World Cup 2022: Team Canada warms up for historic game

BBC News:

Canadian football fans are used to donning the jerseys of other countries during the Fifa World Cup – but this year is different. A young, promising Team Canada will play on the world stage for the first time in 36 years on Wednesday, setting the nation up for a historic run, no matter what the outcome.

One of the earliest football memories in Canada for John Settino was when Italy won the World Cup in 1982.

Scores of fans flooded Toronto’s downtown streets for a spontaneous, emotional celebration, honking car horns and waving green, white and red flags.

“If you look at photos of it, it’ll blow your mind,” Mr Settino, an Italian-Canadian born and raised in the city, said. “There were hundreds of thousands of people celebrating the victory.”

There were 300,000, making it one of the largest World Cup celebrations in Canada at the time.