With the World Cup now well underway, stadia across the United States, Canada and Mexico has been in use…
Of the 16 venues which are being used in this tournament, five of them have hosted the Celts at some time in the past, albeit sometimes under different names.
Two of these are in Canada, two are in the United States and one is in Mexico, with that particular ground being arguably the most famous of them all.
Canada
In Canada, the two venues where Celtic have played are both in Toronto. In June 1985, fresh from Scottish Cup final glory at Hampden against Dundee United, the Celts made a transatlantic journey. The purpose was to participate a tournament being held at the B.C. Place arena. In fact, the competition was named after this.
Celtic and Ajax were the two star attractions. The Celts reached the final after Pacific Rim All-Stars 2-1, but the Dutch side fell to defeat. This set up a meeting with North Shore Colts, and it ended in defeat and disappointment for the Bhoys.
17 years ago, a youthful Celtic team was again back in the land of the maple leaf. The Bhoys faced Benfica in the CNE Cup, one part of the Canadian National Exhibition of 2009. This game took place in the BMO Field, and yet again Celtic suffered final disappointment when they lost to the Portuguese men.
Mexico
In the 1960s, trips to the Americas became a feature of Celtic’s summer experiences. Many people consider the 1966 an essential part of the team bonding that led to European success in 1967.
These trips generally involved the USA and Canada, but Mexico also featured 1968. Playing against Necaxa, the Celts went to Mexico City to the renowned Azteca Stadium, which would host the 1970 World Cup Final.
However, playing in such a famous venue did not inspire the Celts to great things as they fell to a 3-2 defeat, as 31,000 watched on.
United States
Philadelphia’s chosen venue for the World Cup is Lincoln Financial Field, a venue that opened in 2003. Celtic have twice appeared there.
A year after the ground was first used, Celtic took part in the ChampionsWorld Series. Under Martin O’Neill’s leadership, the Celts beat Manchester United 2-1 in Philadelphia.
Eight years later, Celtic were back at this venue, this time to lose to Real Madrid in a friendly game.
This ChampionsWorld Series also took Celtic to another stadium that features in this World Cup, but under a different name. In 2026, matches in Seattle are being held at Lumen Field. This is a new title compared to other times that the Celts have visited.
In 2003, Celtic lost 4-0 to Manchester United. At the time, the ground was simply known as the Seattle Seahawks Stadium.
A year later, the heading had changed. Now named the Qwest Field, Celtic again suffered a defeat with Chelsea claiming a 4-2 victory.
And in 2010, the Hoops were again back in Washington state. They beat Seattle Sounders 2-1 at what was still called the Qwest Field.
Celtic have played in numerous other cities across the USA, but not in venues which are part of the World Cup.
This year’s final will be held in the MetLife stadium in New York. Although Celtic have not played there, they did go to the Giants Stadium, which the MetLife was built to replace.
Eight Celts are in the USA for the competition. So if Scotland (Tierney, Ralston), Canada (Johnston), the USA (Trusty), South Korea (Yang), Japan (Maeda), Sweden (Nygren) or Tunisia (Tounekti) make the final, maybe another Celt will play at this new venue!
Matthew Marr
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