Some things only come around once. A men's World Cup on home soil is one of them. When the schedule put Canada in Vancouver, there was no real decision to make. I suspect I would have regretted staying home for the rest of my life, and I have enough regrets of the ordinary kind without adding one of that size.
Once in a lifetime
June 18, BC Place. Canada against Qatar. The flags came out across the pitch before kickoff, the stands were a wall of red, and the noise did not let up for ninety minutes. Cyle Larin opened the scoring. Jonathan David scored a hat-trick. Nathan Saliba added another, and an own goal made it six.
Canada 6, Qatar 0.
It was the first win Canada had ever recorded at a men's World Cup. We were in the building for it, and I do not think I will ever quite get over that.
Canada's first ever World Cup win, and we were in the building.
How Canada did
The win over Qatar turned out to be the start of the best World Cup Canada has ever had. They made it out of the group for the first time, won a knockout game for the first time, and reached the Round of 16 before Morocco brought it to an end.
I would have liked it to go further. Though I suppose that is what makes the next one worth waiting for.
- Group B Canada vs Bosnia and Herzegovina 1–1 D
- Group B · Jun 18 Canada vs Qatar BC Place · we were there 6–0 W
- Group B · Jun 24 Canada vs Switzerland Through as group runner-up 1–2 L
- Round of 32 · Jun 28 Canada vs South Africa Eustáquio, 95th minute 1–0 W
- Round of 16 · Jul 4 Canada vs Morocco Houston 0–3 L
Into the mountains
With the match behind us, we spent the last few days getting out of the city. First was Lynn Canyon in North Vancouver, with its suspension bridge, deep green pools, and water moving fast through the rock. Then Golden Ears: wide gravel bars, glacier-blue water, and peaks stacked up behind it. We spent most of the day rock-hopping along the river and pretending the water was not as cold as it was.
Then, before any of us were quite ready, it was time to go home.
The breakdown
- Where
- Vancouver, BC
- When
- June 2026
- Route
- BC Place → Lynn Canyon → Golden Ears → home
- Best moment
- Canada 6–0 Qatar
- Go if you ever get the chance. A home World Cup does not come around twice.
- Stay a few extra days. The mountains are an hour from the stadium.
- Pack for cold water. The rivers are snowmelt, even in June.
I do not expect to see another World Cup in my own country. I suspect most people my age will not. Which is, I think, precisely why it mattered that we went.