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

[slapper]

~snip~
A country that has much love football,  this love is not enough for  the country to host world cup. For a country to host world cup their are many things that are required for a country to get opportunity of hosting world cup. Good facilities,  security and other things , this must be available.

It's actually going to be four countries, not just one. Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay are bidding for the 2030 World Cup.

If they actually get it, it would be an awkward South American qualification. There are 10 teams, and from the next world cup there will be 6 directly qualified teams with one going to playoffs.

With 4 South American countries qualified as hosts, and 6 directly qualifying, that would mean the whole continent would qualify for that world cup, without a single qualifying match needed.

Even though I can see the advantage of hosting the World Cup in South America, because there are some good economies here and of course the big passion people feel for football. I would also like this event to be hosted in more exotic places in the future.

Perhaps, the organizations and sponsors do not feel the need of doing so, but I think it would be a good chance to promote this sport in countries where it does not have as much importance in South America.

It is just an idea, sure, but I still recall how people got very excited in Africa when the WC got there for the first time ever back in 2010.

A quad-nation World Cup, huh? Quite the gathering! No doubt, South America's got the vibes for hosting the extravaganza. But let's not kid ourselves—our big, beautiful world's got more to offer. Imagine this: The World Cup in Antarctica! Envision those penguins dribbling on ice, while huskies officiate the matches. Or, what about a lunar World Cup? With low gravity, we'd witness otherworldly goals. Alright, alright, I'll reel it in. The gist is, let's stir the pot. Introduce the World Cup to fresh, uncharted territories. Who's to say we won't uncover hidden soccer prodigies along the way?

[1714903017]

1714903017

[Naficopa]

~snip~
A country that has much love football,  this love is not enough for  the country to host world cup. For a country to host world cup their are many things that are required for a country to get opportunity of hosting world cup. Good facilities,  security and other things , this must be available.

It's actually going to be four countries, not just one. Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay are bidding for the 2030 World Cup.

If they actually get it, it would be an awkward South American qualification. There are 10 teams, and from the next world cup there will be 6 directly qualified teams with one going to playoffs.

With 4 South American countries qualified as hosts, and 6 directly qualifying, that would mean the whole continent would qualify for that world cup, without a single qualifying match needed.

Even though I can see the advantage of hosting the World Cup in South America, because there are some good economies here and of course the big passion people feel for football. I would also like this event to be hosted in more exotic places in the future.

Perhaps, the organizations and sponsors do not feel the need of doing so, but I think it would be a good chance to promote this sport in countries where it does not have as much importance in South America.

It is just an idea, sure, but I still recall how people got very excited in Africa when the WC got there for the first time ever back in 2010.

A quad-nation World Cup, huh? Quite the gathering! No doubt, South America's got the vibes for hosting the extravaganza. But let's not kid ourselves—our big, beautiful world's got more to offer. Imagine this: The World Cup in Antarctica! Envision those penguins dribbling on ice, while huskies officiate the matches. Or, what about a lunar World Cup? With low gravity, we'd witness otherworldly goals. Alright, alright, I'll reel it in. The gist is, let's stir the pot. Introduce the World Cup to fresh, uncharted territories. Who's to say we won't uncover hidden soccer prodigies along the way?

The next World Cup may not have such strict rules as in Qatar. As Qatar is a Muslim country they follow some strict rules and regulations. In the next World Cup I think football fans will be able to enjoy the game of football freely.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

~snip~
A country that has much love football,  this love is not enough for  the country to host world cup. For a country to host world cup their are many things that are required for a country to get opportunity of hosting world cup. Good facilities,  security and other things , this must be available.

It's actually going to be four countries, not just one. Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay are bidding for the 2030 World Cup.

If they actually get it, it would be an awkward South American qualification. There are 10 teams, and from the next world cup there will be 6 directly qualified teams with one going to playoffs.

