With the spin of his hand and the pluck of a ball, Wayne Gretzky may have spelled financial ruin for Tony LaFerrara.

That’s because for LaFerrara, who moved from Italy to Canada when he was 17 and now calls Stouffville, Ont. home, there is no price he won’t pay to be in the stands at BMO Field on June 12, 2026, when Canada could face Italy in the Canadian World Cup opener.

“I’m gonna mortgage the house and I’m gonna get a ticket,” LaFerrara, 77, joked at the city’s World Cup draw watch party at St. Lawrence Market North. “It’s once in a lifetime … It’s here. It’s real. It’s gonna happen.”

The placement of the winner of playoff A in Canada’s group at the World Cup could not have been more perfect for some Torontonians, who will now have the chance to watch — and cheer on very, very l

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