After an hour delay, Mexico fans party in Sacramento at World Cup watch party
Dancing flags and bouncing dots of green and yellow filled Sacramento’s historic downtown Memorial Auditorium on Tuesday evening as the nearly 100-year-old theater turned into the city’s largest World Cup watch party.
Mexico and Ecuador fans alike celebrated their team’s Round of 32 game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with the Sacramento Republic FC soccer team at its third World Cup watch party of the tournament, following two packed events in the plaza across from City Hall.
Tuesday’s watch party was completely sold out. Soccer fans packed the auditorium’s standing-room-only floor and filled its rows of seats.
Upon the early news of a weather-related game delay, many fans left the auditorium — and hit the bar and concessions stand before returning to the ever-intensifying dance party inside.
By kickoff, the energy was electric inside the theater with eager attendees who waited an extra hour to see their beloved teams play.
A fraternal rivalry
Tuesday’s match was the first of this tournament between two Latin American countries.
Inside the watch party, the sports rivalry proved to be alive and well, with fans booing whenever the opponent’s flag or jersey was shown on the large screen. Some fans embraced the face-off, such as Yaritza Barre, who is Ecuadorian with a Mexican husband.
“I told him we would be rivals today,” Barre said. “Sorry, but my country is my country.”
Barre said that though she and her husband maintained pride in their own heritage, the Mexico-Ecuador match rivalry felt less intense than those games between a Latin American country and a non-Latin team.
Mexico fan Leo Moyo shared Barre’s sentiments, saying it’s fun to watch teams from vastly different places face off, but he was happy to know a Latin American team would make it through from Tuesday’s match.
Throughout the game, seeing green shirts on the large screen triggered cheers through the crowd, while boos came up when yellow kits were displayed. However, strong plays by the Ecuadorian selection were respectfully acknowledged by Mexico supporters.
“I love Sacramento and I love the ambiance and Latino community,” Moyo said. “I see a lot of families around, and I love that. I think we’re an example of that community.”
Laura Novoa was visiting from the Bay Area and decided to attend the watch party, decked out in green and red. She said the atmosphere of Tuesday’s party was just as packed as those in the Bay, but the capital region fans' devotion set it apart.
“(The energy) is great,” Novoa said. “In San Francisco ... there’s a lot of people, but this is very nice.”
Novoa said she attended a 1986 World Cup match in Mexico, and Sacramento’s watch party brought back positive memories from that experience.
The impassioned Mexico fans got impossibly louder as the match approached its close and Ecuadorian defender Piero Hincapie was red-carded for covering his mouth in an altercation with Mexican forward Santiago Giménez, all but securing Mexico’s passage to the Round of 16.
Colored lights, flying beer and party music accompanied the referee’s termination of the match as Sacramento Memorial Auditorium crowd exploded in celebration.
“(Mexico is) where I’m from,” said party attendee Amy Avila after the final whistle. “The pride is all the way there.”
Mexico will play England, which secured a 2-1 win Wednesday over Democratic Republic of the Congo, this coming Sunday in the Round of 16, hosted in Mexico City.
The Sacramento Republic FC pro soccer team is once again hosting a watch party Wednesday afternoon for the U.S. team’s knockout game against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Free tickets were still available for the watch party as of Wednesday morning.
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