World Cup 2026

[BlackDog204]

Apologies if there is already a thread in regards to the World Cup. I just thought it would be good to get a Canadian perspective of the tourney.

I've heard the Canadians are banged up, and Alphonso Davies is hurt, and will miss the game against Bosnia. How do you expect Canada to do.

Will they advance to the next round?

[AuxTown]

The goal is to put points on the board. First mission: a win on the world stage. It would be a dream to get out of the group and a miracle to see the round of 16.

I saw the first goal in Qatar and hope to see the first win in Toronto on Friday or in Vancouver next week!

[HomeInMyShoes]

This is the first World Cup appearance where I've felt like going 0-3 would be a terrible result. Even with the potential injuries it seems like there is actually a reasonable chance at getting some results from the matches. Play well and we should be there at the end of each match and it even seems like we have a chance to advance past the round robin, but hopes and expectations are fickle with the World Cup with only three games to play a couple of bad luck moments and you're done.

Hoping the team is at their best and the unfortunate luck is kept away. With those two things we will hopefully see a knock-out stage match.

[MonctonRad]

I enjoyed attending the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2015 when Moncton was one of the host cities.

I however have very little interest in the current men's World Cup. This is mostly due to the immense cost and disruption of it all, as well as the political drama mostly due to Trump's shenanigans. It just all seems completely out of control. FIFA is a corrupt organization and the focus no longer seems to be upon the joy of the game. The women's side however seems to be more innocent and pure of heart. That was a great experience at the time.

Sorry - not interested.

Maybe I'll feel a little different when the tournament progresses to the semi finals and finals, but, right now it is a hard pass for me.

[Hackslack]

Looking forward to the 0.052% chance of USA vs Iran in the final

[VANRIDERFAN]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I enjoyed attending the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2015 when Moncton was one of the host cities.

I however have very little interest in the current men's World Cup. This is mostly due to the immense cost and disruption of it all, as well as the political drama mostly due to Trump's shenanigans. It just all seems completely out of control. FIFA is a corrupt organization and the focus no longer seems to be upon the joy of the game. The women's side however seems to be more innocent and pure of heart. That was a great experience at the time.

Sorry - not interested.

Maybe I'll feel a little different when the tournament progresses to the semi finals and finals, but, right now it is a hard pass for me.

I'm feeling the same about all pro sports right now, except for the CFL which hasn't yet been ruined by big money.

But I will watch Canada and a few other teams.

[svlt]

realistically we should be able to beat Bosnia. We should definitely beat Qatar or it's a massive failure of this generation.

Swiss is a tossup but edge goes to Switzerland. There's a huge interest/advantage in beating them as Canada gets to play next two games at home in Vancouver if they can top the group.

[GeneralLea]

I'm not a soccer fan, and really don't care about the World Cup....at all. I work kind of near (like, 5 kms away from) BMO Field (Toronto Stadium according to FIFAs idiotic rules).

I dislike FIFA as an organization, and with the Orange Man's whole.....deal down south, it only adds to my dislike of the World Cup at least right now.

Let alone, the ticket prices being way too expensive.

[haljackey]

I see we've truly progressed as a society

Nations can come together to pool tax dollars for men to play with balls on live television

It sure is beautiful

[Denscity]

Is it true that a storm ruined the official Toronto FIFA watch party?

[Antigonish]

For the rest of this tournament I'm going to sail the seas and stream matches via ITV/BBC from now on. Fuck you TSN and your garbage mid-game ad breaks. Their 1st half ad break went right into play resuming so once the 4th ad ended the game was mid action and Korea just missed a chance (the replay was happening).

[niwell]

Originally Posted by Denscity

Is it true that a storm ruined the official Toronto FIFA watch party?

Lightning strikes relatively nearby caused it to evacuate, and since it was planned to close early that day anyway it did not reopen. The storm ended up only lasting about 15 minutes though. I believe other watch areas such as the Team Canada one at Harbourfront did reopen a bit later.

[giallo]

I'll be heading to Granville St. to watch Canada vs. Bosnia today. It should be fun. The city has closed off five blocks of Granville for the next five weeks, expanding bar patios and setting up a bunch of events and food options.

[Coldrsx]

Nice!

All shit aside, this is the best sporting tournament in the world, every game matters and it is incredibly fun to come together to watch.

We have a group of 30-40 and have taken over a pub/rest today to cheer Canada on.

GO CANADA GO!

[jc_yyc_ca]

Looking forward to seeing Canada their games. Bosnia will be deceivingly tough, as is typical with Balkan based teams.

For me the bar is low. Win at least one game this tournament.

[mousquet]

I was about to start a same thread in the Skybar, but if you guys like it here, it'll do.

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

All shit aside, this is the best sporting tournament in the world, every game matters and it is incredibly fun to come together to watch.

Maybe, but we won't watch them all.
48 teams in 12 groups, that's 72 fixtures for the group stage alone, then rounds of 32, 16, quarters, semis...
That's 104 games in all, including the one for the 3rd place.
FIFA wants it profitable, eh.

Originally Posted by GeneralLea

I'm not a soccer fan, and really don't care about the World Cup...

Bwahhh, grumpy Canadian patriot who doesn't want to see his country lose, lol.
Mine and Spain are regarded as the favorites.
Hopefully our team is up to her reputation.

I watched Mexico out of curiosity last night. Their game was a bit boring and messy, 3 red cards!
That said, the Mex will do the job, because soccer is something to them.

[MonkeyRonin]

Keeping it SSP-ish, here's a preview of all the host stadiums for this year: https://www.dezeen.com/2026/06/11/world-cup-stadiums-usa-canada-mexico-2026/

Looking at these I can see why people have been saying BMO Field is kind of embarrassing - it looks more like the field of a second-tier British club than the arena of one of the continent's largest cities - though, to be fair it's also the only purpose-built soccer stadium of the bunch (north of Mexico). On the plus side, the setting of Canada's two stadiums are much better than the parking lot hellscapes of the American ones - which should make for a vibier experience on the ground. And BC Place is IMO the most photogenic of them all, taking into account both the setting & architecture.

Anyway, looking forward to watching the Canada team's first world cup appearance of my lifetime shortly. Despite all of cost issues, politics, disruptions, and FIFA corruption, it should still be a good time when it comes down to it.

[niwell]

BMO is kinda embarrassing (for this calibre of event) from the outside, but the experience from the stands may be better than a lot of the NFL stadiums. When the crowd gets excited it's a vibe, and sightlines are great. Couldn't afford the Canada games but will be there next week for Ghana/Panama which should still be a blast. As noted being able to walk to the game is a huge plus!

Things palpably ramping up on my bike ride home from work at lunch today (to avoid crowds). Bars already seemed bumping and the march of fans down to the stadium looked huge.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I enjoyed attending the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2015 when Moncton was one of the host cities.

I however have very little interest in the current men's World Cup. This is mostly due to the immense cost and disruption of it all, as well as the political drama mostly due to Trump's shenanigans. It just all seems completely out of control. FIFA is a corrupt organization and the focus no longer seems to be upon the joy of the game. The women's side however seems to be more innocent and pure of heart. That was a great experience at the time.

Sorry - not interested.

Maybe I'll feel a little different when the tournament progresses to the semi finals and finals, but, right now it is a hard pass for me.

I concur. And it is frustrating that politicians keep falling for the "booster class" line that "this will put your city on the map"! Vancouver and Toronto are already on the map.

[GreatTallNorth2]

Already streaming issues on TSN+