FIFA World Cup 2026 :Canada/Mexico/United States: Discussion Thread

[changaa]

In my opinion, England has never been a bad team. They?ve always had elite players and were often among the favorites to win. Croatia knocked them out in the 2018 semifinals, Italy beat them in the euro final, and France eliminated them in Qatar in 2022. When you look at their squad, it?s full of top class players who play for the best clubs, but the chemistry and the coach?s choices have never really worked well together. They are still a quality team, but whether they can prove themselves now  we?ll see. They are the favorites in the group, but i still think Croatia will be a tough challenge for them.

It's tru and they are always there despite everything they always have the team that can win the championship, now there are new players who can really make the difference supported by the old players who are always present, they can do well and can also think about winning a championship that has been missing for a very long time.

[GiftedMAN]

In my opinion, England has never been a bad team. They?ve always had elite players and were often among the favorites to win. Croatia knocked them out in the 2018 semifinals, Italy beat them in the euro final, and France eliminated them in Qatar in 2022. When you look at their squad, it?s full of top class players who play for the best clubs, but the chemistry and the coach?s choices have never really worked well together. They are still a quality team, but whether they can prove themselves now  we?ll see. They are the favorites in the group, but i still think Croatia will be a tough challenge for them.

What you said is nothing but absolute fact. They've not been a bad team in terms of having quality players at every tournament they participate but when it comes to meeting the expectations of their fans, they've failed to reach their goals, that's the reason why many today believe that they're a bad team. The English Premier League is the most popular league in the world and on yearly basis, we see new stars that are English descent emerge but despite the unlimited options their national team coaches are always left to choose from, they still end up not winning trophies. That's why many are saying that they're a bad team. Reaching the final or the semi final isn't enough, winning major trophies is what many people want to see.

[Adbitco]

England always be great when they were fighting at qualification stages but in the real tournament such as world cup they don't have any good achievement but for every world cup they have been counted as the favourite but some fans are doubt to Thomas Tuchel because he have no experience to coached national team but i can see the federation didn't set high target for Tuchel because they want Tuchel can bring England to passed group stage and if we see England upcoming opponents on group L i think this is a bit hard because Ghana or Croatia can be considered as strong teams and not easy to beat them

I agree, they always come first in the qualifiers and that's mostly because they are paired with lower teams in these phase and they play well because there's hardly any competition for them their. But once they get to the competition proper, that's were they meet teams that's of equal calibre with them or even more, then they struggle to win. Of course, in cup games, when you manage to pass through group stage, then comes knockout stages were you just have one shot, win and progress to the next stage, lose and go home.

[Mr Reporter]

England always be great when they were fighting at qualification stages but in the real tournament such as world cup they don't have any good achievement but for every world cup they have been counted as the favourite but some fans are doubt to Thomas Tuchel because he have no experience to coached national team but i can see the federation didn't set high target for Tuchel because they want Tuchel can bring England to passed group stage and if we see England upcoming opponents on group L i think this is a bit hard because Ghana or Croatia can be considered as strong teams and not easy to beat them

I agree, they always come first in the qualifiers and that's mostly because they are paired with lower teams in these phase and they play well because there's hardly any competition for them their. But once they get to the competition proper, that's were they meet teams that's of equal calibre with them or even more, then they struggle to win. Of course, in cup games, when you manage to pass through group stage, then comes knockout stages were you just have one shot, win and progress to the next stage, lose and go home.

You’re right it’s a classic story cruise through the qualifiers against weaker opposition, then hit a wall when the real test begins. The jump from easy wins to a single‑shot knockout can expose gaps in experience, tactics or even confidence.

[LUCKMCFLY]

The World Cup will be very exciting. There are some really good teams, some are making their debut after 52 years, and that really makes me happy The draw was wonderful, I liked everything, and for me, this will be one of the best World Cups ever. At this stage, I see things heading towards the best spectacle. I think the best in the world will be there.

[katanic97]

In my opinion, England has never been a bad team. They’ve always had elite players and were often among the favorites to win. Croatia knocked them out in the 2018 semifinals, Italy beat them in the euro final, and France eliminated them in Qatar in 2022. When you look at their squad, it’s full of top class players who play for the best clubs, but the chemistry and the coach’s choices have never really worked well together. They are still a quality team, but whether they can prove themselves now  we’ll see. They are the favorites in the group, but i still think Croatia will be a tough challenge for them.

