Thousands of Colombian fans packed San Pedro Square for the World Cup match between Uzbekistan and Colombia Wednesday, and even more are expected for Thursday’s match between Mexico and South Korea.

World Cup was fever on full display in San Jose’s San Pedro Square. Colombian fans erupted in cheers after Colombia scored its first goal against Uzbekistan.

“It’s my first time here in San Pedro Square, I love the energy, I love how all the community gets together to celebrate, and we can really enjoy safely,” said Camila, who was supporting Colombia.

Security was tight as fans celebrated. Most people were supporting the South America country, but there were some also cheering on Uzbekistan.

“It’s our first time in the World Cup, and I’m extremely happy,” Anastasia said.

Even bigger crowds are expected Thursday night for the Mexico-South Korea watch party.
San Pedro Square got a taste of just how passionate Mexican soccer fans are last Thursday.

“As far as official numbers, let’s just say there wasn’t a square inch that wasn’t covered, well over 12,000 here in the plaza, so we’re expecting even more because this is an even bigger game,” San Jose Sports Authority Executive Director John Poach said.

The city says there will be an increased police presence and more private security at Thursday’s event. There are also contingency plans to manage the overflow crowds, and make sure everyone can get a glimpse of the game.

“We have San Pedro Square, and we have the next street to it open up. We’re also planning to open up Sharks Way and put up more screens there and have another additional overflow-screen area as well. And if the crowd gets even bigger, there are also plans to put additional screens walking distance from San Pedro Square,” 2026 San Jose Sports and Special Events Director Tommy O’Hare said.

Restaurants and bars are also gearing up for all the fans.

“Really stocking up, blew through much more than we anticipated, making sure that our staff is kept fresh, rotating them in, we’re fortunate that we have other stores that we can pull from,” Sushi Confidential VP of Operations Douglas Cookerly said.

“Last week that Mexico was here, we didn’t really think that the crowd was going to be that much, so this week we’re well prepared, we’re staffing up, we’re prepping up the bar and kitchen,” Must Be Thai & Bar Owner Thalia Swangchaeng said.

Game starts at 6 p.m.