Canada dubbed a soccer nation as largest-ever FIFA World Cup comes to a close

After more than five weeks of jaw-dropping athletic feats, stunning upsets and mystifying moments, the largest-ever FIFA World Cup is coming to a close. 

The newly expanded 48-team, 104-game tournament will conclude Sunday afternoon when reigning champions Argentina take on Spain in the final in East Rutherford, N.J.

Canada was at the centre of the global soccer showcase for the first time, with Vancouver and Toronto among the 16 host cities across North America. 

“It’s really been an extraordinary journey for all Canadians,” said Adam van Koeverden, Canada’s secretary of state for sport and the country’s self-described “World Cup Sherpa.”

“The World Cup itself, in terms of the sport, was remarkable. It was a huge step forward for Canadian soccer or football or whatever we call it. But what is clear is that Canada is a soccer nation.”

Van Koeverden won’t be in the stands for the championship game, but Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to attend the game. U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum are also set to take in the final. 

Politics have blanketed the tournament from the outset. 

Before the World Cup began, Iran asked FIFA to move its games out of the United States, citing the ongoing war between the two nations. 

The request was denied, and Iran’s players and staff spoke out about tight travel restrictions that prevented them from travelling from their base in Tijuana, Mexico, into Los Angeles until the day before the nation’s group-stage games against New Zealand and Belgium. 

“We don’t ask for much. We just ask for the same procedure as for all the other 47 teams,” Iran captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh said.

The team was ultimately allowed to enter the U.S. two days before their final game against Egypt in Seattle on June 26. 

Canada’s border rules also made headlines when Ghana’s Thomas Partey was denied a visa for his nation’s World Cup opener in Toronto. The 32-year-old midfielder is awaiting trial in England for multiple charges of rape and has entered a not guilty plea. 

A federal judge dismissed Partey’s bid for emergency relief that would have allowed him to travel to Canada for the game. 

There were questions over whether Ivory Coast player Elye Wahi would also be denied entry after it emerged the 23-year-old striker was under investigation for alleged betting-related offences. 

The Ivorian soccer federation initially said Wahi would not be able to cross the border into Canada for the nation’s match against Germany in Toronto on July 20, but later issued a statement saying the necessary authorizations had been obtained. 

Allegations of political interference in the sport were lobbed ahead of a round-of-16 bout between the U.S. and Belgium. 

American forward Folarin Balogun picked up a red card in his team’s 2-0 round-of-32 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina and was set to miss the matchup with Belgium due to a one-game suspension. 

Trump then stepped in and called FIFA president Gianni Infantino, and FIFA deferred Balogun’s suspension in favour of one year of probation. 

Belgium went on to beat the U.S. 4-1 and reach the quarterfinals.

Canada’s Voyageurs toward B.C. Place ahead of Canada’s World Cup Group B soccer match against Qatar, in Vancouver, on Thursday, June 18, 2026.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Timothy Matwey

Several critics questioned the cost of Canada’s hosting World Cup games both before and during the tournament. 

The parliamentary budget officer pegged the total price tag for staging 13 games at $1.066 billion, with the federal government contributing $473 million and another $593 million coming from other levels of government. 

The PBO said Canada’s costs were roughly in line with what was spent per game on previous World Cup tournaments.

Staging games in Vancouver and Toronto will have lasting legacies well beyond the economy, van Koeverden said. 

“We are now more well known as the best sport hosting nation in the world, and we’ll continue to leverage that as we pursue more hosting opportunities,” he said. 

“It’s great for our economy, it’s great for infrastructure. It’s just wonderful for all Canadians to be able to enjoy world class sporting and cultural events on home soil. It creates jobs. It’s great for our place in the world.”

International media hailed Vancouver and Toronto as some of the top host cities before the tournament began, citing transportation, idyllic scenery and downtown stadium.

Vancouver’s billing was well deserved, said Whitecaps midfielder Thomas Muller.

The 2014 World Cup winner spent this summer’s tournament working as an analyst for Germany’s Magenta TV, and was impressed by how fans in Canada embraced the showcase. 

