'Cristiano Ronaldo is the reason we watch soccer': A legend descends on Toronto for the World Cup

TORONTO — The city put on a show and it got one in return, as Cristiano Ronaldo and the Portuguese soccer team descended on Toronto for the 2026 World Cup. Fans paid thousands of dollars to attend, and in turn got to witness one of the greatest players of all-time score a goal in Portugal's dramatic 2-1 win in the Round of 32 against Croatia on Thursday night.

It came off a penalty, and made way for his classic celebration. In true form, Ronaldo ran to the left corner, jumped in the air, twisted his body, and pushed his arms to the side, allowing the crowd to respond with a deafening "Siuuu" — an elongation of the Spanish word for "yes" — as he landed with force.

In Toronto, the Ronaldo hype started early and went on late, with massive groups of fans waiting outside the team's downtown Delta Hotel, as he stepped out on the balcony to hype them up.

Then there was also the fan march to Toronto Stadium ahead of the match, taking place in the blistering heat. For the Canadian city, these marches have become a staple of the World Cup experience, as everyone from Germans to Iraqis have proudly supported their team and country. But what made this one different was the amount of people who attended who weren't Portuguese — instead, they were Ronaldo fans.

"When you have somebody like Cristiano Ronaldo, your city's going to go to pandemonium," says Gurpartap Singh Toor of Brampton, Ont. "Cristiano Ronaldo is the reason we watch soccer."

Toor says that as a kid, he never would have imagined that Ronaldo would be playing in Toronto. But the atmosphere it's created isn't a surprise, given that the city is a "melting pot" where "people from all over the world come and are passionate about sports."

To create the perfect storm, you also have Ronaldo's global reach, which includes over 670 million Instagram followers. On Thursday night, his star power brought out celebrities like Drake, Nelly Furtado and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, along with a pitch invader — a sole occurrence across Toronto's six World Cup games.

And then of course, you also have a Portuguese diaspora in Toronto, with Canada being home to about 448,000 people of Portuguese origin. In turn, it helped fuel another massive march, as thousands invaded Toronto's downtown streets and filled them with green and red.

"Cristiano Ronaldo" chants rang through the air, and also the singing of the track "De Portugal Eu Sou" by Karetus, as green smoke canisters took up the rest of the space. That started at Toronto's Stanley Park, before the march made its way down King Street West and Strachan Avenue.

Joining in on the experience was Tyler Dias, a Torontonian of Portuguese descent, who could be seen carrying a custom made flag with Ronaldo depicted as Jesus.

Dias has been eyeing the opportunity to watch Ronaldo ever since Toronto was announced as a host-city in 2018. When it came to how much he'd be willing to spend, his answer was simple:

"Any money in the world," said Dias, as he ultimately paid around $2200 for his ticket.

With secondary market tickets routinely selling in the thousands, Lucia Resendes jokes that she would have to "mortgage my house" in order to attend. While she wasn't going to the match, it was important to attend the fan march.

"I lost both of my parents, they were Portuguese fans, so I'm here representing them," said Resendes.

"We have to show our Portuguese pride. We have to show the team that we're here for them. So, I feel so amazing. I'm Portuguese today, more than I have been any day in my life."

Joining her at the march was Somil Jagnani, a friend she made while watching a match at Toronto's Fan Festival. For the Thursday fixture, she took the day off from work, knowing that she needs to tell "future generations that I was here today."

With Ronaldo being 41 years old, this is likely his final World Cup tournament — which opened the possibility that Toronto would have hosted his last match. But that thought didn't come into Resendes' mind; instead, she was focused on the Toronto fixture being part of a longer and more complete road to greatness for Ronaldo and the team.

"He is the pulse of the team," said Resendes. "Honestly, he's going to carry us to the final. We've never won a World Cup, this might be his last. He is going to hoist that cup in the final. We're going to go all the way."