Portugal’s manager says he’s disappointed there aren’t more men’s World Cup matches scheduled for Toronto after falling in love with the city’s waterfront stadium.
Speaking after his side beat Croatia in a thrilling round-of-32 knock-out match at Toronto Stadium, Roberto Martinez heaped praise on the Canadian host city.
“It’s the first time I arrived in Canada, I must admit, congratulations to everybody, to the organizers, to everybody who’s involved in football in the city,” he said.
“The welcome we had was incredible, the training session yesterday, and the quality of the grass was fantastic.”
Since Portugal and its megastar captain Cristiano Ronaldo arrived in Toronto, the city has been abuzz.
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Fans stopped on the edge of the highway, crowded around the training pitch, set up outside the team hotel and marched in the thousands to the game on Thursday night.
The game at Toronto Stadium delivered on the promise with a dramatic comeback win for Portugal over Croatia, whose 40-year-old captain, Luka Modric, likely played his last-ever World Cup match in the city.
Croatian manager Zlatko Dalic said the support of the fans tempered the sadness of the match’s result.
“A wonderful atmosphere, a lot of our fans, a lot of support, and I believe that this wonderful football is connecting people, makes people happy and proud,” Dalic said. “I would like to keep the feeling that football is such, and not become a business that it actually has become.”
Toronto boasts the smallest stadium of the 16 venues for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, even after adding two temporary stands to expand its capacity.
Still, Martinez said it was a welcome change of scenery for his team, wishing more games had been scheduled in Ontario.
“It reminds me a lot of the old-fashioned Premier League grounds, a wonderful field, a wonderful field, so congratulations to everybody,” he said.
“I think it is a shame there are no more games here in Toronto because we really enjoyed it.”
Thursday’s match between Portugal and Croatia was the final World Cup match in Toronto.
Vancouver will host a round-of-16 tie, as will Mexico. The quarterfinals and beyond are played exclusively in the United States.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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