With 4 South American countries qualified as hosts, and 6 directly qualifying, that would mean the whole continent would qualify for that world cup, without a single qualifying match needed.

Even though I can see the advantage of hosting the World Cup in South America, because there are some good economies here and of course the big passion people feel for football. I would also like this event to be hosted in more exotic places in the future.

Perhaps, the organizations and sponsors do not feel the need of doing so, but I think it would be a good chance to promote this sport in countries where it does not have as much importance in South America.

It is just an idea, sure, but I still recall how people got very excited in Africa when the WC got there for the first time ever back in 2010.

A quad-nation World Cup, huh? Quite the gathering! No doubt, South America's got the vibes for hosting the extravaganza. But let's not kid ourselves—our big, beautiful world's got more to offer. Imagine this: The World Cup in Antarctica! Envision those penguins dribbling on ice, while huskies officiate the matches. Or, what about a lunar World Cup? With low gravity, we'd witness otherworldly goals. Alright, alright, I'll reel it in. The gist is, let's stir the pot. Introduce the World Cup to fresh, uncharted territories. Who's to say we won't uncover hidden soccer prodigies along the way?

You are absolutely right bud, introducing the world cup to new territories, countries we did probably not imagine to ever have what it takes to host the world cup, would be a game changer, and we never can under estimate what kind of talent that wil be discovered in those countries.
The world is filled with great talented players, but the issue is, most of them can't differenciate their left from their right when it comes to how to get to the top of the game, if the world cup can be allowed to travel to every crook and cranny of this world, amazing talents will sure be discovered - no doubt.
Not just keep recycling the world cup hosting among well developed cities alone.

[Daniel91]

~snip~
A country that has much love football,  this love is not enough for  the country to host world cup. For a country to host world cup their are many things that are required for a country to get opportunity of hosting world cup. Good facilities,  security and other things , this must be available.

It's actually going to be four countries, not just one. Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay are bidding for the 2030 World Cup.

If they actually get it, it would be an awkward South American qualification. There are 10 teams, and from the next world cup there will be 6 directly qualified teams with one going to playoffs.

With 4 South American countries qualified as hosts, and 6 directly qualifying, that would mean the whole continent would qualify for that world cup, without a single qualifying match needed.

Even though I can see the advantage of hosting the World Cup in South America, because there are some good economies here and of course the big passion people feel for football. I would also like this event to be hosted in more exotic places in the future.

Perhaps, the organizations and sponsors do not feel the need of doing so, but I think it would be a good chance to promote this sport in countries where it does not have as much importance in South America.

It is just an idea, sure, but I still recall how people got very excited in Africa when the WC got there for the first time ever back in 2010.

A quad-nation World Cup, huh? Quite the gathering! No doubt, South America's got the vibes for hosting the extravaganza. But let's not kid ourselves—our big, beautiful world's got more to offer. Imagine this: The World Cup in Antarctica! Envision those penguins dribbling on ice, while huskies officiate the matches. Or, what about a lunar World Cup? With low gravity, we'd witness otherworldly goals. Alright, alright, I'll reel it in. The gist is, let's stir the pot. Introduce the World Cup to fresh, uncharted territories. Who's to say we won't uncover hidden soccer prodigies along the way?

The next World Cup may not have such strict rules as in Qatar. As Qatar is a Muslim country they follow some strict rules and regulations. In the next World Cup I think football fans will be able to enjoy the game of football freely.

I partially agree with you. At the next world cup in Canada, the USA and Mexico, we should not expect the restrictions that existed in Qatar, such as the ban on serving alcohol, but there are other possible restrictions and problems.
First of all, I mean the fact that it is very difficult for citizens of most countries in the world to get a visa to visit America.
Considering that most of the fans are young people, usually unemployed, this could become a serious problem.
In addition, America as a country is very expensive for tourists and the question is how many fans will be able to afford to visit America during the soccer world cup.

