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

[abaeze]

Spain vs Cape Verde match was one of the biggest surprises of this World Cup that we ever imagined. People generally expected Spain to dominate and score some goals against their opponent as Cape Verde supposed to be weaker item. but Cape Verde incredible discipline and defensive strength totally destroyed people's hope. Spain usually controlled the ball most of the time & they had many chances, but unfortunately they failed to find the finishing touch. The other three matches ending with draws on the same day which were also unexpected. Teams that were expected to win, struggled to secure the draw lol. It shows that no team can be underestimated in this World Cup

You are right, I agree with you. To be honest, I think this is one of the first big surprises of this World Cup so far. Although they are not very popular as an African country, they have shown their strength in the world by sharing points with Spain. Cape Verde's sharing of points against a strong team like Spain is a testament to their discipline, organized defense and mental toughness. If the finishing is not good, even 75% possession is not enough to win. Any team that goes after Cape Verde will have to come up with a new plan.

[asriloni]

Lots of crazy statistics we are seeing in this world cup, Mikel Oyarzabel played for an entire 30 minutes without touching the ball, for the record his not a Cape Verde player who were all defending their goal, his a Spanish player. His team mates were all with the ball almost all the time and I'm wondering how on earth he didn't touch the ball not even for once did he touch it in that entire 30 minutes. Was he sleeping in the box of Cape Verde? because if he wasn't how come he didn't touch the ball. As the team on offence there's no way the ball won't get to you, this is like a mystery to me and if this didn't come out, no one will have noticed it.

Again Cape Verde in the whole of 90 minutes fouled Spain just once, it's still hard to believe also that a defending team only fouled the offensive team just once in the whole 90 minutes. Crazy statistics we are getting here.

That's insane stats. I know it's a bad stats, but it's another level bad performance. Spain owned majority of possession, yet he's unable touching it even once.  It feels weird how he being considered as Spain's secret weapon while he's playing even worsen than ordinary player in his squad.

I see no reason to start him again in another game. He's obviously below his standard, and keep playing him means Spain increases their risk to finish out of top 2 in their group. Get him out of the club, then put Merino upfront. It'll solve this problem.

[Bobrox]

Considering that most of the Senegalese players have either played in top European leagues or still are and the fact that they once defeated them in the World Cup, it makes me believe France won't underestimate them... I also think this is one of those games that will finally have a winner, as opposed to all these surprise draws ^{[based on the quality of the attacking players in both teams, I'm predicting a win for France (over 2.5/BTTS)]}.

Absolutely, France won't underestimate the Senegal team because most of their playing who playing for top European Leagues and have many experienced players such as Sadio Mane. I think this match could be calling the super big match today in World Cup for Group I know as difficulty group because not only France and Senegal but also have Norway and Iraq who fight to secure the runner up position.

I don't think sure your prediction over 2.5 for this match should be true because both team on the top performance and learning from last World Cup match many game have draw with score 1-1, you should be careful placing bet over 2.5 but usually Senegal will play full offensive and have chance will score or conceded many goals.

[BitcoinHunt3r]

Spain vs Cape Verde match was one of the biggest surprises of this World Cup that we ever imagined. People generally expected Spain to dominate and score some goals against their opponent as Cape Verde supposed to be weaker item. but Cape Verde incredible discipline and defensive strength totally destroyed people's hope. Spain usually controlled the ball most of the time & they had many chances, but unfortunately they failed to find the finishing touch. The other three matches ending with draws on the same day which were also unexpected. Teams that were expected to win, struggled to secure the draw lol. It shows that no team can be underestimated in this World Cup

You know the bookies predict Spain will score at least 4 goals but the match ended goalless  I think no one thought this would be a draw. Cape Verde implemented a solid defense and apart from that, the goalkeeper also deserves appreciation after blocking several accurate shots and I just found out their goalkeeper (Vozinha) plays for Chaves one of the clubs in the Portugal League Division 2. Imagine Spain fired 23 shots 8 on target and the old goalkeeper (40) blocked it, if he were a young player I think he would be a target for elite clubs. Yeah a draw is the best achievement for Cape Verde and next they will face Uruguay.

