Senegal's 5-0 blowout victory over Iraq at Toronto Stadium on Friday drew an announced attendance of 43,036, proving that Toronto is soccer-mad and that FIFA's biggest critics were wrong about dynamic pricing and interest in less glamorous matchups.
Attendance Numbers Silence Critics
Of the five group-stage matches in Toronto, Senegal-Iraq and Ghana-Panama were seen as so-called tough sells. While the African nations have stars playing in Europe's biggest leagues, their smaller opponents were low-ranked and lacked headline names. Yet even with the cheapest tickets carrying face values of at least $500 — and most seats for much more — the stands were packed.
Through five matches at Toronto Stadium, FIFA's official attendance numbers show only 132 empty seats total: 34 for Canada's opening match against Bosnia-Herzegovina, 98 for Ghana-Panama, and sellouts of 43,036 for the other three games, including Senegal-Iraq.
Record-Breaking Tournament Attendance
Despite sky-high prices, attendance across the 2026 World Cup has been huge. During Thursday's match between Germany and Ecuador at New York-New Jersey Stadium, the total tally of fans for the tournament was announced as 3,605,357 — surpassing the previous record of 3,587,538 set in 1994 when the U.S. hosted alone. The per-match numbers are close despite the expanded format: the 1994 tournament had 24 teams and 52 matches, while the new record was set after 56 games.
Many felt adding 16 teams would water down interest in matches involving lesser teams, but Friday's match proved otherwise. With both Senegal and Iraq losing their first two matches against France and Norway, first and second place were already secured by the European sides. However, third place offers a chance to advance, making the match meaningful.
Senegal Dominates from the Start
Senegal got things moving early, with Habib Diarra getting the final touch on a corner for a goal just three minutes in — originally credited to Abdoulaye Seck. Things went from bad to worse for Iraq when Rebin Sulaka was sent off after a VAR review upgraded his yellow card to red for denying a goal-scoring opportunity by Sadio Mane.
Through the rest of the first half, Senegal dominated possession but couldn't beat the hunkered-down Iraqi defence. Goalkeeper Ahmed Basil did a fine job keeping the Lions of Teranga at bay, taking a beating and being subbed off at halftime for Jalal Hassan.
In the second half, it was all Senegal. Lamine Kamara dribbled into the box past a poor tackle attempt, then slid the ball to Ismaila Sarr, who easily tapped it in. Just three minutes later, substitute Pape Gueye scored a fantastic goal from outside the box to send the crowd into a frenzy.
Senegal proceeded to run up the score with another goal by Gueye — a stunning volley that was completely unsaveable — and a fifth goal by Iliman Ndiaye. It was the first time in World Cup history that an African side had scored five or more goals.
Fans Choose Senegal-Iraq Over France-Norway
Even with Friday's match taking place at the same time as the Group I blockbuster between France and Norway, fans chose to come to Toronto Stadium. As of Friday morning, the match was sold out on FIFA's official ticketing portal, while just nine tickets were listed on reseller StubHub with the cheapest price approaching $1,000.
According to Dan Bilicki, the match proved that Toronto is soccer-mad and that even FIFA's biggest critics were wrong about the viability of dynamic pricing and interest in so-called lesser matchups.
