World Cup excitement fuels record crowds in Philadelphia | Updates

FIFA fever in Philadelphia. From South Philly to Lemon Hill, the energy is electric as soccer fans spread out across the city. Tonight, Philadelphia Stadium played host to a highly anticipated match. Haiti, widely considered the underdog, faced off against Brazil, the winningest team in World Cup history. The celebration is echoing long into the night. Now at 11, the big story and action news is World Cup exhilaration taking over the city. South Philadelphia once again the backdrop to all of the action that brought out droves of soccer fans this evening. Take a live look from Chopper 6 at the mass exodus at the stadium where Brazil defeated Haiti. The Brazilian fans are bringing carnival to the city of brotherly love, celebrating the team's 3-0 victory. And in Lemon Hill, the party is winding down here as fans head home after a full day of the FIFA fan fest. And we're not even halfway through the World Cup match as the city is buzzing as it rolls out the welcome match. And we have live team coverage tonight as World Cup fans are fanned out all across the city this weekend. And of course, we've got reaction to tonight's match. But let's begin with action news reporter Elizabeth Worthington who's at the Sports Complex. Elizabeth. Hey Rick, check it out. There are thousands of people spilling out of the stadium tonight. It was a full house in the stadium. Every single seat was filled. More than 68,000 people packed into that stadium. It was a very hot ticket, really hard to get and very expensive. But it's been crazy here all night. There's a lot of passionate fans from both teams. A massive crowd at Stateside Live on Friday night ahead of the highly anticipated Brazil vs. Haiti match right here in South Philadelphia. The excitement is overwhelming for me. I don't like sports, but this event is the best. It's my first ever World Cup match. I waited a real long time for this day and couldn't be happier. It'll likely feel like a home game for Brazil. The Haiti fans were heavily outnumbered tonight, but they still made their presence known. It's a lifetime experience. Once in a lifetime. I am happy, excited. I'm feeling something I've never felt before. And I'm happy to have my kids with me to enjoy this moment. But some Brazil fans said this crowd was nothing compared to what they're used to back home. There should be more. You're not impressed? I'm not. The fans say tonight was a perfect example of what the World Cup is all about. People from different cultures coming together to celebrate the sport they love. It just shows the power of humanity. I mean, we're all one, right? So let's just all enjoy the beautiful game together. Amazing. I'm 71. I never had an experience like this before. Beautiful. What makes it so special? Well, because of the American people. We love you. You guys have been really good today. Oh, the Brazilians make this special. Look at this. And eyes, my friend. And eyes. Do you guys know each other? No, we don't. I just assumed they knew each other. They were acting so familiar. But that's how they act. They all just act like they know each other and love each other. I love it. It's been so much fun down here today. A lot of happy Brazil fans leaving the stadium tonight. They won easily 3-0, as expected. They were the overwhelming favorites in this matchup. We do it all again on Monday when France vs. Iraq here in South Philadelphia. We're live in South Philadelphia tonight on Elizabeth Worthington, Channel 6 Action News. Elizabeth, thank you for that report. Well, fans who could not afford to see the match live headed to FanFest in Lemon Hill, which reached capacity tonight. That's where Action's reporter Amanda Pitts is standing by with that part of our coverage this evening. Amanda. Yeah, Rick, it was a record-breaking night here at FanFest. 14,000 people for the USA-Australia match, and that capacity as of 9.30 was hit here at FanFest. 15,000 people for Haiti vs. Brazil. But what a difference an hour and a half makes. Folks rushed out of here after that big win, after watching Brazil dominate that match. USA! A sea of soccer fans filled Lemon Hill's FIFA FanFest on Friday, so much so that they nearly had to start turning people away. I came at 2 o'clock and it was packed. It was very hard. I waited in line for about 45 minutes. Crowds filed in mid-afternoon, bottlenecking at the event's entrances. How long do you have to wait? Probably about 30 minutes or so. USA! All to watch Team USA dominate Australia. We won. We'll take it. Vamos, Brasil! And then for Brazil to take on Haiti in South Philadelphia. It's cool. We've never played Haiti on. It's welcome to have another crowd here, too. Organizers say these are the largest crowds they've seen here so far. Those who got in said it was all worth it to experience a one-of-a-kind event like this. When there's an event like this, you're willing to do a little bit extra to get here. It's a really good energy in the city that I think we haven't seen in a long time. So I like seeing the community come together for whatever team they want to support, and I'm really proud to be a Philadelphian. Again, the capacity for the FIFA FanFest here at Lemon Hill is 15,000 people. They hit that tonight, and it is the first time they've hit that number since this whole thing started. We're live in Fairmount Park tonight. Amanda Pitts, Channel 6 Action News. Rick? All right, Amanda, thank you. Let's turn now to Action News sports reporter Jason Dumas, who's live in South Philadelphia to break down the match. It was quite a game, Jason. Rick, it actually wasn't quite a game. It was 3-0 really before I could get comfortable in my seat. Brazil reminded everyone just who they were. Remember, people were down on Brazil a little bit coming into this match. They had a surprising draw against Morocco, and the fans were kind of uneasy. They wanted a really big victory tonight, and I think this team showed the rest of the world just what they are capable of. Remember, Brazil has five World Cup championships, more than any other nation in the world, and they just reminded everybody that they are to be reckoned with as we go throughout this tournament. In the stadium, 90% Brazil fans. They made their presence felt. They made their presence felt along this city. You can probably hear the people screaming around me right now. There's still a whole lot of Brazil fans here at Stateside Live. Once again, Philly did its thing. A tremendous host for all of these fans. Let's do it all again on Monday, Rick. We got Iraq. We got France. Mbappe coming to the city of brotherly love. I can't wait. We'll be back out here on Monday, but for now, we are live at Stateside Live. I'm Jason Dumas, Channel 6 Action News. Rick? All right, Jason, thank you.