Fifty-thousand fans screaming his name, a wall of sound that washes over him, cleansing his soul? Cyle Larin likes that. After scoring against Qatar in Vancouver, the Canada striker celebrated with his signature ear-plugging gesture, a response to critics who had questioned the team's goal-scoring ability.
"When you score, it's a lot of emotional adrenalin, so you're not really thinking about anything else," said Larin, Canada's second all-time scorer with 32 goals. "Sometimes you blank out, but it's a lot of emotion, a lot of adrenalin, just to celebrate with the fans, the teammates."
Canada's offensive explosion silences doubters
Canada's 6-0 victory over Qatar on June 22, 2026, at B.C. Place was a statement performance. Larin opened the scoring, and the team added five more to climb to the top of Group B. The win leaves Canada one point away from securing its first-ever trip to the World Cup knockout round.
"To be honest, I've always known we could score goals," Larin said. "That was never a problem in my mind or any other guy's mind. (With) the strikers here, it was bound to come, and was shown against Qatar."
The rout was aided by two red cards for Qatar. Homam Ahmed was sent off for a DOGSO foul when Canada led 2-0, and Assim Madibo was red-carded in the 53rd minute. Canada dominated the second half with 91 per cent possession and outshot Qatar 18-0.
Switzerland awaits in decisive Group B clash
Canada's next challenge is Switzerland on Wednesday at noon in Vancouver. The Swiss are tied with Canada on three points but trail on goal difference. Switzerland has conceded only one goal in the tournament and allowed just two in qualifying. Their expected goals difference of 4.4 trails only Germany (4.5) and Canada (4.6).
Switzerland defeated Bosnia-Herzegovina 4-1, with Johan Manzambi breaking a scoreless deadlock in the 74th minute. Granit Xhaka, the former Arsenal star now with Sunderland, has been instrumental from midfield but faced criticism from Swiss media for creating a "toxic" environment. He responded with a talking gesture after scoring a stoppage-time penalty.
Larin remains focused on Canada's performance. "We just keep doing the same thing we've always been doing," he said. "I don't think we changed anything different than we just scored a lot of goals, and we played in one of our best games. We just have to keep doing the same we've been doing the last few games, and we'll be fine. We put that Qatar game to bed, and now it's focused on the Switzerland game and what it takes to go win that and go win the group."
