B.C. soccer legend Christine Sinclair says World Cup 2026 ‘feels real’ after draw

Hundreds gathered at a Vancouver watch party Friday to see who Canada will face in the group stage of next year's World Cup.

Canadian and B.C. soccer legend Christine Sinclair says FIFA’s 2026 Men’s World Cup “feels real” now that the draw has taken place.

The 27th ranked Canadian men will be in Vancouver to face Qatar on June 18 and then Switzerland on June 24 at B.C. Place Stadium, after drawing those two sides on Friday.

But the team they will face in Toronto for their June 12 opener will be an undecided European side — Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales or Bosnia.

Switzerland is ranked 17th in the world, and Qatar 51st.

Sinclair, who has represented Canada in six World Cups, said she identifies the draw as a turning point for athletes, when they can begin picturing the games and start strategizing about specific opponents.

“This is when it gets real as a player,” she told reporters after the draw concluded on Friday.

“It comes fast and I can only imagine what the guys are thinking right now — they must be so excited.”

If Team Canada wins their pool, they will stay in Vancouver for their round-of-32 game and, if they keep winning, for a round-of-16 matchup.

Should Canada finish second in the pool, they will face the second-placed team in Mexico’s Group A.

Sinclair, who helped host a live watch party for the draw at Craft Beer Market in Vancouver’s False Creek, said she was happy with Canada’s draw.

“I do like our group,” she said, calling the games against Switzerland and Qatar “winnable.”

“I like our chances,” she said.

The full tournament schedule is slated for release Saturday.

Thomas Schneider, the Swiss Consul General in Vancouver, said he attended a separate watch party on Friday. He called it a “dream come true” that Switzerland had been drawn to play in Vancouver.

“My excitement is beyond description,” he said in an interview.

Statistics Canada data show 28,520 people in B.C. reported having Swiss ethnic or cultural origins in the 2021 Census.

Schneider said he’s hopeful he and his wife will score tickets to the game at BC Place, though he feels his chances are slim.

He said he also expects a wave of Swiss fans to travel to Vancouver for the game — which he welcomes.

“We can use the presence of the Swiss team here as a platform to promote our country,” he said.

Sinclair said she also hopes to attend the Canadian games in person, though she recognizes those will be “hot ticket” items.

But, she told reporters that she knows it will be special wherever people watch, “whether that’s inside the stadium, at fan fests or even at home watching it with a group of people.”

She said she remembers the atmosphere in Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics and is predicting the World Cup will be “that times 100.”

B.C. Premier David Eby told the False Creek watch party attendees that the province is excited to host, saying the games will provide B.C. the opportunity to “grow the economy, create good paying jobs and support hard-working people right across the province.”

“These games are going to leave a legacy in every corner of the province with soccer facilities, kids who are excited about soccer, who are getting fit and having fun and building self-esteem,” he said before joking that the sport was not how he built his own self-esteem.

“I was never very good at it, but I loved the orange slices, and I continue to love orange slices.”

— With files from Nono Shen in Vancouver

This report by Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press, was first published Dec. 5, 2025.