[Koal-84]

It was an interesting matchday yesterday. Although I had predicted one or two draws myself, having four draws in a single round of matches is quite unusual. It seems that the smaller teams were very well prepared and defended with great discipline. Because there was little flow in the game, even the stronger and more established nations appeared to struggle against this organized and cautious style of play.

[Minor Miner]

You are right, I agree with you. To be honest, I think this is one of the first big surprises of this World Cup so far. Although they are not very popular as an African country, they have shown their strength in the world by sharing points with Spain. Cape Verde's sharing of points against a strong team like Spain is a testament to their discipline, organized defense and mental toughness. If the finishing is not good, even 75% possession is not enough to win. Any team that goes after Cape Verde will have to come up with a new plan.

Spain manager Fuente took Cabo Verde lightly. He probably thought that Spain was going to win this match easily. That is why he did not keep Yamal, Williams and Olmo in the starting XI. He probably thought that Spain would win without these three players. But the result was completely the opposite.

Spain could not score a single goal. Despite trying hard, they could not break Cabo Verde's defense. Cabo Verde got a point against a giant team like Spain in their first match of the World Cup. This is a great achievement for them

[Bitcoin_people]

Spain vs Cape Verde match was one of the biggest surprises of this World Cup that we ever imagined. People generally expected Spain to dominate and score some goals against their opponent as Cape Verde supposed to be weaker item. but Cape Verde incredible discipline and defensive strength totally destroyed people's hope. Spain usually controlled the ball most of the time & they had many chances, but unfortunately they failed to find the finishing touch. The other three matches ending with draws on the same day which were also unexpected. Teams that were expected to win, struggled to secure the draw lol. It shows that no team can be underestimated in this World Cup

You know the bookies predict Spain will score at least 4 goals but the match ended goalless  I think no one thought this would be a draw. Cape Verde implemented a solid defense and apart from that, the goalkeeper also deserves appreciation after blocking several accurate shots and I just found out their goalkeeper (Vozinha) plays for Chaves one of the clubs in the Portugal League Division 2. Imagine Spain fired 23 shots 8 on target and the old goalkeeper (40) blocked it, if he were a young player I think he would be a target for elite clubs. Yeah a draw is the best achievement for Cape Verde and next they will face Uruguay.

The bookies predicted that Spain would draw in the last minute. No one who went to watch the game could have imagined that Spain would face a team like Cape Verde, a new team in the World Cup. The team had a strong defense against Spain and the great performance of their goalkeeper was really impressive. The goalkeeper was rated 9.7 in this match and the number of goals he saved was really incredible. The 40-year-old goalkeeper came in at the last minute and gave such a great performance for his country that it spread very quickly all over the world. But of course, the draw against a strong team like Spain is their victory, if they can maintain such a performance, they can achieve better results against Uruguay.

[9ja Amaka]

Spain vs Cape Verde match was one of the biggest surprises of this World Cup that we ever imagined. People generally expected Spain to dominate and score some goals against their opponent as Cape Verde supposed to be weaker item. but Cape Verde incredible discipline and defensive strength totally destroyed people's hope. Spain usually controlled the ball most of the time & they had many chances, but unfortunately they failed to find the finishing touch.

The match  between Spain and Cape Verde is definitely the biggest surprise of the world cup so far. Personally I was expecting Spain to win this one comfortably with minimum of 3 goals, but I was so disappointed at the end of the match. Spain definitely had all the possession,  but Cape Verde were very disciplined defensiveness and they had a plan that they executed to the end. I know we all expected Spain to win, but we also have to give kudos to Cape Verde for being able to stop Spain from scoring and also getting a point in the game. I am very sure they will be very happy with that one point.

