She spent $6,000 to give grandpa, 89, his World Cup dream — then disaster struck at the gate

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She spent $6,000 to give grandpa, 89, his World Cup dream — then disaster struck at the gate

An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows Paola Hernandez from San Diego in a car with a mountain landscape in the background, Image 2 shows Paola Hernandez and her 89-year-old grandfather in Mexico soccer jerseys, Image 3 shows 89-year-old grandfather in a white Mexico World Cup jersey

Adry Torres · NY Post Sports

Sun, Jun 21, 2026 ·

4 min read

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An 89-year-old San Diego man's lifelong dream of attending a FIFA World Cup match became a $6,000 heartache at the stadium entrance.

Paola Hernández, 26, told The California Post how excited her grandpa Chico Mendez had been about attending his beloved Mexican national team's match against South Korea on Thursday.

Speaking from their hotel in Guadalajara, Jalisco, she recalled their shared excitement about attending the match as they made their way to the stadium. They flew down earlier in the day and headed to Estadio Akron in Zapopan some six hours before the game to partake in the pre-game festivities.

Paola Hernández said how excited her grandpa Chico Mendez had been about attending his Mexican team's match. TikTok/itspaaoolaaa

But the once-in-a-lifetime granddaughter-grandpa sporting experience went offsides when Hernández noticed her tickets, which she'd paid $6,000 for on StubHub, were not loading on the app.

"Everything seemed fine — it was confirmed, and the payment had gone through," Hernández said.

"I've used StubHub before and bought tickets there without any issues. We arrived at the event, and well they still hadn't sent them to me."

Mendez from San Diego broke down in tears as he heard the roars of 45,522 fans inside the stadium. TikTok/itspaaoolaaa

Worried that she had been the victim of a scam, Hernández reached out to StubHub multiple times and was told to wait because the ticket resale site needed to provide the seller enough time to transfer the tickets via FIFA's app.

Hernández was devastated when StubHub's customer service center told her she'd need to wait until halftime to get the tickets.

The granddaughter-grandpa sporting experience went offsides when Hernández noticed her tickets were not loading. TikTok/itspaaoolaaa

But the tickets never arrived.

After a scoreless first half, Luis Romo sent one past the Korean goalkeepe r Kim Seung-gyu .

That's when it all became too much for Mendez, dressed head-to-toe in Mexican soccer merch, including a jacket, green track pants and white cap, who broke down in tears as he heard the roars of 45,522 fans inside.

"It broke my heart. I was in tears seeing how his little heart was broken," Hernández said. "He had come with such excitement and high hopes — I mean, it was his dream — and seeing that literally stolen from him … seeing him cry outside the stadium just broke my heart."

Hernández shared their nightmarish experience on TikTok, with her grandfather watching the match on a cellphone.

The viral video drew 13 million views as followers called on StubHub to do right by the El Tri fans.

Team Mexico celebrates their first goal against South Korea at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Xinhua/Shutterstock

The ticket platform reached out Hernández and refunded her money and offered tickets to one of the remaining World Cup games.

Mexico's next match will be against Czechia on June 24 in Mexico City and they could host a Round of 32 game in the Mexican capital on June 30.

However, Hernández said traveling to Mexico City is out of the question because it's 7,350 feet above sea level, and her grandfather has high blood pressure.

A spokesperson for StubHub told The California Post the company was "heartbroken" for what the pair experienced.

Hernández shared their nightmarish experience on TikTok, with her grandfather watching the match on a cellphone.

"We know we can never make it completely right, but we are trying to give her and her father that once-in-a-lifetime World Cup experience," the spokesperson said.

The company also explained that they have processed the refund and have a VIP package with "full travel support" for the family.

"We can't give back the moment they missed on Thursday. But we're committed to making sure they do get one," the spokesperson said.

Tickets to the World Cup went on sale on Sept. 10, 2025, followed by random draws and lottery phases.

Resellers on StubHub and other resale platforms had to transfers the tickets to the buyer's email through FIFA's marketplace.

StubHub reached out Hernández and refunded her money and offered tickets to one of the remaining World Cup games. TikTok/itspaaoolaaa

It is unknown if tickets that Hernández originally bought had been also listed elsewhere.

"The World Cup ticketing process is unlike most live events," the StubHub rep said.

"StubHub's seller policies require sellers to remove their listings from our platform immediately if those tickets sell somewhere else. Sellers who fail to fulfill an order face financial penalties and can be permanently suspended."

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