{"id":357578,"date":"2026-06-12T08:38:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T08:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/357578\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T08:38:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T08:38:16","slug":"world-cup-parties-in-sacramento-start-unbelievable-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/357578\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup parties in Sacramento start, \u2018unbelievable\u2019 energy"},"content":{"rendered":"

A sea of dark green, red and white braved the nearly 100-degree temperatures Thursday morning in California\u2019s capital, vuvuzelas and noisemakers in hand, to catch the start of this year\u2019s World Cup.<\/p>\n

Sacramento welcomed the 2026 FIFA World Cup at watch parties across town, including at East Sacramento\u2019s Garden at the Line.<\/p>\n

Fans of the Mexican national team \u2014 with a smaller, but still proud contingent of South African supporters \u2014 poured into the beer garden at 6415 Elvas Ave. in anticipation of the kickoff game, played Thursday afternoon at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.<\/p>\n

Garden at the Line is Sacramento\u2019s self-proclaimed \u201cunofficial official viewing destination\u201d for the World Cup, according to bar representative Lindsay Nader. \u201cWe wanted to … make sure that people had a really cool indoor-outdoor, lush garden vibe to kind of feel the world come together for the World Cup,\u201d Nader said.<\/p>\n

The bar has been prepping for this year\u2019s World Cup for nearly six months, establishing plans and partnerships with local soccer organizations since January. The East Sacramento beer garden is screening every match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup live throughout the tournament, which runs through July 19.<\/p>\n

Sacramento Republic FC<\/a> and Street Soccer USA<\/a> represents were among Garden at the Line\u2019s soccer fans on-hand Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know (Sacramento is) not one of the host cities, but it\u2019s been unbelievable,\u201d said Simone Rickford, game entertainment manager for the Republic FC. \u201cWe really hope that this reception and the interest can really … grow our soccer family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"World World Cup soccer fans react to a red card on Mexico\u2019s C\u00e9sar Montes during a watch party at Garden at the Line in Sacramento on Thursday. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com \"Rusty Rusty Clark, of Sacramento, pulls a red card during a watch party at Garden at the Line in Sacramento after Themba Zwane of South Africa received one in minute 84 of a World Cup match on Thursday. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com Activating fans for the starting match<\/p>\n

The energy was high throughout the morning as virtually every inch of Garden at the Line\u2019s indoor and outdoor spaces crowded with soccer fans, who went on to watch Mexico defeat South Africa, 2-0.<\/p>\n

Spectators proudly donned luchador masks, sombreros and Mexican flags. Temperatures steadily rose, but early-arriving fans were undeterred as they awaited the noon start.<\/p>\n

Friends Melissa Pierce, Amy Dearo and Melody Quintana came to support the Mexican team. For Dearo and Quintana, soccer has been part of their lives for years, but Pierce is joining in the celebrations surrounding the world\u2019s game for her first time this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust the excitement,\u201d Pierce said about what called her to watch this World Cup. \u201cI\u2019ve seen how people … get all dressed up and just the fun of being a part of it … The whole thing sounds like fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sacramento\u2019s chapter of Street Soccer USA \u2014 a nonprofit dedicated to improving community access to soccer through free programs \u2014 set up a small soccer pitch in the Garden at the Line\u2019s parking lot, which guests can reserve for friendly games.<\/p>\n

Lisa Wrightsman, managing director for the nonprofit\u2019s Sacramento chapter, said encouraging people to join the soccer community is Street Soccer\u2019s primary goal throughout the World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they feel all the energy and feel the magic, then they\u2019ll understand why we want to make (soccer) available to everybody else,\u201d she said. \u201cWe know a lot of people who love the game, but this is just another way to include more people who haven\u2019t gotten it yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sacramento\u2019s pro team Republic FC is calling Garden at the Line its home for a handful of World Cup watch parties, including Thursday\u2019s starting match and the U.S. Men\u2019s National Team\u2019s first game Friday against Paraguay.<\/p>\n

Nader said she hopes future matches could include more partnerships with the United Soccer League club, such as player meet-and-greets at the beer garden.<\/p>\n

\"Starr Starr Modise reacts to the first goal scored by Mexico, as she and her husband KG Mots and daughter Kago Mots, 4, attend a World Cup watch party at Garden at the Line in Sacramento on Thursday. “It\u2019s a different experience seeing it from here after watching the World Cup in South Africa when they opened against Mexico in 2010,\u201d Modise said. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com \"Noah Noah Cruz, 7, of Sacramento plays with a World Cup soccer ball during a World Cup watch party at Garden at the Line in Sacramento on Thursday. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com Sacramento\u2019s \u2018official unofficial\u2019 World Cup headquarters<\/p>\n

Throughout the World Cup\u2019s opening match, booze and food from the Line\u2019s commercial kitchen space \u2014 including a special pop-up from Mexican restaurant La Sabrocita \u2014 flowed freely among the spirited fans.<\/p>\n

Once Mexico scored the tournament\u2019s first goal early in the starting half, the energy only intensified.<\/p>\n

Sacramento Councilmember Eric Guerra was among those to express excitement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s super exciting here to see so many people supporting our local small business … here with my South African neighbors and my Mexican neighbors and everybody here from different parts of the world,\u201d Guerra said. \u201cYes, it\u2019s good for our businesses, but it\u2019s bigger because of Sacramento unity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nader said providing a gathering space was one of the Garden at the Line team\u2019s top priorities when establishing a World Cup home base.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe rolled in giant screens for the outdoor as well as all of the ones we already have fixed, so over 10 TVs, great sound system,\u201d she said. \u201cThis place is really built to watch things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cesar Cesar Luna and his nephew Jovany cheer on Mexico during at the start of its World Cup soccer match against South Africa during a watch party at Garden at the Line in Sacramento on Thursday. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com \"Casey Casey Carr and his wife Anahi Garcia hold their dog Bean while they watch the World Cup with other fans during a watch party at Garden at the Line in Sacramento on Thursday. Mexico defeated South Africa 2-0 during the opening game. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

Guerra said he felt that while the World Cup is hosted across North America this year \u2014 including in the Bay Area, where the San Francisco 49ers\u2019 home venue, Levi\u2019s Stadium, will host six games with the first set for noon Saturday \u2014 the enthusiasm among local fans makes traveling to a game seem unnecessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re having more fun here, actually, catching up with friends,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s even better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"World World Cup soccer fans react during a watch party at Garden at the Line in Sacramento on Thursday. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com \"Mauricio Mauricio Guerrero Lopez, of Sacramento, holds a replica of the FIFA World Cup Trophy after a watch party at Garden at the Line in Sacramento on Thursday, June 11, 2026. Mexico won 2-0 to South Africa. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 2:23 PM.<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Camila Pedrosa<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n

Camila Pedrosa is the California Diversions Reporter at The Sacramento Bee. She previously worked on The Bee\u2019s service journalism team and was a summer reporting intern for The Bee in 2024. She graduated from Arizona State University with a master\u2019s degree in mass communication.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A sea of dark green, red and white braved the nearly 100-degree temperatures Thursday morning in California\u2019s capital,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357579,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-357578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357578"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357578\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/357579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}