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Belgium World Cup star Kevin De Bruyne is a big fan of BC Place

Rob Williams
Rob Williams
|
Jun 27 2026, 4:02 pm
Belgium World Cup star Kevin De Bruyne is a big fan of BC Place
Anne-Marie Sorvin/Imagn Images

One of the biggest stars to step foot onto the pitch at BC Place had a lot of nice things to say about the 43-year-old stadium.

Vancouver hosted its fifth match of the FIFA World Cup on Friday, a 5-1 triumph by Belgium over New Zealand. It was held in front of 52,497 fans, a fifth-straight announced sellout at BC Place.

The match was vitally important, as it lifted Belgium from third place to first in Group G. New Zealand, meanwhile, was eliminated.

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Five straight sellouts at BC Place for the FIFA World Cup (Rob Williams/Daily Hive)

After the game, Belgium star Kevin De Bruyne, who scored a goal in the game, was asked about Vancouver.

“The City of Vancouver, I’ve only been here a short stay, but I have to say it was a really nice stadium to play in. Feels like a real, for me, football stadium,” said De Bruyne.

The longtime Manchester City star, who now plays for Napoli in Serie A, noted the difference between BC Place and the other two stadiums Belgium played in. Belgium previously played Iran at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) in front of 70,317 fans and against Egypt at Seattle Stadium (Lumen Field) with 66,775 fans in attendance.

“The other two are massive, but you have more the NFL feeling I would say. I think for us, it was really nice [at BC Place], it felt the pitch, it’s a bit different. It was a pleasure.”

Most of the visiting FIFA World Cup teams haven’t spent long in the city. Belgium landed at YVR on Thursday, the day before their match. They’ll fly back to Seattle, to return to their base camp in nearby Renton, on Saturday.

There are a couple of exceptions though. Canada has its base camp in Vancouver, so they spent plenty of time in the city. The other is New Zealand, which chose to stick around Vancouver in between its last two games at BC Place.

New Zealand’s Tim Payne, who went viral on social media before the tournament, said he visited the Vancouver Aquarium with his son.

“He loved the jellyfish,” Payne said.

Before he celebrated with Egyptian fans in the streets of Vancouver, Mo Salah was also complimentary of the city.

“It’s very nice, it’s very nice,” Salah told Daily Hive soccer reporter Har Johal. “Probably one day I will live here, so you never know.”

Up next for Vancouver are a pair of knockout round matches, beginning with the Round of 32 on July 2. That match will feature Switzerland and a yet-to-be-determined opponent, though it’s likely to be Iran.

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