England maybe a very strong team. But ever since I started watching the FIFA World Cup in 1998, I can't recall England being the favourite team to lift the trophy in any of the editions. At times other European teams such as France, Germany and even Italy received that honour. But England never reached quite there. But one thing that I would admit is that England has been very successful in maintaining the quality. At least that has been the case when compared to teams such as Italy and Belgium. And this time they have Croatia, Ghana and Panama for company.

That is because the quality bar was extremely high at that time. And there were a lot of teams that could actually win the World Cup: Brazil of course, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands are the other main competitors, then there were Argentina and England but also Croatia and Uruguay, without forgetting Portugal and Spain. It was really difficult to predict who could win because there were so many good teams!

Now we only have Spain, France and Argentina. And if I had to bet on the winner Spain would be my first choice, France the second. I don't think Argentina can win again playing with a 39-year-old Messi.

France and Spain generally always play good football. The Netherlands too , really strong teams. But like you said, if I had to bet on a winner, i’d go with Portugal. If Messi managed to do it, i think Cristiano can as well. Just imagine how important this world cup would be for him. Sure, he’s not in the same form he once was, but i think he can still lead the team to the very top, just like he did at the Euros. Of course, it’s a team effort, but with him leading the way. I’m not saying this as a hardcore Ronaldo fan, but i’d honestly be happy to see him crown his career with a world cup

[Bitcoin_Arena]

Arent ticket prices extremely high? FIFA supposedly claims that even the worst tickets are sold for $60 but in today’s general sale i couldn't find a single ticket available with that price. category 3 tickets are $140. Category 1 ticket for the final match is $8680.

I have seen a lot of outrage on social media, and it also involves some well known personalities going against the high ticket prices. It's ruining football in general. Football is supposed to belong to the true fans and lovers. Not just some very wealth folks who don't even love it that much but just go to the stadium because they have excess pocket change to spend.

Why am I not surprised that this is happening because of The United States is one of the hosts? We are about to find out that the World cup that was hosted in Qatar was far much better.

[EL MOHA]

The World Cup will be very exciting. There are some really good teams, some are making their debut after 52 years, and that really makes me happy The draw was wonderful, I liked everything, and for me, this will be one of the best World Cups ever. At this stage, I see things heading towards the best spectacle. I think the best in the world will be there.

The expanded number of teams from the usual 32 nations to the 48 nations while this gives lots of nations that do not think they have any chance of qualification to a World Cup final this chance now is a rare one but let’s be honest with ourselves while I love the fact for this to happen I think in its first edition the countries with low football related activities will be the easiest to actually eliminate them and I expect the competition to be actually way competitive during maybe the knockout stages where top opposition would have started getting paired with each other. With this I think there are pundits who do not actually think it was right to have this expansion but to me I think regardless of anything that anyone would say it is a good thing giving nations who thought they wouldn’t stand a chance to be here a huge chance from any continent due to the increase in their slots

[Sithara007]

The expanded number of teams from the usual 32 nations to the 48 nations while this gives lots of nations that do not think they have any chance of qualification to a World Cup final this chance now is a rare one but let’s be honest with ourselves while I love the fact for this to happen I think in its first edition the countries with low football related activities will be the easiest to actually eliminate them and I expect the competition to be actually way competitive during maybe the knockout stages where top opposition would have started getting paired with each other. With this I think there are pundits who do not actually think it was right to have this expansion but to me I think regardless of anything that anyone would say it is a good thing giving nations who thought they wouldn’t stand a chance to be here a huge chance from any continent due to the increase in their slots

32 would have been OK, if it was fairly distributed. But that was not the case. More than 40% of the participants came from the UEFA confederation. That was why FIFA was forced to expand the tournament to 48 teams, thereby ensuring more representation from AFC, CAF, OFC and CONCACAF. The other option was to reduce slots in UEFA and redistribute it among the other confederations. But that would have been unacceptable for the Europeans. So I guess we are now stuck with the 48-team format for the next few editions of the FIFA World Cup 2026.

[Iamgoat]

I agree, they always come first in the qualifiers and that's mostly because they are paired with lower teams in these phase and they play well because there's hardly any competition for them their. But once they get to the competition proper, that's were they meet teams that's of equal calibre with them or even more, then they struggle to win. Of course, in cup games, when you manage to pass through group stage, then comes knockout stages were you just have one shot, win and progress to the next stage, lose and go home.

