{"id":404813,"date":"2026-07-20T00:44:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T00:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/404813\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T00:44:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T00:44:13","slug":"bay-area-soccer-fans-celebrate-spains-world-cup-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/404813\/","title":{"rendered":"Bay Area Soccer Fans Celebrate Spain’s World Cup Win"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fans in San Francisco watched the Spain-Argentina match at Thrive City, ending another World Cup. <\/p>\n

Jul 19, 2026<\/p>\n

Updated 5:18 pm PT<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Soccer fans cheer as Spain wins the final World Cup match between Spain vs. Argentina at Thrive City in San Francisco on July 19, 2026. Spain defeats Argentina 1-0 in the final World Cup game of 2026. \u00a0(T\u00e2m V\u0169\/KQED)<\/p>\n

The U.S. was out of World Cup <\/a>contention earlier this month, Mexico \u2014 which has a large Bay Area diaspora that showed out in numbers to regional watch parties \u2014 even earlier and games haven\u2019t taken place in the Bay Area in weeks, but San Francisco soccer fans still found something to celebrate for the tournament\u2019s finale.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hundreds took over Thrive City for hours this afternoon to take in a Spain-Argentina match that capped off the biggest World Cup ever \u2013 with 48 teams competing in 104 games.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Spain\u2019s win against the defending champions\u00a0didn\u2019t come until extra time, when Ferran Torres scored the winning goal, bringing the score to 1-0 and sending the watch party into the loudest it had been all afternoon.<\/p>\n

\"\"Soccer fans cheer as they watch the final World Cup match between Spain vs. Argentina at Thrive City in San Francisco on July 19, 2026. Spain defeats Argentina 1-0 in the final World Cup game of 2026.<\/p>\n

\"\"Harsh Zota, an Argentina fan, watches the final World Cup match between Spain vs. Argentina in anticipation at Thrive City in San Francisco on July 19, 2026.<\/p>\n

The Bay Area was lucky to host six games before the final match, including a knockout game the U.S. prevailed<\/a> in, that riled up chants and some feelings<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That was true of Thrive City\u2019s packed watch party finale. Some watchers noted that the vibe wasn\u2019t as rowdy as other parties, but fans erupted in cheers at all the right moments. The sole counted goal being one of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Adrian Coronel, who came down from Santa Rosa, said he was happy either way.<\/p>\n

\"\"Soccer fans attend a watch party for the final World Cup match between Spain vs. Argentina at Thrive City in San Francisco on July 19, 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was good at the end,\u201d Coronel said. \u201cI mean, I always love a dramatic finish.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Harsh Parikh, a San Jose resident and fan of Spain, said winning this World Cup would bring back memories of Spain\u2019s last win in 2010.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe played so well this tournament,\u201d Parikh said. \u201cThe vibe [in the Bay Area] has been amazing, and I think it\u2019s really going to kick off in this country now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Harsh Parikh, a fan of Spain, poses for a portrait at a watch party for the final World Cup match between Spain vs. Argentina in anticipation at Thrive City in San Francisco on July 19, 2026.<\/p>\n

The game drew lifelong fans and some just along for the tournament\u2019s end, many from outside of the Bay Area.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Scarlett Carrillo, a Mexico fan who came to root for Spain, said the World Cup coming to the Bay Area on and off screen brought out even more of the region\u2019s diversity.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though people are from different countries, you have different people from different cultures and countries and they\u2019re all rooting for either Spain or Argentina. It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re from there or not,\u201d Carrillo, a Napa County resident who\u2019s from Mexico, said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Alejandro Martinez Gonzalez (left) and Scarlett Carrillo (right) pose for a portrait at a watch party for the final World Cup match between Spain vs. Argentina at Thrive City in San Francisco on July 19, 2026.<\/p>\n

But while most fans were happy either way, some \u2014 not including Carrillo, a Ronaldo fan \u2014 were upset that Messi failed to win another World Cup in what could be his last game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up watching Messi my whole life. I love Messi, would have loved for him to win another one,\u201d said Abdalla Badri.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Soccer fans cheer as they watch the final World Cup match between Spain vs. Argentina at Thrive City in San Francisco on July 19, 2026.<\/p>\n

\"\"Fans cheer for Spain as they watch the final World Cup match between Spain vs. Argentina at Thrive City in San Francisco on July 19, 2026. Spain defeats Argentina 1-0 in the final World Cup game of 2026.<\/p>\n

The tournament has not been without some snags.\u00a0<\/p>\n

High ticket prices from FIFA and resellers\u00a0 \u2014 not a problem at Thrive City\u2019s free event \u2014 have caused problems<\/a> for fans. Tightened travel restrictions from the Trump administration, too, has been an obstacle for some players and officials.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Locally, at least some celebrations have seen violence erupt. Two stabbings and a pair of nonfatal shootings happened in San Jose after Mexico\u2019s win against Ecuador.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thrive City was tamer. Fans packed the viewing area, with many more waiting outside, and donned their team\u2019s jerseys.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Soccer fans cheer as Spain wins the final World Cup match between Spain vs. Argentina at Thrive City in San Francisco on July 19, 2026. Spain defeats Argentina 1-0 in the final World Cup game of 2026.<\/p>\n

Francisco Abarrio, who attended with his family and watches every Argentina game, said the vibe was still great.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t know what to expect was going on here, but definitely it\u2019s the best place to see the World Cup in San Francisco,\u201d said Abarrio, who is visiting from Miami.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Obarrio Suaya family, fans of the Argentina team, pose for a portrait a watch party for the final World Cup match between Spain vs. Argentina at Thrive City in San Francisco on July 19, 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a great final,\u201d Coronel said. \u201cWhat a way to end it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fans in San Francisco watched the Spain-Argentina match at Thrive City, ending another World Cup. Jul 19, 2026…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":404814,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[101,103,102,104,106,105],"class_list":["post-404813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404813","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=404813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/404814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=404813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=404813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=404813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}