'a dream come true': vancouver fans react to fifa 2026 world cup draw
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soccer fans corrado lenzi, with his sons nico, 12, in blue, and luca, 11, on commercial drive in vancouver on dec. 5.
jason payne
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vancouver’s corrado lenzi was watching the televised results of the fifa 2026 world cup draw with his 11-year-old son, luca, on friday morning at home. the pair erupted with excitement when the news hit that their family’s heritage team could be coming to vancouver to play canada.
“we stared at each other, thinking, what are the odds?” he said. “italy in canada — it would be a win-win for us, no matter who wins.”
vancouver soccer fans will get a front-row seat to the cup as canada takes on qatar and switzerland at b.c. place on june 18 and 24. the city could also host a european playoff winner, with italy, northern ireland, wales or bosnia and herzegovina vying for a spot.
the canadian city will see seven games, including five group-stage matches and two knockout-round contests — giving local fans a chance to cheer on top international talent without travelling far from home.
soccer is a family sport for lenzi, whose father ran an italian restaurant, la rocca, on commercial drive for more than two decades after migrating to canada from naples.
“my father played soccer as a child in italy and passed on his love for the sport to me,” said lenzi, who now coaches for vancouver’s italian canadian soccer club and runs soccer academy casa real. “now, i coach my two sons, luca and nico, just like my dad taught me.”
the fifa world cup 2026 draw viewing party at craft beer market in vancouver.
nick procaylo
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if italy qualifies to play in vancouver and lenzi isn’t able to snag tickets, the fan said he’ll likely head down to the commercial drive neighbourhood to watch the match. the east vancouver strip is widely known as the heart of vancouver’s italian community, with family run cafes and restaurants where major televised soccer matches can turn into community events.
“that neighbourhood is going to be packed when italy plays,” said lenzi. “the italian community here is going to be absolutely nuts. there are some big players on that team, including goalkeeper gianluigi donnarumma, that i’m thrilled over.”
vancouver fans will get to see australia face the winner of a playoff between turkey, romania, slovakia or kosovo at b.c. place. the city will also host two matches featuring belgium, iran, egypt and new zealand.
nam lamda, who moved to vancouver from delhi four years ago to pursue her master’s degree, is thrilled at the possibility of seeing belgium playing at b.c. place during the cup.
a fan of the vancouver whitecaps, she took up soccer in her early 30s to stay in shape. at first, she played pickup with a group of guys — the only female player — before finding a coach who worked with women and encouraged her to watch professional games on tv.
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“in india, the premier league is really popular. it’s easy to follow, and i fell in love with one player, kevin de bruyne, which led me to follow man city,” she said. “then i moved here, and this is where i could actually start watching live games.”
seeing de bruyne star for belgium makes lamda excited about the red devils possibly being in vancouver.
“it would be amazing to see kevin play here — it’s kevin versus mo salah,” she said, referencing the liverpool star whose egyptian national team is in the same group.
“i’m just going to watch for the love of the game. and of course, i’ll support canada because i’m here. but seeing belgium in vancouver would be a dream come true.”
melbourne resident tyson kingston said that he plans to make the long trip to watch australia play at b.c. place on june 12. kingston is hoping his home country will face turkey, recalling his earliest and fondest memories of the cup.
“i remember when turkey finished third in 2002,” he said friday. “i was 15 then, and my mother let me bring a tv into my room to watch the games. it would be incredible to see australia take them on in vancouver.”
forty-eight teams will qualify for the tournament, with canada, the u.s. and mexico automatically having spots in the competition as host nations. canada has qualified for the cup just twice, in 1986, and again in 2022.
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