Canada co-hosted the World Cup – but whose party was it?

Les Rouges brought moments of joy to their nation. But there are plenty of questions around Canadian soccer as the tournament moves on

It was standing room only in Toronto’s oldest bar, The Wheatsheaf, on Saturday lunchtime. For some, the wake had already begun. Nestled in the corner was a group of sullen Irish GAA fans, who had just witnessed Cork’s demoralizing defeat to Galway in the All-Ireland Hurling semi-final. Resplendent in their red and white as they gazed despairingly into the middle distance, at least they had another team to root for.

It was an odd scenario. Canada is co-hosting this tournament but, due to the team’s second-place finish in the group stage, they were playing Morocco far to the south in Houston, Texas. But The Wheatsheaf was a sea of red and white as Canada fans gathered for the last-16 clash. Some guy even dusted off a vintage Manchester United 1999 jersey with ‘Beckham’ on the back. Anything for Canada. And that sense of collective patriotism soared when Wayne Gretzky – the once Great One now derided in his native land for cosying up to Donald Trump, amongst other curious missteps – popped up on TV screens and was booed mercilessly and enthusiastically by the crowd.

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