[Cryptock]

I partially agree with you. At the next world cup in Canada, the USA and Mexico, we should not expect the restrictions that existed in Qatar, such as the ban on serving alcohol, but there are other possible restrictions and problems.
First of all, I mean the fact that it is very difficult for citizens of most countries in the world to get a visa to visit America.
Considering that most of the fans are young people, usually unemployed, this could become a serious problem.
In addition, America as a country is very expensive for tourists and the question is how many fans will be able to afford to visit America during the soccer world cup.

muslim country has a different rules and they are bit strict - for example Qatar banned one love flag and band
They banned alcohal in the stadium - there were other ristriction too. But none of the ristriction had a bad affect on the fan. Fan drank less and enjoyed the sport.
There was less harasment and women too felt secure - what went wrong in Qatar?

[Theones]

I partially agree with you. At the next world cup in Canada, the USA and Mexico, we should not expect the restrictions that existed in Qatar, such as the ban on serving alcohol, but there are other possible restrictions and problems.
First of all, I mean the fact that it is very difficult for citizens of most countries in the world to get a visa to visit America.
Considering that most of the fans are young people, usually unemployed, this could become a serious problem.
In addition, America as a country is very expensive for tourists and the question is how many fans will be able to afford to visit America during the soccer world cup.

the other disadvantage is that not everyone will be able to get US visa and most of the people will be planning to go there and would never come back.
Qatar on the other hand is a different country - it is secure and have a flexible visa policy and now none would be in hiding there.

[og kush420]

I partially agree with you. At the next world cup in Canada, the USA and Mexico, we should not expect the restrictions that existed in Qatar, such as the ban on serving alcohol, but there are other possible restrictions and problems.
First of all, I mean the fact that it is very difficult for citizens of most countries in the world to get a visa to visit America.
Considering that most of the fans are young people, usually unemployed, this could become a serious problem.
In addition, America as a country is very expensive for tourists and the question is how many fans will be able to afford to visit America during the soccer world cup.

ALcohal ban has been supported by the people and they felt really good and many of the fans said that they really lived the moment because in all the happy moment they were drunk and never remember what has happened. Women to felt secure and they liked their stay there - we will see if the upcoming world cup will be as secure as the one happened in Qatar.

[Hispo]

~snip~
A country that has much love football,  this love is not enough for  the country to host world cup. For a country to host world cup their are many things that are required for a country to get opportunity of hosting world cup. Good facilities,  security and other things , this must be available.

It's actually going to be four countries, not just one. Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay are bidding for the 2030 World Cup.

If they actually get it, it would be an awkward South American qualification. There are 10 teams, and from the next world cup there will be 6 directly qualified teams with one going to playoffs.

With 4 South American countries qualified as hosts, and 6 directly qualifying, that would mean the whole continent would qualify for that world cup, without a single qualifying match needed.

Even though I can see the advantage of hosting the World Cup in South America, because there are some good economies here and of course the big passion people feel for football. I would also like this event to be hosted in more exotic places in the future.

Perhaps, the organizations and sponsors do not feel the need of doing so, but I think it would be a good chance to promote this sport in countries where it does not have as much importance in South America.

It is just an idea, sure, but I still recall how people got very excited in Africa when the WC got there for the first time ever back in 2010.

A quad-nation World Cup, huh? Quite the gathering! No doubt, South America's got the vibes for hosting the extravaganza. But let's not kid ourselves—our big, beautiful world's got more to offer. Imagine this: The World Cup in Antarctica! Envision those penguins dribbling on ice, while huskies officiate the matches. Or, what about a lunar World Cup? With low gravity, we'd witness otherworldly goals. Alright, alright, I'll reel it in. The gist is, let's stir the pot. Introduce the World Cup to fresh, uncharted territories. Who's to say we won't uncover hidden soccer prodigies along the way?

Those are indeed very exotic places but being serious, I had other places in mind, like Mongolia, El Salvador, Cuba, Malta, Nigeria, etc. Places where a World Cup has had never been celebrated and give the people of that country the joy of an unique experience and worldwide cover.