[B-BossMan]

Spain vs Cape Verde match was one of the biggest surprises of this World Cup that we ever imagined. People generally expected Spain to dominate and score some goals against their opponent as Cape Verde supposed to be weaker item. but Cape Verde incredible discipline and defensive strength totally destroyed people's hope. Spain usually controlled the ball most of the time & they had many chances, but unfortunately they failed to find the finishing touch. The other three matches ending with draws on the same day which were also unexpected. Teams that were expected to win, struggled to secure the draw lol. It shows that no team can be underestimated in this World Cup

You are right, I agree with you. To be honest, I think this is one of the first big surprises of this World Cup so far. Although they are not very popular as an African country, they have shown their strength in the world by sharing points with Spain. Cape Verde's sharing of points against a strong team like Spain is a testament to their discipline, organized defense and mental toughness. If the finishing is not good, even 75% possession is not enough to win. Any team that goes after Cape Verde will have to come up with a new plan.

Yes, I can see that this season's FIFA world cup would be more tougher than last season, I can see how many countries are being competitive to each other, alots of draws even in a complete group. Africa football games are gone beyond expectations seriously, some other continent usually look down on them or underrated thier performance that they are bit stronger enough to move higher, but I can see that this season Africa countries have began thier hard working towards this season's FIFA world cup, looking at the mat h if Ivory Coast against Ecuador, many were expected that the Ivory Coast would lose easily in that match h but they performed accurately, now we still have the match of Spain and Senegal, I know many fans would be hoping or predicted for Spain to defeat Senegal. But Senegal are also not a easily winning countries. Well lest see what's going to be cooked today among the Spain vs Senegal.

[$weetne$$]

The match  between Spain and Cape Verde is definitely the biggest surprise of the world cup so far. Personally I was expecting Spain to win this one comfortably with minimum of 3 goals, but I was so disappointed at the end of the match. Spain definitely had all the possession,  but Cape Verde were very disciplined defensiveness and they had a plan that they executed to the end. I know we all expected Spain to win, but we also have to give kudos to Cape Verde for being able to stop Spain from scoring and also getting a point in the game. I am very sure they will be very happy with that one point.

It is really interesting how we may want to say we know anything can happen in football but then this is one of those things we never prepared for and so it actually took almost everyone by surprise that the final whistle went without both team having a single goal in the end of the game. This goes to show sometimes you may have all the squad and may not just be lucky enough.

[Ahli38]

I'd like to know about all the people who harshly criticized the increase in teams in the World Cup, claiming that the games would be horrible to watch, with terrible national teams, and that nobody would watch them  

The teams from Haiti, Cape Verde, and Qatar showed great effort and provided a great moment for football, with a great spirit of overcoming adversity. The experience these teams gained is invaluable
This could be the World Cup with the most surprises
I'm happy to have seen these results

But very sad to lose almost all my bets hahaha  

Football matches are actually getting even more exciting with all the unexpected results from recent games. And perhaps the upcoming matches will only make us even more curious. Many people’s predictions may not have lived up to expectations given the number of draws in matches between weaker and stronger national teams. I personally made a wrong prediction in the Qatar vs Switzerland match. And I predicted that Switzerland would win or even score a lot of goals before. But all my predictions were wrong even though I had analyzed and even compared the performance of both teams from previous matches. Next there are still a few matches left in Group 1 of the World Cup. And tonight I’m going to bet on the French national team to win. I’m placing my full trust in the French national team even though the odds are relatively low. The French national team’s performance has been very convincing given the number of wins they’ve won in their last few matches.

[Stavri]

Lots of crazy statistics we are seeing in this world cup

yeah tbh interesting teams are getting draws and victories in the world cup. Personally, i don't think the entertainment value is low at all. matches are wide open to surprises. and seeing fans from countries and nations we've never even heard of before makes it all the more enjoyable. of course, these are my thoughts as of June 16th... they are subject to change  

[TastyChillySauce00]

You are right, I agree with you. To be honest, I think this is one of the first big surprises of this World Cup so far. Although they are not very popular as an African country, they have shown their strength in the world by sharing points with Spain. Cape Verde's sharing of points against a strong team like Spain is a testament to their discipline, organized defense and mental toughness. If the finishing is not good, even 75% possession is not enough to win. Any team that goes after Cape Verde will have to come up with a new plan.

