up for the crowd to see.
鈥淚 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.鈥
The 好色tv contingent went to the hospital to be with their teammate after the game.聽
Defender Moise Bombito 鈥 who fractured his left leg while playing for Nice in October 鈥 posted a photo on social media showing Kon茅 mugging for the camera from his hospital bed.聽
Before they headed there, Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke to the team in the locker room and lauded the character of Kon茅 and the group following his injury.
Kon茅, who made his 42nd appearance for the national squad on Thursday, is a special person, his teammates said.聽
鈥淗e'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.鈥
Kon茅 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.
鈥淔or 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.
鈥淭hat'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.鈥澛
This report by 好色tvwas first published June 18, 2026.