You're right the England guys have always been like this by looking strong during the qualifier games because they play against weaker teams and it makes it easier for them to win. This makes their fans generally feeling excited and proud of them for their performance during the qualifiers but when the real world cup begins and they meet with stronger teams like France, Brazil or even Croatia, their performance begin to reduce automaticslly because the challenge is now bigger and more powerful than they can easily beat. England used to try with their performance during the group stage in the most of the cases but fumble once they get to the knockout stage games

[EarnOnVictor]

In my opinion, England has never been a bad team. They’ve always had elite players and were often among the favorites to win. Croatia knocked them out in the 2018 semifinals, Italy beat them in the euro final, and France eliminated them in Qatar in 2022. When you look at their squad, it’s full of top class players who play for the best clubs, but the chemistry and the coach’s choices have never really worked well together. They are still a quality team, but whether they can prove themselves now  we’ll see. They are the favorites in the group, but i still think Croatia will be a tough challenge for them.

England is always one of the best soccer team with back up by good system and strategy, but sadly they have never been capable of winning in big event, this is always dilemma for them and their fans. England produce too many big names, but they have never been ideal as a whole team which can bring good moment for them.

I don't see the English team as powerful as you guys see them, if I were fair here. I would rather say of the team that I see more of weakness than strength. If you take a careful look, most of their wins were luck, and it was obvious, unless you guys do not want to look towards that angle. Big name doesn't translate to effective coordination, and a national team is different from a club team, so coordination and feat display vary even if it is the same personalities. And in this coming World Cup, I don't see anything different to watch from them.

[Hanadawa]

It's tru and they are always there despite everything they always have the team that can win the championship, now there are new players who can really make the difference supported by the old players who are always present, they can do well and can also think about winning a championship that has been missing for a very long time.

England is always the favorite to win every European Championship or World Cup tournament. And from several websites I've read, England is the #1 or #2 favorite to win the 2026 World Cup. Yes, England always brings a squad of a higher level than some other countries. England never lacks great players in every tournament. In my personal opinion, I favor England, France, and Portugal as the favorites to win. Spain is also on the list but not in my top 3. France is my first favorite. And for Portugal, this will likely be Ronaldo's last World Cup, so I think they will be very motivated to win the trophy. That's not impossible because CR7 once led Portugal to the 2016 European Championship as underdogs.

[Muba20]

In my opinion, England has never been a bad team. They?ve always had elite players and were often among the favorites to win. Croatia knocked them out in the 2018 semifinals, Italy beat them in the euro final, and France eliminated them in Qatar in 2022. When you look at their squad, it?s full of top class players who play for the best clubs, but the chemistry and the coach?s choices have never really worked well together. They are still a quality team, but whether they can prove themselves now  we?ll see. They are the favorites in the group, but i still think Croatia will be a tough challenge for them.

It's tru and they are always there despite everything they always have the team that can win the championship, now there are new players who can really make the difference supported by the old players who are always present, they can do well and can also think about winning a championship that has been missing for a very long time.

Countries like France, Croatia and Italy have also proven this in the past. It is not possible to ensure victory with just a good squad. Even if any team have a good squad, there is no guarantee that they will perform well when needed, especially in exciting matches. If that were the case, then the victory of the England team players would have been assured. When it comes to playing in matches like the semi-finals or finals of a big tournament, usually every player has to be mentally strong. There are many who do well in other matches but cannot perform as expected in important matches, that is the cause why the results are not as expected.

[Pulsar77]

England is always the favorite to win every European Championship or World Cup tournament. And from several websites I've read, England is the #1 or #2 favorite to win the 2026 World Cup. Yes, England always brings a squad of a higher level than some other countries. England never lacks great players in every tournament. In my personal opinion, I favor England, France, and Portugal as the favorites to win. Spain is also on the list but not in my top 3. France is my first favorite. And for Portugal, this will likely be Ronaldo's last World Cup, so I think they will be very motivated to win the trophy. That's not impossible because CR7 once led Portugal to the 2016 European Championship as underdogs.

It's mostly because of being one of the teams with the best players. But their biggest achievements in the recent years is like being runners-up 2 times (Euro 2020 and 2024).

There is no such thing in the World Cup ever for like 60 years. I guess their record there recently must be a 4th place.

I don't know how they can be overrated and underrated at the same time.  

[beerlover]

The Three Lions always have the best players on the team since the EPL is the most influential league.  At the end, they wouldn't even get to the finals in the recent editions. Since they won the World Cup in 1966 they have reached the finals twice in 1990 and 2018. They have been one of the countries that have always changed coaches due to inconsistent performance.

They will be hoping that Thomas Tuchel will do something extraordinary in the next World Cup because the country has been trophyless for a long time.

