A dream come true

The soccer gods finally smiled down on team Canada Thursday as the home side hammered Qatar 6-0. To boot, it was the first win in World Cup history by Canada’s men.

What a spectacle. Over 52,000 fans, most donning the Maple Leaf, got their money’s worth — and that’s saying something given the ticket prices — as Canada put shot after shot on net at Vancouver Stadium.

It was a dream come true.

Canada came out strong, was up by three goals and a man at halftime — after Homan Ahmed was shown a red card — then cruised to victory on the back of a Jonathan David hat trick — another first for Canada at a World Cup.

The game was marred only by the gruesome leg injury to Ismaël Koné, Canada’s man of the match in their first game. It earned Qatar a second red card.

“We could hear the bone snap from the bench,” head coach Jesse Marsch said.

David is now tied with Lionel Messi for the Golden Boot Award.

Asked to described David after the game, Marsch said: “Buckle up. I hope that you had your seat belts on. That’s a player.”

As the game near the end, fans were chanting, “we want seven, we want seven.” They will have to wait until June 24 for another goal when Canada faces Switzerland in Vancouver. Canada will enter the game on top of Group B. A win or draw will keep them in Vancouver for the Round of 32. A loss will send them to Los Angeles.

The surge of excitement spilled out of the stadium and onto the streets, with chants of “Olé, olé, olé, olé!” resounding throughout the downtown corridor. It brought to mind memories of the 2010 Olympic Games, when Canadians also swarmed the Granville Street bar district to celebrate.

Vancouver, ranked as the No.1 city at this year’s World Cup by Sports Illustrated, has been a welcoming host for global football fans.

Supporters who couldn’t snag a ticket for the sold-out match crowded into multiple screening events, including the FIFA Fan Zone at the PNE grounds, Granville Island, Canada House in North Vancouver, or city events in Surrey, Richmond, Delta and beyond. On top of Grouse Mountain in the distance, there’s a flag the size of two soccer fields.

The rouge wave was a continuation of the pre-game march, with thousands of supporters bearing flags, banners, drums and flares while chanting, “Ca-na-da! Ca-na-da!” The iconic Science World dome has been transformed into a giant replica Adidas Trionda ball — a reminder that the biggest sporting event on the planet is in town.

“This is going to bring everyone together no matter where you are or where you come from,” said former Canada women’s captain Geri Donnelly. “It is a Canadian moment.”

“More than anything, it’s momentum,” said Richard Scott, Canada’s long-time press officer. “The expectations are so high. It is truly special. What matters is how we build and grow in the next game and the next game after. This will stay for generations.”

And manager Marsch embraced the win — and the interest in his team.

“I was celebrating with the fans. This is not a normal moment for the country, and I think we need to accentuate this,” he said.

“We still need to focus and concentrate to win our group for success in this tournament. I learned in this business that big moments don’t come easy, and you have to appreciate them and celebrate them. I wanted to make sure our stadium did, our team did. Even with the situation involving Ismaël, I wanted to make sure the guys had a chance to enjoy it. It was an important moment for the sport in this country.”

He also believes this historic win means more for Canada than some might realize.

“The vision when I came here wasn’t just this World Cup. It was to change the sport in the country. To drive interest, to drive expertise, to educate, to increase a pathway for the future, and to create an identity for what Canadian soccer could be,” he said.

“You can say and do all the right things, but you need moments like today where everybody remembers what happened. No Canadian will forget this day. I told the men there will be 40 million people who said they were here. It’s a seminal moment for people to understand there is talent in this country, there is desire, there are a lot of things that make this country special, even though it’s a hockey country. I am proud that we created a moment that everyone will remember.”

Former Canadian national team star Carl Valentine called it “a dreamlike thing.”

“The win gives us so much relief. We got our first goal last World Cup, our first point last week. It’s just been building and building. Anything is possible now. It just gives belief,” he said.

Despite the enormous victory, Canadian leaders are looking much farther ahead.

“It’s great. We are going to get a bunch of bandwagon fans supporting Canada,” said Soccer Canada president Peter Augruso.

“We are going to go far in this tournament. But what’s even more important is that we are looking at the younger generation. These people are watching this World Cup, and they are going to be our future superstars. We don’t know where the next Alphonso Davies or the next Christine Sinclair is yet, but we know they are out there, which is important. The talent is here. We just have to keep giving them opportunities and find them. This game will serve as a catalyst.”

B.C. Soccer board of directors president Debbie Pudek said it may also mark a turning point for funding.

“This win opens up a lot of doors,” she said. “From my perspective, it draws more youth, bigger infrastructure, and greater investment for the game, and we can create more talented players from the pool. Everything will be escalated for the men’s and women’s teams when the men succeed. We want to keep the wave going, especially for the women in the World Cup next year.”

From coast to coast to coast, it was a feel-good moment for a country that has waited a lifetime for a win.

The expectation has now changed for generations.

The chants of “we want seven” continue to resonate, and there’s a real belief the number will grow.

Carrie Serwetnyk is a former Canadian national team soccer player and the first woman inducted to the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame. This is the 10th-straight men’s World Cup that she’s attended.