Spain manager Fuente took Cabo Verde lightly. He probably thought that Spain was going to win this match easily. That is why he did not keep Yamal, Williams and Olmo in the starting XI. He probably thought that Spain would win without these three players. But the result was completely the opposite.

Spain could not score a single goal. Despite trying hard, they could not break Cabo Verde's defense. Cabo Verde got a point against a giant team like Spain in their first match of the World Cup. This is a great achievement for them

Disagreed. Fuente was not playing some of his key players to save them from the serious injury. Yamal and Nico are still in the recovery process. Playing them regularly while they are not feeling fine is just worsening their injuries. Once it happens his team has no chance to reach final because they have no proper attackers to score.
On other hand, none also expected Cape Verde would be performing like that. Their performance was even beyond my imagination.

[HustleZ]

Argentina are set to play their first match tomorrow 6:00 Am PKT. There are about 9 hours remaining and i came here to ask, what is your opninion about the matcha and especially argentina. what’s your bias regarding Argentina. Are they favorites to win if not then till which round do you guys predict them going. Talking about their match against algeria, we have seen alot of matches that werent expected like spain and cape verde drawing etc. so do you guys think this game is a sure win or will it draw. Or will algeria win?? Open to hear your thougths.

[Bluedrem]

Argentina are set to play their first match tomorrow 6:00 Am PKT. There are about 9 hours remaining and i came here to ask, what is your opninion about the matcha and especially argentina. what’s your bias regarding Argentina. Are they favorites to win if not then till which round do you guys predict them going. Talking about their match against algeria, we have seen alot of matches that werent expected like spain and cape verde drawing etc. so do you guys think this game is a sure win or will it draw. Or will algeria win?? Open to hear your thougths.

Argentina come into this World Cup as the defending champions. So the expectations are high and they have the ability to win. However, in football, anything can happen and we have already seen in a few matches how small teams have stopped big teams.
Algeria are quite good at football and if they continue to play a completely defensive game, then it will be obvious for Argentina to score goals, but the Argentine team has several talented players whose efforts may help Argentina win this match and get full points, however, we will have to wait until the end of the game for the final result.

[MK-74]

There was no winner in any of the Group G matches, as every game ended in a draw.
The match between Iran and New Zealand finished 2–2.
The match between Belgium and Egypt also ended 1–1.
As things stand, every team in Group G has the same number of points, and no one managed to gain an advantage after the opening matches.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia were unable to hold onto their 1–0 lead, as Uruguay scored in the 80th minute to earn a 1–1 draw.
Uruguay had been applying heavy pressure in search of an equalizer and eventually found the goal they were looking for to secure a point.

[Popkon6]

Argentina are set to play their first match tomorrow 6:00 Am PKT. There are about 9 hours remaining and i came here to ask, what is your opninion about the matcha and especially argentina. what’s your bias regarding Argentina. Are they favorites to win if not then till which round do you guys predict them going. Talking about their match against algeria, we have seen alot of matches that werent expected like spain and cape verde drawing etc. so do you guys think this game is a sure win or will it draw. Or will algeria win?? Open to hear your thougths.

Argentina will definitely win this match, because Argentina is a different favorite team in this World Cup. So, no matter how many obstacles there are in this match, Argentina will definitely create chances to score goals and will be able to win by performing in the end. Argentina is in good form but Algeria is not in good form. However, this match will be full of competition between the two teams, and each player will be the most aggressive among them.
No matter how difficult the situation is, Lionel Messi will definitely perform well in this match and show his best performance under his leadership. In my opinion, he is an experienced and the best coach.

[Olatundespo]

The match  between Spain and Cape Verde is definitely the biggest surprise of the world cup so far. Personally I was expecting Spain to win this one comfortably with minimum of 3 goals, but I was so disappointed at the end of the match. Spain definitely had all the possession,  but Cape Verde were very disciplined defensiveness and they had a plan that they executed to the end. I know we all expected Spain to win, but we also have to give kudos to Cape Verde for being able to stop Spain from scoring and also getting a point in the game. I am very sure they will be very happy with that one point.

