Germany – 2018

Wow. Germany, the reigning world champions, will not advance to the knockout stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. I’ve watched a lot of World Cup games here in Toronto, and this was by far the most nervously intense crowd I have witnessed. I’ll save any writing on the game to people much more knowledgeable than me, and let the photos speak mainly for themselves. This is Germany World Cup Toronto.

Date: June 27, 2018
Score of game: South Korea 2, Germany 0
Location: The Pint, 277 Front St. West, Toronto, ON
Estimated number of fans at location: 200

The only thing I can add is what a contrast this room was to the 2010 Germany World Cup in Toronto game I caught in a bar just up the street. Of course, in that game, their first in 2010, Germany went ahead 4-0, and didn’t look back the rest of the tournament. I was expecting to walk into a similar room, with Germany remembering how to score and lighting up South Korea to seal a spot in the knockout round. Skipped the first half in fact, expecting the best shots would be towards the end of the game. I wasn’t wrong, but the shots were much different than I anticipated. That’s the beauty of this game, the emotions are extreme either way.

There in the middle of the bar was a replica FIFA World Cup trophy, making the reality of the defeat that much more striking.

Despite Germany having multiple beautiful chances, one of the highest moments of relief/excitement in the room was when South Korea was called offside for their first goal. It was later reversed when VAR showed the ball had been touched by a German player.

Devastating. I much prefer taking photos of goals and utter jubilation, but there are two sides to every World Cup game and I was sadly not with the South Korean fans today.

This is Germany World Cup Toronto.