Canadian fans say they are proud of men’s soccer team despite loss to Morocco

Canada’s historic run at the FIFA World Cup might be over, but it has left many Canadians with that magic feeling their men’s national soccer team has left an indelible mark on the world’s largest sporting stage.

Fans like Mexican-Canadian Rafael Ramirez and his wife, Yadira, lined up for almost four hours to get into a watch party at the PNE Amphitheatre in East Vancouver to watch Canada lose 3-0 against Morocco.

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 a scoreless draw after the first half before conceding.

When the final whistle blew, many in Vancouver showed their appreciation through applause. Others, like fans at Toronto’s fan festival, tried to sing away their blues by chanting “Ole, Ole,” their Canadian flags swaying along.

“We are very proud of the boys,” Yadira Ramirez said in Vancouver. “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, also in Vancouver, 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.

“It’s tough,” said Paterson, 31, of the result. “I’m disappointed, because I feel that they played so well. Maybe they could have got a result. But we were in the round of 16. I would have never expected that.”

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, when it did not score a single goal or earn a single point.

So, when the 2026 tournament kicked off, Canada was poised to make history, and it did.

Toronto hosted Canada’s inaugural World Cup game and Cyle Larin scored Canada’s first ever World Cup goal on home soil in a 1-1 tie with Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Vancouver then became the site of Canada’s first ever tournament victory with a 6-0 drubbing of Qatar.

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.

Montreal is home to one of Canada’s largest Moroccan communities, including in Montréal-Nord and around Little Maghreb, a neighbourhood in the Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension borough.

Inside an indoor soccer facility in Montreal-Nord, a few hundred Moroccan supporters gathered for a community party to watch Morocco’s victory.

Among them was Odette Leclerc, 87, who said she wasn’t rooting for either side despite having many Moroccan friends.

“I just wanted the best team to win,” she said. “I’m happy for my Moroccan friends.”

Ali Abdel, 23, said he came to celebrate with the Moroccan community of Montreal as much as to watch the match.

“Being here with everyone is what matters most,” he said. “The win is just the cherry on top.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney said after Saturday’s loss he’s feeling “nothing but pride” and called it an “incredible run and a sign of what’s to come” while thanking all the fans who showed up in support of the co-host nation.

Canada Soccer, the national federation, said on social media that Saturday’s result hurts.

“We came here believing we could keep writing history, and when you believe that deeply, the final whistle is not easy to accept.”

But the post also pointed to what has been won since the start of tournament almost a month ago.

“History wasn’t just made on the pitch,” it said. “It was made in homes, schools, parks, pubs and communities across this country. It was made every time someone chose to believe,” it said. “Canada’s World Cup comes to a close. Canada’s football journey is only just beginning.”

Josh Killins, who watched the game in Vancouver, said it was sad to see the Canadians go.

“Yeah, we fully had them in the first half,” Killins said of the Moroccan team. “I thought we had a good chance.”

Colby Foster, who also watched in Vancouver, said he hopes people who do not follow the sport closely come to understand how big an achievement Canada’s run at the World Cup was.

“Because it was only 15 years ago that we were losing 8-1 to Honduras,” he said.

The fan, who travelled to Vancouver from Langley, B.C., said he hopes Canada’s success will inspire others to play and support soccer teams in Canada, including the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Morocco advances to the quarterfinals, where they will play either Paraguay or France in a quarterfinal matchup in Boston on July 9.

The World Cup will continue until July 19.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 4, 2026.

–With files from Nono Shen in Vanvouver and Charlotte Glorieux in Montreal

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press