Day 8 of World Cup 2026 brought plenty more goals and saw co-hosts Mexico become the first team to qualify for the knockouts with a narrow victory over South Korea.
There was also joy and heartbreak for Canada as Jesse Marsch’s side thumped Qatar thanks to a Jonathan David hat-trick but saw Ismael Kone to a horrific injury that overshadowed the match and saw tensions run high.
Time to check out all the goalscoring action…
Quickest goal of World Cup 2026 so far
Thursday started off with Czechia’s Michal Sadilek scoring the fastest goal of World
Cup 2026 so far by netting after just five minutes and eight seconds against South Africa.
Adam Hlozek ran in behind and then pulled the ball back to the edge of the area to find Alexandr Sojka, who produced a brilliant lay-off for Sadilek to lash home.
Czechia looked set to pick up their first win of World Cup 2026 but were pegged back in the 83rd minute after conceding a penalty for handball. Teboho Mokoena stepped up and made no mistake from the spot to secure the draw that leaves both sides with just one point after two games played.
Switzerland’s late, late show
Switzerland secured a 4-1 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina but left it very late to seal all three points. However, when the opening goal did finally come, it was worth the wait as Johan Manzambi volleyed home a thumping finish to break the deadlock.
Things swiftly got worse for Bosnia and Herzegovina as Tarik Muharemovic was sent off and minutes later Ruben Vargas bent a low shot past Nikola Vasilj to double Switzerland’s lead.
The Swiss were cruising and made it 3-0 in the 90th minute when Granit Xhaka got things going with a no-look pass through to Vargas. The ball was then cut back to fellow Manzambi to grab his second of the day.
A frantic finish saw Bosnia and Herzegovina grab a consolation goal when Ermin Mahmic smashed home a ferocious strike from just inside the penalty area.
Xhaka then finished things off from the penalty spot after Amar Memic had fouled Djibril Sow.
David joins Messi in scoring hat-trick
Co-hosts Canada secured their first ever World Cup win by thrashing Qatar 6-0 in a game that was sadly overshadowed by Kone’s gruesome injury.
Canada were leading 3-0 when Kone was caught late by Assim Madibo and had to be stretchered off after a lengthy stoppage.
Cyle Larin had netted from close range to make it 1-0 after 16 minutes before David lashed home his first of the game from inside the penalty area.
David scored again from close range to make it 3-0 at the end of the first half, and Qatar were then reduced to 10 men when Homam El Amin was sent off for a professional foul on Tajon Buchana.
Another sending off followed when Assim Omer Madibo was shown red for his foul on Kone, leading Qatar down to nine, and Canada took full advantage.
Nathan Saliba curled home a free-kick to make it 4-0 before Canada added a fifth with 15 minutes remaining when Mohammad Al Mannai sliced Jacob Shaffelburg’s effort into his own goal.
David then completed his hat-trick with a neat turn and finish from inside the area after latching onto a shot from Saliba.
The Canada star joins Lionel Messi as the only players to have scored three goals in a match so far at World Cup 2026.
Mexico first team into World Cup knockouts
The final action of the day saw co-hosts Mexico become the first team to make it into the knockout stages of World Cup 2026 with a 1-0 win over South Korea.
The victory was gifted to the Mexicans by South Korea goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu who spilled the ball in a clash with team-mate Lee Gi-hyuk, allowing Luis Romo to tap into an empty net.
The result means that Mexico side will advance as Group A winners, while South Korea remain in a good position to also ahead of the final round of group matches.
Have your say in our poll to decide what the goal of the day was, as we cover every goal, goof and everything in between throughout the World Cup!