Also, the cover would not be only about Football, usually news channels and documentary film makers pay attention to WC hosts to spread awareness of social problems, that is what they have done in Brazil and South Africa in the past.

One of the challenges would be security and keeo things in order for foreigners who would come to visit, but I would be confident that the organizers could achieve it.

[Sithara007]

Those are indeed very exotic places but being serious, I had other places in mind, like Mongolia, El Salvador, Cuba, Malta, Nigeria, etc. Places where a World Cup has had never been celebrated and give the people of that country the joy of an unique experience and worldwide cover.

Also, the cover would not be only about Football, usually news channels and documentary film makers pay attention to WC hosts to spread awareness of social problems, that is what they have done in Brazil and South Africa in the past.

One of the challenges would be security and keeo things in order for foreigners who would come to visit, but I would be confident that the organizers could achieve it.

Maintaining high levels of security will be a challenge. But then, the world cup was held previously in countries such as South Africa and Brazil without any major issues. Even then, hosting the tournament in Nigeria or some of the other African countries will pose a big challenge. Once in a while, FIFA may allow countries such as Nigeria to host the events. But then, they should not ignore deserving nations such as China and Japan, just because they are not poor. Despite being the most populous country, China has never hosted the FIFA world cup. This is not fair.

[nullama]

~snip~
ALcohal ban has been supported by the people and they felt really good and many of the fans said that they really lived the moment because in all the happy moment they were drunk and never remember what has happened. Women to felt secure and they liked their stay there - we will see if the upcoming world cup will be as secure as the one happened in Qatar.

You can definitely have a beer or two and remember absolutely everything that is going on.

Also, I'm not sure women like how they are treated in Qatar:

‘We’re treated as children,’ Qatari women tell rights group

[Leviathan.007]

Those are indeed very exotic places but being serious, I had other places in mind, like Mongolia, El Salvador, Cuba, Malta, Nigeria, etc. Places where a World Cup has had never been celebrated and give the people of that country the joy of an unique experience and worldwide cover.

Also, the cover would not be only about Football, usually news channels and documentary film makers pay attention to WC hosts to spread awareness of social problems, that is what they have done in Brazil and South Africa in the past.

One of the challenges would be security and keeo things in order for foreigners who would come to visit, but I would be confident that the organizers could achieve it.

Maintaining high levels of security will be a challenge. But then, the world cup was held previously in countries such as South Africa and Brazil without any major issues. Even then, hosting the tournament in Nigeria or some of the other African countries will pose a big challenge. Once in a while, FIFA may allow countries such as Nigeria to host the events. But then, they should not ignore deserving nations such as China and Japan, just because they are not poor. Despite being the most populous country, China has never hosted the FIFA world cup. This is not fair.

When FIFA allows a country like South Africa the good point of the story for that country is they can have the chance to introduce their country and traditions to other nations and bring more demand for their business, but in the side of the story they don't have enough story and facilities and can't have a good host for world cup comparing to others.

[TopTort777]

Maintaining high levels of security will be a challenge. But then, the world cup was held previously in countries such as South Africa and Brazil without any major issues. Even then, hosting the tournament in Nigeria or some of the other African countries will pose a big challenge. Once in a while, FIFA may allow countries such as Nigeria to host the events. But then, they should not ignore deserving nations such as China and Japan, just because they are not poor. Despite being the most populous country, China has never hosted the FIFA world cup. This is not fair.

Current president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, claimed that organization will set record in profit during 2022-2026 period due to increase of number of team that participate in FIFA World Cup 2026 and the size of North-American market.

I think this is the reason why China never hosted FIFA World Cup - it is unprofitable for FIFA to run cup there. Even though China has everything - infrastructure, football is popular there. But it is all about money.

Or there are fewer football federations in China or Asia in general, to have enough votes to vote for China when they choose who will host next World Cup.

