MetLife World Cup fans for Brazil-Morocco celebrate the game's beauty
Standing outside MetLife Stadium about 100 minutes before Brazil faced Morocco on Saturday evening, Alfredo Gonzales put it simply.
“You have the opportunity to watch a World Cup game, how do you not take it?” the 63-year-old from Bellerose Terrace told Newsday.
He gushed about his lifelong love for Brazilian soccer and watching legends of the game like Pele and Romario. He spoke about a moment hours before the game, when he rolled a soccer ball by his parked car at the nearby American Dream mall to fellow soccer fans, who showed off their skills. Gonzales was there with family, too, making the moment that much sweeter.
As Brazilian yellow and Moroccan red packed the MetLife stands to create a surreal, one-of-a-kind atmosphere, the fact that the World Cup truly arrived hit home.
Saturday marked the first World Cup match at MetLife Stadium (branded as New York New Jersey Stadium by FIFA) and the first World Cup match in the area since Giants Stadium hosted a semifinal between Italy and Bulgaria on July 13, 1994. Soccer fans around the globe — from Long Island to Europe to Africa and beyond — came together to celebrate their love for what Gonzales and many others call “the beautiful game.” The crowd was announced at 80,633.
“The beauty of the World Cup is it doesn't matter who you celebrate,” said Raquel Gonzales, 33, Alfredo’s daughter and a Bellerose Terrace native.
“You can come out and celebrate soccer, that's the beauty of it, right? That's what we're here for: the love of the game and family.”
Luisa Echenique, 11, of Brazil, attended her first World Cup game Saturday night. She had a replica of the gold World Cup trophy with her and — despite her favorite player Neymar missing the game with a calf injury — was ecstatic to see the five-time World Cup champions.
“I'm really excited,” she said before the game. “It's my first time at the World Cup. I'm already loving the experience, but I think it’ll be better now that we're almost entering the stadium.”
Nicholas Thomas, 27, of Sydney, Australia, also attended his first World Cup game. He’ll travel around the country, ending his trip with the Australia vs. Paraguay game in Santa Clara, California, on June 25. The trip, which he made with friends, had been in the works for two years.
“Oh, mate,” he said. “We are absolutely bouncing off the walls, ready to go.”
Josh Begley, 41, of Brooklyn, was wearing a “Dr. Socrates” Brazil jersey, repping Socrates — one of the sport’s all-time best midfielders. He took the NJ Transit from Penn Station to the game and said it was “extremely and shockingly smooth.”
Also among the thousands of Brazil and Morocco jerseys at MetLife on Saturday night? Knicks jerseys.
Many Knicks fans shelled out a lot of money and had made plans long ago to attend Saturday’s soccer game, which kicked off about two hours and 30 minutes before Game 5 of the NBA Finals, a closeout game for the Knicks. Begley, who was wearing a Knicks hat, looked at the conflict as a good problem to have.
“I’m so thrilled because it's going to be Knicks in five,” he said. “And I'm so thrilled about the fact that even if it's not Knicks in five, it's going to be Knicks in six. And the game that we're going to next is the France-Senegal game (at 3 p.m. Tuesday at MetLife), which will happen right before the Knicks game, if it's Game 6. But really, it's going to be Knicks in five.”
Bellerose Terrace’s Brandon Baldanza, 35, attended Saturday’s game with the Gonzaleses. He wore his Jalen Brunson jersey, and Raquel also donned Knicks gear. They were planning to find somewhere in New York City to watch the Knicks game once the soccer game ended.
But one thing was for certain: Saturday’s World Cup match was not being taken for granted.
“Atmospheres like this, it's visceral,” Raquel said. “You feel it within you. It's crazy.”
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
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