Watch: Hundreds of Italy fans line up in Toronto for free Canada shirt swap

The Canadian Soccer Association's offer for fans to swap their Italy shirts for a new Canada jersey appeared popular in Toronto on Saturday.

The Canada merchandise was "gone within minutes" after "hundreds" lined up to take advantage of the initiative held at Cafe Diplomatico in the city's Little Italy neighborhood, according to TSN's Matthew Scianitti.

Employees working on behalf of Canada Soccer reportedly didn't take the Italy jerseys from supporters.

There are around 1.5 million Canadians with either full or partial Italian ancestry, and almost a third of them live in Toronto and its surrounding areas, according to 2021 census results relayed by The Guardian.

Italy failed to qualify for a third consecutive men's World Cup after losing on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European playoff finals Tuesday. Canada would've hosted Italy at Toronto's BMO Field on June 12, but the Azzurri's failure to beat Bosnia meant the Balkan nation instead earned a place in Group B with the tournament co-host, along with Switzerland and Qatar.

Group B fixtures

Four-time World Cup winner Italy's latest qualification collapse triggered the departures of Italy federation president Gabriele Gravina, delegation chief Gianluigi Buffon, and head coach Gennaro Gattuso.