Jonathan David is about to get another chance to do what Canada needs most from him. The 26-year-old is expected to play when Canada meets Qatar in its second World Cup match, and its first at BC Place, with his four-game World Cup scoring drought still hanging over the night.
That is why David keeps drawing attention now. He is Canada’s all-time leading goal scorer, but the numbers around his recent run do not flatter him: he has scored only two goals in Canada’s 10 most recent matches, even after a club stretch that included eight goals and five assists for Juventus. Canada needs the player it has built around to look more like the one who once scored six goals and added two assists at the 2019 Gold Cup.
Jesse Marsch has not sounded worried. He said David is “not done scoring, people,” and added, “Just put your seat belts on and get ready.” He went further still, saying that in the biggest games Canada wants David to score and that he will keep doing it. That faith matters because Qatar has given up eight goals in four World Cup matches in its history, and in the 2022 World Cup it allowed at least two goals per game in the group stage.
The matchup also offers David a clean chance to reset the story. Switzerland scored against Qatar after 17 minutes in Qatar’s opening match of the 2026 World Cup, which only sharpens the sense that Canada’s leading finisher should find room if he is sharp early. David has already shown he can rise in the biggest moments, including when he scored the only goal in Lille’s 1-0 win against Paris Saint-Germain during the 2020-21 season, a result that helped Lille hold first place with eight matches to play before it won its first French league title in 10 years.
And if David does score, there may be something more personal in the celebration. He first used a pink rose tribute after scoring for Lille against Bordeaux on Dec. 22, 2021, a nod that could honor his late mother, Rose, again. For Canada, the broader issue is plain enough: its best scorer is still chasing his first World Cup goal, and this match against Qatar is the next chance to see whether that drought ends in Vancouver.