[shogun47]

~snip~
A country that has much love football,  this love is not enough for  the country to host world cup. For a country to host world cup their are many things that are required for a country to get opportunity of hosting world cup. Good facilities,  security and other things , this must be available.

It's actually going to be four countries, not just one. Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay are bidding for the 2030 World Cup.

If they actually get it, it would be an awkward South American qualification. There are 10 teams, and from the next world cup there will be 6 directly qualified teams with one going to playoffs.

With 4 South American countries qualified as hosts, and 6 directly qualifying, that would mean the whole continent would qualify for that world cup, without a single qualifying match needed.

Even though I can see the advantage of hosting the World Cup in South America, because there are some good economies here and of course the big passion people feel for football. I would also like this event to be hosted in more exotic places in the future.

Perhaps, the organizations and sponsors do not feel the need of doing so, but I think it would be a good chance to promote this sport in countries where it does not have as much importance in South America.

It is just an idea, sure, but I still recall how people got very excited in Africa when the WC got there for the first time ever back in 2010.

A quad-nation World Cup, huh? Quite the gathering! No doubt, South America's got the vibes for hosting the extravaganza. But let's not kid ourselves—our big, beautiful world's got more to offer. Imagine this: The World Cup in Antarctica! Envision those penguins dribbling on ice, while huskies officiate the matches. Or, what about a lunar World Cup? With low gravity, we'd witness otherworldly goals. Alright, alright, I'll reel it in. The gist is, let's stir the pot. Introduce the World Cup to fresh, uncharted territories. Who's to say we won't uncover hidden soccer prodigies along the way?

I fear you are not too far away from some abstruse locations, hosting sports events where it makes the least sense. Qatar was a great example for that. Qatar building all this infrastructure that nobody ever needs again while allowing for thousands and thousands of people to die. How far are we really away from building stadiums in Antarctica, destroying nature wherever possible and taking living space from wild animals. Sounds quite like the human beings are making plans? Not really that unrealistic...

[LUCKMCFLY]

Yes, in fact FIFA always makes reviews throughout the 4 years of construction of the World Cup and makes inspections with experts and they always keep their reports, in fact when things don't add up they are capable of taking away the venues, as happened in some sub 17 tournaments, now for the World Cup the demanding standards are higher, so the World Cup has to guarantee the highest quality in the stadiums and in the main soccer regulations, these things will always exist, I imagine that in every World Cup new things come up, and hosts have to meet those demands.

The quality of the stadiums and any other facilities should be obviously higher than the last world cup we saw because four years passed and we can have better technologies for stadiums and this can definitely help the hosts, while in some countries they don't have a good financial system like Qatar does, they can't provide good quality facilities if they don't already have enough facilities.

I still wonder what gives FIFA the unwarranted reason to change the football's narrative, letting many countries host the World Cup will not be cost-effective to viewers who make themselves physically available. But this might be more money for FIFA which might be their plan. I will be folding my hands as things unfold, but they will not be able to deliver extras more than what they've been doing in the past.

It's a litmus test though, I hope it's worth it more than before. And as for the quality of stadiums, I bet the US is qualified, no wonder more matches would be played there. So qualified are Canada and Mexico, but playing lower hosts perhaps due to their capabilities.

nailed it - obviously America and Canada are the great countries. But Qatar was no less than them. They have progressed in all phases of life and they have not kept anything for themselves. They even donated the temporary residential spaces to turkey after the earth quack

Well, I would like to see what will happen to countries like the USA and Canada that require visas for South American countries, if there are so many teams that are going to be on this side of the world, it is something that can lead to many problems, unless that these countries give temporary visas due to the number of tickets they have, but fans who are from these countries will give them tickets? I know that even Mexico requires a visa, at least for Venezuelans, something that seems absurd to me, but hey with emigration problems and all that (which is off topic, but I'll touch on it anyway) so what will happen to that=?