Celebrations in Vancouver, including on a pedestrianized portion of Granville Street, looked “amazing,” Muller said. 

“The atmosphere was very nice,” he said. “And I was in Toronto, too, so it’s kind of the same. Not the same same. I would say you could feel it a little bit more (in Vancouver), maybe because the Canadian team played in Vancouver (more). 

“Maybe we all didn’t expect it like that, but it’s so far a great World Cup in my opinion.”

One of the biggest games staged on Canadian soil came on July 2 when Portugal and Croatia squared off in a round-of-32 matchup in Toronto. 

A sold-out crowd of 43,036 raucous fans packed the stadium — usually known as BMO Field — creating an electric atmosphere that didn’t go unnoticed by those on the field. 

“Congratulations to everybody, to the organizers, to everybody who’s involved in football, soccer, in the city. It was incredible,” Portugal manager Roberto Martinez said after his team came all the way back to beat Croatia 2-1. “The training session yesterday, the quality of the grass, was fantastic. 

“Everything around the beautiful facilities here, it reminds me of the old-fashioned Premier League grounds. Congratulations to everybody.”

Canada’s own games were a source of special memories for players and fans alike. 

The national team played a men’s World Cup game on home soil for the first time on June 12, battling Bosnia to a 1-1 draw. The result marked the country’s first-ever point in the tournament — and the start of a historic run. 

Hearing the national anthem play before that game was an emotional moment for Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue. 

“It was kind of the culmination of a lot of work for our organization,” he said. “And for me personally, since I started, the World Cup has always been a point on the map and not the finish line. But you can’t help at such a moment get a little bit caught up in the fact it has been building to it. So it was an amazing experience, to be honest.”

Canada’s Nathan Saliba (25) holds up injured teammate Ismael Kone’s jersey after scoring against Qatar during the second half of a World Cup Group B soccer match, in Vancouver, on Thursday, June 18, 2026.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Les Rouges then shifted to Vancouver where they trounced Qatar 6-0 in an emotional matchup for their first-ever victory. 

The boisterous red-and-white clad crowd grew quiet early in the second half of the game when Canadian midfielder Ismael Kone crumpled to the turf after being tackled from behind. He was stretchered off the field, his leg broken in two places. 

It was the latest blow to a Canadian squad that saw several players hampered by various injuries leading up to and throughout the tournament. 

Captain Alphonso Davies played just 15 minutes throughout the World Cup due to a nagging hamstring strain.

Van Koeverden was in the locker room after the Qatar game when Carney spoke to the team about how its performance reflected Canada’s values, especially in light of Kone’s injury.

That moment was “a bit surreal,” said the former Olympic sprint kayaker.

“The prime minister’s speech really resonated with the players,” van Koeverden said. “As a former athlete myself, it was just a really, really Canadian moment and an opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come and what the opportunities are that lie ahead.”

Canada finished the group stage with a 2-1 loss to Switzerland in Vancouver, but finished second in Group B to earn a spot in the knockout round for the first time. 

More magic followed in Los Angeles, where vice-captain Stephen Eustaquio scored in stoppage time to give the Canadians a 1-0 victory over South Africa in the round of 32. 

The run came to an end in Houston when Les Rouges fell 3-0 to Morocco in the round of 16. 

After the loss, Eustaquio said Canada’s performance throughout the tournament proved the World Cup is precisely where Canada belongs. 

“The fact that we were able to be one of the 16 best teams of this World Cup, I think, is amazing for the country,” he said. “It’s amazing for this team, but we have to start from there. We have to start from there, realizing that the gap isn’t that big, that we have to fight.”

It wasn’t only the performance on the field that showed Canada’s place in the soccer world, but the celebrations at fan festivals, community watch parties and in living rooms across the country, said right back Alistair Johnston. 

“We really proved to everyone what a footballing country Canada is,” he said. “Not just when we were playing there, but when other teams came, you could see the amount of passion that was there for the sport in Canada.

“That’s something that I’ve always known was there, but I don’t think the rest of the world truly knew, and I’m not sure all of Canada truly knew the true level of fandom that we have. So that was something I’m really proud of.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2026.

By Gemma Karstens-Smith | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.