Four years later, the Trip Report from World Cup 2022 is still incomplete. Four years later, I find myself attending another World Cup. Refusing to be extorted, I decided that the only way I would go was if Iraq qualified and if I could live in a big city in North America during the tournament for my next Residency (see TPOL in Madrid: Why A Second Residency?).
On Tuesday, March 31st, 2026, the Lions of Mesopotamia took on Bolivia. Despite giving up 16 corners, Iraq held on 2-1 to advance to the World Cup for the first time in 40 years. As luck would have it, Iraq was also scheduled to play in Toronto, a city that I used to love that has fallen on hard times (see What Happened to Toronto?), but is still on the Residency List (see Vote for Where TPOL Will Move Next And…).
Now, I needed to find tickets to the game and a place to live. Using the lessons learned from purchasing tickets in Doha (see The Guide to Buying Tickets for the World Cup And Other Big Events), I waited for the last-chance tickets to go on sale on FIFA’s website on Wednesday at 11AM.
And wait, I did.
Four hours later, I was finally let in. My first objective was to buy Category 1 tickets for Iraq vs. Senegal. The face value was $450 each. I added them to my cart.
TPOL’s Trivia: How many people do you know who have been to two World Cup games to see Senegal (see World Cup Day 2: England vs. Senegal)?
The second was to see if there were any other games in Toronto worth attending. Canada vs. Bosnia did not sound exciting, nor did Ghana vs. Panama, especially for $390 (Category 2) to $450 (Category 1) per ticket.
Satisfied, I proceeded to check out.
Like booking an awards flight, I was worried that something would go wrong. To no surprise, my credit card kept getting declined. Fortunately, FIFA takes Apple Pay, and the transaction finally went through.
Just when I was about to declare ‘mission accomplished,’ buyer’s remorse set in. I looked up which other teams were in Iraq’s group. I was disheartened to find out that it includes Norway, which features Erling Haaland, and France who features Kylian Mbappé. My Mesopotamian cubs do not stand a chance against those two. Worse still, those two games will be played before Iraq vs. Senegal. It is highly likely that Iraq will be playing solely for pride at that point, having been demolished by both Norway and France. It is also likely that Senegal will also be playing for pride, having been demolished by both Norway and France.
This brings me back to buyer’s remorse. What are the chances that come game day, two Category 1 tickets for Iraq vs. Senegal will be sold for pennies on the loonie? How mad will I be if that is the case? My friend said I should not think about that and enjoy that I get to see my home country play on the world’s largest stage. That statement has done nothing to quell my anxiety.
Currently, the only thing that makes me feel good is that the resale market is ballooning out of control. Minutes after making my purchase, I found these two tickets for sale:
And that’s not the only game that has gone up.
Looking at that, I am not sure if I should have bought tickets to that game and resold them for a profit.
TPOL’s Tip: TPOL is not in the ticket scalping business but has written extensively on the subject (see Ticket Scalping Guide).
Which brings me back to my purchase of tickets for Iraq vs. Senegal. Should I sell these two and wait for the market to tank or hold on to them and confidently declare, ‘mission accomplished’?
