Belgium – 2018

In the knockout round, when choosing which team to photograph, I usually go for the underdog. The theory is that if the underdog wins, then they will be even that much more pumped. If the underdog is defeated, well, it was the last chance to photograph those fans anyway. All that being said, I went to Cafe Diplomatico on College Street because I had a seen a lot of Japanese fans there in the group stage during my desperate and futile search for Senegal fans. As it turns out, it was also a hot bed of Belgium fans. Kind of a win/win, and while I don’t like to go to neutral locations, the Belgium fans had named The Football Factory as their headquarters for the, and I had had already shot there for Iceland. It is for this reason I can pretty confidently say, this is Belgium World Cup Toronto.

Date: July 2, 2018
Score of game: Belgium 3, Japan 2
Location: Cafe Diplomatico, 594 College St, Toronto, ON
Estimated number of fans at location: 15

Another absolutely steamy day in Toronto, but what a wonderful day to be on the patio watching soccer. I don’t think anyone was expecting such an incredible game, but heck, there was a lot you couldn’t expect in this year’s tournament.

After no score in the first half, Japan went ahead with two goals early in the second half. Belgium fans were rightfully worried.

It was not one or two but three goals unanswered, the final in the last moments of the game after a Japan corner kick.

This was an amazing comeback. This was Belgium World Cup Toronto.