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Or sign-in if you have an account.Workers prepare BMO Field (temporarily renamed Toronto Stadium for the 2026 FIFA World Cup) on May 19, 2026. It is remarkable that perhaps the world’s most underwhelming soccer stadium will host World Cup games, writes Fr. Raymond J. de Souza. Photo by Cole BURSTON / AFP via Getty ImagesThe World Cup puts the spotlight on the greatest players in the world’s most popular sport, but also on the grand public spaces built to celebrate them.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. 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Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorBy happy coincidence, Pope Leo XIV held a prayer vigil on Monday at what is often called the “cathedral” of global fútbol, Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home of the Real Madrid soccer club.“I suppose that, for a football player, scoring a goal in this stadium is something that leaves a lasting impression for life,” Leo began extemporaneously. “Today the Church of Madrid scored a spectacular goal for the ages!”The Holy Father used the Spanish word “golazo,” which is what excitable announcers, lathered up in frenzy of fervour, scream when a particularly memorable goal is scored.This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againThe greatest “golazo” call of them all came at the World Cup 40 years ago, when Victor Hugo Morales achieved heights of spiritual ecstasy and emotional collapse narrating Diego Maradona’s “goal of century” at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.“Thanks be to God for Maradona, for fútbol, for these tears,” he roared, he prayed, he cried.World Cup 2026 will open Thursday night back at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, which could make its own claim to be the cathedral of world soccer. This World Cup will be played for the first time in three countries — 78 games in the United States, and 13 each in Mexico (Mexico City and Guadalajara) and Canada (Toronto and Vancouver). But there was only one place to open it — the Azteca in Mexico City.If Estadio Azteca is a cathedral, Toronto’s BMO Field is the sacristy. It is remarkable that perhaps the world’s most underwhelming soccer stadium will host World Cup games; the Canadian opener is there on Friday. For all those who laboured mightily for years to build a stadium small enough to suit the dwindling interest in the Toronto Argonauts and the modest interest in Major League Soccer, that the Exhibition grounds are now hosting World Cup matches is reality exceeding dreams.Canada’s other host site, BC Place in Vancouver, was designed to be grand from the beginning, built for Expo ’86 — the same year that Maradona and Argentina won the World Cup at Azteca in Mexico. It had a giant pillow roof at the beginning, now retractable on cables, and was the main site for the 2010 Winter Olympics.It’s a shame that Canada’s great stadium innovation of the 1980s — the then SkyDome — is not being used for this World Cup. It seems past its heyday now, but the Azteca is older but still vibrant, opening 60 years ago, in 1966 for the Mexico Olympics in 1968.When the World Cup opens the memories that lie there will rise again. There was Maradona’s career-within-a-single-game, the 1986 quarter-final against England. Four years after the Falklands War, his two goals — the “Hand of God” and the “Goal of the Century” — just minutes apart defined the tormented soul of the century’s second greatest soccer player, cunning, crafty, corrupt and stunningly capable all at once.Estadio Azteca was the first stadium to host two World Cup Finals — Argentina’s 1986 victory and Brazil’s in 1970. The latter was won by the greatest player of the 20th-century, Pelé. That year the Azteca hosted what are regarded as two of the finest World Cup matches ever.In the final Brazil dazzled in a 4-1 victory over Italy. The semi-final was a drama on an epic scale. West Germany — led by Franz Beckenbauer, playing with a dislocated shoulder, a monument to courage in the flesh — battled Italy to a 1-1 draw. Everything then exploded in extra time, with five goals, Italy prevailing 4-3.The Estadio Azteca is the only stadium in this year’s tournament where fútbol’s ghosts are in permanently in residence. Maradona’s goal is commemorated by a bronze statue outside.The last time the United States hosted the World Cup, in 1994, the final was played at the magnificent Rose Bowl in Los Angeles. The game — a nil-nil thriller in regulation — did not meet the measure of the site. This time the final will be on the other coast, at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, a few miles from Manhattan. It’s the ultimate multi-purpose facility, hosting two NFL football teams and WrestleMania twice. It is unlikely that any World Cup ghosts will be taking up residence.To protect their own sponsors, the oligarchs of FIFA do not permit stadia with corporate names to be called such during the World Cup, so Estadio Azteca, known as Estadio Banorte, will be Mexico City Stadium, and MetLife in the Meadowlands will be New York/New Jersey Stadium. Not so bad for BMO Field, which will thus officially be Toronto’s stadium for a few weeks.Cinderella is going to the ball, alongside Azteca, who has been there for 60 years. Will she meet her Maradona, her Pelé, her prince?National Post Get the latest from Father Raymond J. de Souza straight to your inbox Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.