[TopTort777]

Players and fans have plenty of time to create visas. But not every fan and player should get multiple visas, because cup format is made so, that qualification part will be in one country, but play-off and finals will be in US. Canada and Mexico will be presented by two stadium each, but US with 11 stadium all across country. So if you are a fan of a weak country (sorry for that) you probably dont have to get multiple visas

For players it will be much simpler. Like cruises. You get visa to US to board the cruise ship and go ashore to Mexico without Mexican visa. I suppose same system will be for fans also.

U see only one problem with USA - a lot of people gonna get visas "because of football cup", but some of them gonna stay in US as immigrants for ever, taking into consideration fact that they cant get visa there normally. Such things always happen with poor countries. There was even a case (dont remember if it was Olympic games or football cup), when plane with athletes landed, and during the event part of them disappeared, because they ran away from poverty and dictatorship in their homeland.

[Juggy777]

Yes, in fact FIFA always makes reviews throughout the 4 years of construction of the World Cup and makes inspections with experts and they always keep their reports, in fact when things don't add up they are capable of taking away the venues, as happened in some sub 17 tournaments, now for the World Cup the demanding standards are higher, so the World Cup has to guarantee the highest quality in the stadiums and in the main soccer regulations, these things will always exist, I imagine that in every World Cup new things come up, and hosts have to meet those demands.

The quality of the stadiums and any other facilities should be obviously higher than the last world cup we saw because four years passed and we can have better technologies for stadiums and this can definitely help the hosts, while in some countries they don't have a good financial system like Qatar does, they can't provide good quality facilities if they don't already have enough facilities.

I still wonder what gives FIFA the unwarranted reason to change the football's narrative, letting many countries host the World Cup will not be cost-effective to viewers who make themselves physically available. But this might be more money for FIFA which might be their plan. I will be folding my hands as things unfold, but they will not be able to deliver extras more than what they've been doing in the past.

It's a litmus test though, I hope it's worth it more than before. And as for the quality of stadiums, I bet the US is qualified, no wonder more matches would be played there. So qualified are Canada and Mexico, but playing lower hosts perhaps due to their capabilities.

nailed it - obviously America and Canada are the great countries. But Qatar was no less than them. They have progressed in all phases of life and they have not kept anything for themselves. They even donated the temporary residential spaces to turkey after the earth quack

Well, I would like to see what will happen to countries like the USA and Canada that require visas for South American countries, if there are so many teams that are going to be on this side of the world, it is something that can lead to many problems, unless that these countries give temporary visas due to the number of tickets they have, but fans who are from these countries will give them tickets? I know that even Mexico requires a visa, at least for Venezuelans, something that seems absurd to me, but hey with emigration problems and all that (which is off topic, but I'll touch on it anyway) so what will happen to that=?

Players and fans have plenty of time to create visas. But not every fan and player should get multiple visas, because cup format is made so, that qualification part will be in one country, but play-off and finals will be in US. Canada and Mexico will be presented by two stadium each, but US with 11 stadium all across country. So if you are a fan of a weak country (sorry for that) you probably dont have to get multiple visas

For players it will be much simpler. Like cruises. You get visa to US to board the cruise ship and go ashore to Mexico without Mexican visa. I suppose same system will be for fans also.

U see only one problem with USA - a lot of people gonna get visas "because of football cup", but some of them gonna stay in US as immigrants for ever, taking into consideration fact that they cant get visa there normally. Such things always happen with poor countries. There was even a case (dont remember if it was Olympic games or football cup), when plane with athletes landed, and during the event part of them disappeared, because they ran away from poverty and dictatorship in their homeland.

@EarnOnVictor I don’t believe that in just 4 year’s you can have any new extraordinary stadiums hence I’m not expecting anything new in that aspect from FIFA but what I’ll be keen to see is how will they help fan’s travel across the World Cup in case the fan's face any issue. Also about the visa it’s my understanding that once you get US visa you’re allowed to travel easily and I believe that all these tourists will be issued a very small duration visa hence they’ll not be able to stay back for long.

