SportsSoccerFIFA World Cup

Vancouver's first 2026 FIFA World Cup match was electric at BC Place

Rob Williams
Rob Williams
|
Jun 14 2026, 9:08 am
Vancouver's first 2026 FIFA World Cup match was electric at BC Place
Simon Fearn/Imagn Images

BC Place was rocking on Saturday night, as the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off for the first time in Vancouver.

A sellout crowd of 52,497 was announced, with a large percentage consisting of travelling fans from the two teams playing, Australia and Türkiye.

The gold jerseys of the Australian supporters were easy to spot in the crowd. Ten thousand Aussies were expected in the city, and boy did they get noticed on Granville Street on Saturday.

But inside the stadium, Türkiye had the louder of the two fan bases.

Unfortunately for the Turkish fans, it was the Socceroos supporters who had more to cheer about, as Australia won 2-0.

“To have so many Aussies here was something really special. When the anthem was sung it’s something I won’t forget for the rest of my life,” said Australian midfielder Aiden O’Neill.

“I think it went above my expectations, to be honest.”

australia turkiye fifa world cup vancouver

Vancouver’s first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (Rob Williams/Daily Hive)

It must have felt extra sweet for Australia, given what Türkiye captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu said about them on Friday.

“I think we will dominate the game, because we have more qualities and a more talented team,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.”

Australian goalkeeper Patrick Beach, who was the surprise starter over Socceroos captain Mathew Ryan, didn’t offer a rebuttal to the Turkish captain.

“I’ve got nothing to say back to them. They’re a great opposition, they’ve got great players, and like I said, we don’t worry about that stuff,” he told reporters after the match. “We’re the underdogs in the minds of a lot of other people and a lot of teams, and we’re happy with that.”

Türkiye entered the match ranked No. 22 in the world, while Australia was 27th.

Türkiye carried most of the play, but Australia was opportunistic, converting their chances into goals.

Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe scored for Australia, while Beach picked up the clean sheet.

How did BC Place hold up?

It was a beautiful day in Vancouver, but the roof was closed for the duration of the match. This is a decision from FIFA, with a spokesperson previously explaining that the roof would be closed to create a “consistent environment” for broadcast television. Given the match started at 9 p.m., it did seem nonsensical to keep it closed.

The temporary natural grass pitch seemed to hold up well. It got a glowing review from Beach.

“The stadium is very very nice. It’s unbelievable,” said the Aussie goalkeeper. “Everyone was buzzing [about the pitch]. They loved it. Felt pretty cool. The pitch was great quality tonight.”

 

 

 

Australia’s next match is against the United States in Seattle on June 19, while Türkiye takes on Paraguay in Santa Clara, California the same night.

The next match we’ll see in Vancouver is Canada versus Qatar, scheduled for Thursday.

ADVERTISEMENT