Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
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VANCOUVER — The final World Cup whistle has been blown, crowning Spain champions and bringing an end to Canada’s month-long tournament celebration.
North Vancouverite Evan Sawrenko is among fans in Toronto and Vancouver already feeling nostalgic.
He called Canada hosting the men’s international tournament a “dream come true,” noting he attended the Egypt-New Zealand match at BC Place on June 21.
“It was a really cool experience,” he said of the city’s hosting run.
“It’s been a super fun time and having like a whole summer of soccer games I can watch (and) watching a bunch of my favourite players.”
While the live action ended in the city on July 7, the 22-year-old said his entire family wanted to soak up the last of the excitement by watching the final at Vancouver’s Fan Festival on Sunday.
The tournament kicked off on June 11 and the festival grounds quickly became one of the best places in Canada to watch the action outside a stadium. The grounds saw a total of more than 500,000 attendees over the five-week span, according to its website.
Fan Sean Clerkin from Dublin, Ireland, was there on Sunday. He said he moved to Vancouver about two years ago and had “never seen Vancouver like this.”
“The atmosphere is incredible, I’m not the biggest football fan, but just walking down Granville Street has been absolutely amazing,” he said ahead of the final kickoff.
“I think it’s been great for Vancouver. I think even people who are not into football, like myself, have really enjoyed it,” he said.
The championship match closes the first 48-team men’s World Cup and Canada’s role as a co-host of soccer’s biggest tournament.
FIFA World Cup 2026 Vancouver host committee lead Jessie Adcock said it had been an “emotional roller-coaster” but she is proud of what the city accomplished.
“To be here on the last day of the final in and among a sea of smiling faces, I mean I think the biggest thing that comes to mind is just like pride in terms of what we’ve been able to accomplish here as a group,” she said from Vancouver’s Fan Festival when asked about her tournament highlights.
“I’m just really, really grateful for the team and really, really happy with what we accomplished.”
She said the whole city embraced the tournament, citing various fan events and watch parties as well as the pedestrian zone on Granville Street in downtown Vancouver.
“Looking around the city, you saw it, the joy on everyone’s faces — I mean some tears if your team lost but ultimately this was an experiment in collective joy.”
That mix of emotions was palpable on Sunday inside the festival’s amphitheatre when Spain ultimately defeated Argentina 1-0 after 30 minutes of extra time.
But across the country at Toronto’s fan festival, diehard soccer fans such as Rajdeep Rana and Navya Madan were focused on the positives, saying the event had brought the city to life.
The two said they had made the drive to Toronto from Milton, Ont., to catch nearly every match watch party in the city.
“I never expected Toronto to be the host city, and I think it’s been an amazing experience the past month-and-a-half,” Rana said as he sported a Barcelona jersey.
“It’s been one of the greatest things — the greatest moments of my life so far.”
Fellow fan Mohit Barate, who was watching the final from STACKT Market Toronto, said it was going to “be a bit depressing” to bid the tournament farewell.
“I think the rest of the summer is mostly going to be just rewatching the matches that we have been following,” he said.
Toronto hosted six matches and Vancouver seven during the first men’s World Cup staged across Canada, the United States and Mexico.
The tournament brought supporters from around the world to both Canadian cities and turned public spaces into soccer gathering places.
Granville Island in Vancouver was among the locations that held a free watch party for each World Cup match, equipped with several screens and food trucks.
Lisa Ono, public affairs and programming manager for CMEC Granville Island, said it was a new kind of event for the location, which is typically an arts and culture hub.
“We were at capacity for most of the games or over capacity for many of the games,” she said, noting the space held 1,000 people.
“There was such community spirit and enthusiasm and such a friendly, high-energy, happy vibe at the watch party that it was beyond our expectations for sure.”
She said the watch party will be torn down within 48 hours, “like it never happened.”
But the final cost of staging the tournament won’t be known for months.
In May, Canada’s independent parliamentary budget officer estimated total hosting costs at about $1.066 billion, including $473 million in federal costs, projected costs of up to $729 million in British Columbia and $380 million in Toronto.
Most physical remnants of the tournament come down in the meantime. FIFA banners will be removed and event locations will be reverted to their original forms.
Small homages to the tournament, including the pedestrianization of Granville Street and Vancouver’s Science World soccer ball installation — which became an iconic symbol for the host city — will remain in Vancouver until Labour Day.
But some, like Toronto fans Kia Rabbani and Chris Yien, are hopeful this isn’t really the end.
When asked how the city can keep the energy alive after the games, Rabbani said “it’s impossible” while Yien suggested another alternative.
“Host another World Cup,” he said, grinning. “Host the next one.”
— With files by Fatima Raza and Sandra Ezekwesili in Toronto
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2026.
Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press