It is really interesting how we may want to say we know anything can happen in football but then this is one of those things we never prepared for and so it actually took almost everyone by surprise that the final whistle went without both team having a single goal in the end of the game. This goes to show sometimes you may have all the squad and may not just be lucky enough.

The issue can also be thought of in another way, such as a strong team against a weak team that has practiced a lot. Analyzing the players and identifying their weaknesses and where they need to increase or decrease their strength on the field should not be too difficult if the opposing team's players are prepared in each aspect and have practiced hard to stop the strong team. It seems like you wanted to explain the example of the Spain and Cabo Verde match. I was sure that Spain would win and I bet on them but neither side could score in the match and it ended in a draw.

Such results can be continued as luck but when good teams cannot add points to their side, there may be no logical consolation.

[Razmirraz]

You are right, I agree with you. To be honest, I think this is one of the first big surprises of this World Cup so far. Although they are not very popular as an African country, they have shown their strength in the world by sharing points with Spain. Cape Verde's sharing of points against a strong team like Spain is a testament to their discipline, organized defense and mental toughness. If the finishing is not good, even 75% possession is not enough to win. Any team that goes after Cape Verde will have to come up with a new plan.

Spain manager Fuente took Cabo Verde lightly. He probably thought that Spain was going to win this match easily. That is why he did not keep Yamal, Williams and Olmo in the starting XI. He probably thought that Spain would win without these three players. But the result was completely the opposite.

Spain could not score a single goal. Despite trying hard, they could not break Cabo Verde's defense. Cabo Verde got a point against a giant team like Spain in their first match of the World Cup. This is a great achievement for them

After failing to penetrate the Cabo Verde defense, Luis de la Fuente tried a different tactic in the 71st minute, bringing on Yamal for Gavi, who was interested in the left wing, and Mikel Merino for Fabian Ruiz (central midfielder). Yamal played as the right winger, Torres, who had previously played in that position, was shifted to the left wing, while Merino played in the attacking midfield position, thus Spain used a double pivot of Rodri and Pedri. The change in strategy was quite effective, Spain managed to increase attacks, especially on the right wing, Yamal was able to trouble the opponent's defense.

Cape Verde were forced to apply double cover against Yamal. This left the space between Cape Verde CB and FB slightly open, but none of the Spanish midfielders were able to exploit this gap. De la Fuente brought Olmo back on in the 81st minute to replace Torres in attack, but Cape Verde defense remained very solid. In the 87th minute, Fuente tried his luck again by bringing in Nico Williams to the left wing by taking out Rodri, but this effort was too late, perhaps if Williams had been brought in since the 71st minute with Yamal, attacks from the right and left wings would have been more troublesome for the opponent's defense.

Despite Spain's less-than-optimal performance in their opening match, Cape Verde solid defense deserves a thumbs up. Although Spain failed to achieve maximum results against the team ranked 67th in FIFA, this result was not too disappointing because the other match in Group H, which brought together Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, also ended in a draw.

[Swordsoffreedom]

Argentina will definitely win this match, because Argentina is a different favorite team in this World Cup. So, no matter how many obstacles there are in this match, Argentina will definitely create chances to score goals and will be able to win by performing in the end. Argentina is in good form but Algeria is not in good form. However, this match will be full of competition between the two teams, and each player will be the most aggressive among them.
No matter how difficult the situation is, Lionel Messi will definitely perform well in this match and show his best performance under his leadership. In my opinion, he is an experienced and the best coach.

I also expect the victory of Argentina. Undoubtedly, Argentina are hot favorites in this match. Argentina should have an easy win against a team like Algeria. But the problem is that we have already experienced some strange events in this World Cup. Several hot favorite teams failed to win.

Hot favorites like Belgium, Spain, Netherlands and Brazil failed to win their first match. But their opponent was not very strong. Brazil failed to win against teams like Morocco. And Spain dropped points against a team we were short on. They could not win against a team like Cabo Verde.

Argentina's opponent Algeria is quite weak. And surely they will try to draw the match today. Algeria is playing defensively. If Argentina fail to dominate from the start of the match, it will be very difficult for them to win.