Despite having best team in most influential league of soccer world, they have never been able to win world cup, this is always wired thing for me in last few years because they are producing the best soccer players and their skills and quality is always unchallengeable but their performance in top games especially in semifinals and finals have never been as they needed.

Sir Gareth Southgate was one of the best I have watched, but sadly he also fails to produce good results, but now Thomas Tuchel is also having impressive track record while he is on, they are undefeated into their qualification games, their chances are good for having good end of this event with this level of performance.

[TSen]

The World Cup format has changed, the number of participants has also increased, and naturally, the competitive level will be different. Of course, many people hope Ronaldo can win the 2026 World Cup trophy with Portugal, which will automatically build the narrative of who is better between Ronaldo and Messi. However, regardless of those two mega stars, I only hope that many young players shine in the upcoming World Cup. So far, it is still a big question mark whether Ronaldo and Messi will actually participate in the upcoming 2026 World Cup.

Due to changes in FIFA World Cup system, more debate about this even it's not checked or watched because peoples are having their own concerns which are mostly on theories because currently nothing is clear how things will be work change of quality is surely going to be having impact because few teams are too weak, and they are here just because of advantage.

But this is always good for many youngsters because they came here with their national teams and watched by millions around the world which give them good chance of having good future in big clubs this is always good for the youngsters those are going to be having good future, but now two legendary players are going to play their last mega event.

[Bobrox]

I have seen a lot of outrage on social media, and it also involves some well known personalities going against the high ticket prices. It's running football in general. Football is supposed to belong to the true fans and lovers. Not just some very wealth folks who don't even love it that much but just go to the stadium because they have excess pocket change to spend.

Why am I not surprised that this is happening because of The United States is one of the hosts? We are about to find out that the World cup that was hosted in Qatar was far much better.

I have seen the ticket price for World Cup 2026 too high if comparison current edition World Cup 2022 in Qatar, since phase group matches price of ticket raise up until 100% than current edition and difficulty for several countries have bad bilateral relation with United State exactly for Iran national teams fans. I can't imagine for fans their team will play at United State how much money to spent from cost living until high price of ticket make us think more if want watching directly to stadium.

Based on the ticket price already list I think is final and not any change yet to decrease ticket price, so if any one have plan to watch there prepare much money firstly maybe must allocate budget around $10k for watching the group phase matches only. You must increase more if your teams qualify to knock out round until reach the final round.

[GiftedMAN]

The World Cup will be very exciting. There are some really good teams, some are making their debut after 52 years, and that really makes me happy The draw was wonderful, I liked everything, and for me, this will be one of the best World Cups ever. At this stage, I see things heading towards the best spectacle. I think the best in the world will be there.

I'm just very disappointed that Nigeria will not be participating in next year's FIFA World Cup but apart from that which I've already accepted my fate and moved on from it, there's no part of the tournament I'll not give my full attention just to make sure I enjoy every bit of it. Just like you, I like everything about the most prestigious football competition and knowing fully well that it's played just once every four years, nothing will stop me from dedicating my time, energy, resources and every other thing it'll require to enjoy every action of the tournament.

[Bitcoin_Arena]

Based on the ticket price already list I think is final and not any change yet to decrease ticket price, so if any one have plan to watch there prepare much money firstly maybe must allocate budget around $10k for watching the group phase matches only. You must increase more if your teams qualify to knock out round until reach the final round.

Coming at the time when the US Immigration policies are already very hostile and paranoid. I don't think many a middle class Citizens of the countries that are participating are going to waste money on air tickets, accommodation expenses, very high ticket prices on top of being harassed by the immigration, yet they have TVs to watch from at home.

Best case scenario, we might just see stadiums with less charismatic rich folks or even half filled ones in the worst cases.

[Frankolala]

Based on the ticket price already list I think is final and not any change yet to decrease ticket price, so if any one have plan to watch there prepare much money firstly maybe must allocate budget around $10k for watching the group phase matches only. You must increase more if your teams qualify to knock out round until reach the final round.

Coming at the time when the US Immigration policies are already very hostile and paranoid. I don't think many a middle class Citizens of the countries that are participating are going to waste money on air tickets, accommodation expenses, very high ticket prices on top of being harassed by the immigration, yet they have TVs to watch from at home.

Best case scenario, we might just see stadiums with less charismatic rich folks or even half filled ones in the worst cases.

If the US takes things too personal and don't allow freedom by fans and supporters into the country or the stadiums, many will watch the match from home so that the government officials can fill up the empty seats in the stadium Lolz. It wouldn't be funny that you're deprived from access to the stadium when you have interest on the match to be played.