Of the trio of World Cup hosts, only Canada is hosting the tournament for the first time – local soccer officials hope it can be transformative

Toronto’s Front Street, which loosely tethers the city’s central station and some of its landmarks to the part of the waterfront that hosts the fan fest and Toronto Stadium to the west, thrummed all week with a pleasant energy.

Hours ahead of Croatia-Panama on Tuesday, there were scores of jerseys out for those countries, of course, but plenty for Brazil and Scotland and other sides as well. A Croatian fan scolded a street vendor hawking Blue Jays gear by the Rogers Center, where the baseball team were about to play, for not selling any Croatia merch. “Croatia!” he said gruffly. “Gonna win today!”