Mexico – 2026

There was no way I was going to miss the opening match of this year’s World Cup. I’ve photographed Mexican fans before in Toronto and I’ve always really enjoyed it. It was a great start for the host countries of the 2026 World Cup and a super fun game at a really great venue.

It doesn’t always work, but I had a pretty strong sense that I was going to find a bar along St. Clair Ave W that had a bunch of Mexican flags outside, or else, find a whole host of cars with flags parked in a cluster around a bar. In this case, it was the cars, and there were a whole lot of them. I didn’t know about Polanko before the tournament, but they are definitely a destination for Latin American teams.

The thing I loved the most about the bar was that there were screens on every wall around the venue, so you could be having a conversation with anyone around you and you could still glimpse the game over their shoulder. That’s kind of key if you want to be social, but also want to watch the game.

Buckets of beer seemed to be the order of the day, and food was being served throughout the match.

Mexico World Cup Fans in Toronto

Game Details:

Date: June 11, 2026
Score of game: Mexico 2, South Africa 0
Location: Polanko, 1002 St Clair Ave W, Toronto, ON
Estimated number of fans at location: 100