[TopTort777]

Lol yes, it is hard to get in US, but it super easy to leave it or ne kicked from the US 

As to stadiums - there will be no new stadiums, as there are plenty of them and in wiki you can find the list and link every stadium that will be used during this World Cup. Anyway, this is America - they will do everything to sell best experience for tourists.

[RealMalatesta]

Love is not enough for a country to host the world cup we know Brazil is the country where most people love football and there are many players in that country, but if they want to host the World Cup, first they have to have enough financial potential for the tournament and they need to have enough sports facilities and hostels but I don't think if Brazel and Argentina got any of these.

Lionel Messi's biggest gain is securing Argentina's World Cup. He is a living legend with nothing left to achieve in his football career except the World Cup. Finally this dream of Lionel Messi has come true now there is no more achievement left in his career he will be a living legend forever in our hearts.

I believe that he was already a legend even before any of that and people who think that he became even bigger legend after winning it are right but that doesn't mean he would not have been a bad thing if he lost neither. I think he would have been still a living legend even if he lost as well and that should have been the case.

I think it is obvious that people are overplaying the importance of world cup for his career, look I agree that it is a huge deal, but this dude won the most ballon d'ors ever in history, that alone would have made him legend as well. In the end, we are going to see him do as well as hoped for even after this age, but I think he could just look for money and not really care about any other reward and can be still considered a living legend.

[Silberman]

Love is not enough for a country to host the world cup we know Brazil is the country where most people love football and there are many players in that country, but if they want to host the World Cup, first they have to have enough financial potential for the tournament and they need to have enough sports facilities and hostels but I don't think if Brazel and Argentina got any of these.

Lionel Messi's biggest gain is securing Argentina's World Cup. He is a living legend with nothing left to achieve in his football career except the World Cup. Finally this dream of Lionel Messi has come true now there is no more achievement left in his career he will be a living legend forever in our hearts.

I believe that he was already a legend even before any of that and people who think that he became even bigger legend after winning it are right but that doesn't mean he would not have been a bad thing if he lost neither. I think he would have been still a living legend even if he lost as well and that should have been the case.

I think it is obvious that people are overplaying the importance of world cup for his career, look I agree that it is a huge deal, but this dude won the most ballon d'ors ever in history, that alone would have made him legend as well. In the end, we are going to see him do as well as hoped for even after this age, but I think he could just look for money and not really care about any other reward and can be still considered a living legend.

He was a legend for sure even before winning the world cup, however we must also admit that in the eyes of many fans winning world cup is the biggest achievement a soccer player can achieve, and this was often used by the detractors of Messi against him, this was for example not used against Ronaldo as we knew that he was basically alone and his chances of doing so were low, but Messi is Argentinian, a country were soccer stars are worshiped as saints so in the eyes of many fans Messi really needed that win to solidify his position as one of the best ever, a thing he did already.

[tiCeR]

He was a legend for sure even before winning the world cup, however we must also admit that in the eyes of many fans winning world cup is the biggest achievement a soccer player can achieve, and this was often used by the detractors of Messi against him, this was for example not used against Ronaldo as we knew that he was basically alone and his chances of doing so were low, but Messi is Argentinian, a country were soccer stars are worshiped as saints so in the eyes of many fans Messi really needed that win to solidify his position as one of the best ever, a thing he did already.

I never liked this approach by people to say that only when you win the World Cup you can become a legend. What are you going to do when you become one of the best players in the world but you are born in Iceland or Luxembourg? I have nothing to say against those countries, both are great countries, but in regards to soccer it is quite apparent that they will never win a World Cup. But does that automatically mean that never in the future a player from those countries can become an exceptional player who outcompetes everyone else in all other competitions?

The World Cup is still an important event with a lot of meaning, but Messi is the best example. How can someone say that Messi would not have been legend, had he not won the World Cup?