Canada men's national soccer team defender Moïse Bombito has made a remarkable recovery from a broken leg to play in his first FIFA World Cup match. The 26-year-old from Montreal fractured his left tibia playing for French club Nice in October.

What happened?

Bombito came on in the second half of Canada's 6-0 victory over Qatar on Thursday, the country's first World Cup win.

He trained with Nice but only saw limited action near the end of the season. He was named to the initial 26-man World Cup roster, then logged 31 minutes in the squad's 2-0 friendly win over Uzbekistan on June 1.

Why it matters for Canada men's national soccer team

Bombito's recovery was slow, but he credits his faith and his teammates for supporting him. He didn't play in Canada's tournament-opening 1-1 draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto.

Negative thoughts began to creep into Bombito's mind, but he tried to stay positive. He was available off the bench when Canada took on Ireland in a friendly in Montreal on June 5.

What comes next?

Canada and Switzerland each have four points after two games, but Canada leads the Group B standings with a better goal differential. The two teams play Wednesday in Vancouver, and a win or a draw sends Canada into the next round of the 48-team tournament at the top of the group.

Bombito also watched as Luc de Fougerolles and Derek Cornelius filled in for him. He was grateful for the trust of his coaching staff and proud to have been able to give everything.

Finally getting the call against Qatar, then walking onto the pitch for his first World Cup appearance, was special for Bombito. He recognized all his hard work paid off and was grateful for the support of his family and fans.

The shine of Canada's win over Qatar was tarnished when midfielder Ismaël Koné suffered a broken leg. Bombito, goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau, and forward Tajon Buchanan have all suffered similar injuries and have been offering Koné support.