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Canada’s World Cup dreams have come to an end, but that didn’t stop fans in Saskatoon from praising how far the team went in the tournament.
On Saturday, Gather Local Market in Saskatoon hosted Saskatchewan’s only official FIFA World Cup stop.
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- ‘It was beautiful’: Sask. fans celebrate Canada’s historic move to World Cup Round of 16
- ‘Cheer for the boys’: Fans flying to Houston for Canada’s historic World Cup match
The outdoor event, which started an hour before the game and lasted until 6 p.m., featured a beer garden, food trucks, soccer-themed games, a massive soccer ball, and two giant screens projecting the Round of 16 match.
Well over 1,000 people came decked out in red and white to sit in the hot sun and cheer on Canada.
Rob Williamson said he was hoping Team Canada would get one win in the World Cup, so to make it to the Round of 16, “it’s so amazing,” he said. (Marija Robinson/650 CKOM)
Though the game finished with a 3-0 loss against Morocco, long-time soccer fan Rob Williamson said Team Canada had already, “accomplished the goal.”
He showed up to the event wearing a disco ball-like mask along with a bright red wig, carrying a Canadian flag.
“If you ask any hardcore Canadian soccer supporter, getting out of the first round was the main thing,” he said.
Addressing his comments to Team Canada players, Williamson said: “Guys, if you’re out there, don’t worry about it,” adding how beating Morocco would have been, “incredibly hard.”
From left: Friends Emma Erickson, Ethan Bell, and Tamisha Wynn. Before the game started Wynn said, “we gotta go all out, dress up, you never know when it’s gonna be the last.” (Marija Robinson/650 CKOM)
Williamson wasn’t the only fan offering up condolences to the team.
Friends Emma Erickson, Ethan Bell, and Tamisha Wynn also only had positive things to say about Canada’s performance in the World Cup.
“I’m proud of Canada for making it this far. It’s incredibly, honestly,” Bell said.
For Erickson, part of the fun was just seeing the turnout for the game.
“Regardless, this is awesome. I didn’t think this many people even watch soccer in Saskatoon,” Erickson said.
Sitting in the beer garden, Brennan Paul also pointed out that Canada had set new national records in this World Cup, specifically securing its first-ever win in the tournament and advancing as far as it did.
Beside him, Nolan Paul, who’d been stoked for “a huge upset” against Morocco, said despite the loss just making it to Round of 16, “shows that Canada is a real team on the world soccer stage.”
“We deserve to be here. We’re not just here because we’re hosting the tournament,” he continued.
While Canada’s performance proved to the rest of the world what its soccer players are capable of, Paul also said he hopes it can get more people closer to home to take soccer seriously.
“It’s a real sport in Canada. There are not just the two: football and hockey,” he said.
Fans in other parts of the country shared that sentiment.
Mexican-Canadian Rafael Ramirez and his wife, Yadira, lined up for almost four hours to get into an Amphitheatre in East Vancouver in B.C. to watch Canada lose.
But the couple, like thousands of others wearing Canadian jerseys, also watched a performance that made them proud, as the team around coach Jesse Marsch and star players Jonathan David and Stephen Eustaquio held one of the best teams in the world to scoreless draw after the first half before conceding.
“We are very proud of the boys,” Yadira Ramierz said. “We cannot take away from all the hard work and the dedication they did have. It wasn’t this time. It might be next time.”
Colin Paterson was hoping for a result this time around. The 31-year-old said he has been watching the team since he was young. This means the soccer fan hasn’t had much to cheer about over the years.
When Canada was announced as a co-host of this year’s tournament in 2017, it was ranked 120th in the world, which was an improvement from 122nd in the world in 2014.
But things have turned around in less than a decade as Canada qualified for the World Cup in 2022 after its first and only appearance in 1986.
On Saturday, the team was poised to take another step after winning its first knockout match against South Africa.
But Morocco was a different kind of opponent. Morocco entered the tournament sitting seventh in FIFA’s rankings while Canada was No. 30.
“It’s tough,” Paterson says. “I’m disappointed, because I feel that they played so well. Maybe they could have gotten a result. But we were in the round of 16. I would have never expected that.”
Canada advanced to game after beating South Africa to win the country’s first ever knockout match at the World Cup.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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