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

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I don't see how Argentina is the favorite from what I watched in the first half. England got a shot on target and Argentina didn't. Secondly, Argentina played roughly in the first half because they're not able to tactically get the ball from England players.

The second half will produce at least one goal and I expect to see a higher game tempo from England when Saka and Rashford steps into the field. It's still 50/50 for both teams to advance to the finals.

Unfortunately, England were able to play a little bit in the first half but could not maintain it in the second half. Even after they scored the first goal, they were very weak in front of the Argentine attackers.
And the Argentine players did not let go of that weakness, but instead, taking advantage of that weakness, the Argentine team made a remarkable comeback at the very last moment and immediately took the lead. And Argentina's performance basically proves that they are the most favorite team in this World Cup and have the highest chance of winning the World Cup trophy.

[ruykeri]

I'm totally disappointed with England, like they betrayed the trust I had in them, at first I was all happy that they scored the first goal and take the lead, but what was the reason why they all ran back to defend against a team like Argentina that has some amazing players as they had, that was the worst of mistake they had ever done since this year FIFA world cup started, all the same a big congrats to the Argentine team, no doubt Enzo Fernandez was on fire last night, and I was like if they keep giving this guy this striking opportunity he might convert one, and he did converted one, nice one to Leo Messi for that assist.

If Argentina gets space, they can score very easily. England started playing full defensive by scoring on counter attack in the beginning, which gave Argentina a lot of confidence. And Argentina's amazing comeback in the last matches gave them courage and confidence. And they were able to score goals because of Messi's amazing assists. England's players were always marking Messi a lot. Messi didn't get a chance to shoot the ball on goal. That's why he decided to assist and Argentina's amazing comeback led to a strong team like England losing badly. If the goalkeeper hadn't made two amazing saves, Argentina's goal difference could have increased even more. Congratulations to Argentina for getting a chance to play in the final.

[Swordsoffreedom]

Unfortunately, England were able to play a little bit in the first half but could not maintain it in the second half. Even after they scored the first goal, they were very weak in front of the Argentine attackers.
And the Argentine players did not let go of that weakness, but instead, taking advantage of that weakness, the Argentine team made a remarkable comeback at the very last moment and immediately took the lead. And Argentina's performance basically proves that they are the most favorite team in this World Cup and have the highest chance of winning the World Cup trophy.

England performed well at the beginning of the match. Their overall performance was also very organized. And they were able to create attacking opportunities. We have seen such gameplay of England in the past matches.

But after securing a 1-0 lead, Tuchel changed his strategy. Suddenly England started playing completely defensively. We have not seen such a strategy in any of England's matches in this World Cup. On the other hand, Scalono went completely attacking. As a result, the pressure on the England players increased. And in the end, England could not survive in the match.

Argentina equalized the match by scoring their first goal in the 85th minute, but even then we thought the match would end in 1-1 in the 90th minute. But the Argentine players did not think of anything other than victory. They secured a 2-1 victory in the 90th minute.

[m4r1o]

Kindly explain to me what script you're talking about because I'd sorely disappointed that you are amongst those who saw a trend and decided t jump on it without having proper idea.
Saying this football is a script will mean some players were handed their winning on a platter of gold without much work eh? Or is this as a result of the fact that Portugal got booted out cause they built their game around the flailing Ronaldo?

Every game is a scene that starts in the first minute and ends in the 90th minute, so what happens in that time on the pitch is unrepeatable.
Mistakes are paid for bitterly, especially in a competition like the World Cup, France got what they deserved for that match, the same for Portugal.
That's the beauty of it, you play it all in those 90 minutes, if you make a mistake you lose without remissions.
Commenting on mistakes they made without which they would have won seems superfluous to me.

[emrecemsan]

It looks like it's not coming home for England again...

Tuchel did something really wrong there! After getting 1-0 ahead they started to leave the ball to Argentina too much. If you play that defensive against Argentina then be ready to get punished for it. 

France were also expected to win by the majority of people I guess but they got a shocking loss. Now we have a Spain v Argentina final in hand. It's going to be fun to watch Yamal vs Messi. However Yamal has performed way below the expectations so far.

[Danica22]

Every game is a scene that starts in the first minute and ends in the 90th minute, so what happens in that time on the pitch is unrepeatable.
Mistakes are paid for bitterly, especially in a competition like the World Cup, France got what they deserved for that match, the same for Portugal.
That's the beauty of it, you play it all in those 90 minutes, if you make a mistake you lose without remissions.
Commenting on mistakes they made without which they would have won seems superfluous to me.

Spain won against Portugal and France. And my respect for manager Fuente has increased after seeing spain's performance in these two  matches. We have not seen spain perform very  strongly. Even then they won with  the help of their match strategy and stable  gameplay. Spain played against strong teams like France, belgium and portugal. If the match strategy was not good , Spain would not have been able to win against these three strong  teams. The final match  will also be fiercely contested. Fuente will have  to devise a strategy against scaloni's mastermind.

[bitLeap]

I wasn't surprised when Argentina turned the game around, because Tuchel always makes mistakes. Look at what he did by taking Declan Rice off too early and immediately bringing in three defenders. That shows Tuchel has a loser's mentality, wanting to end the game by defending for long periods. If England had continued their aggressive play until the end, the story wouldn't have ended like this. After taking a 1-0 lead, Tuchel felt he was in control, but the pressure turned against him, and he had to admit his reckless decision.

Tuchel hasn't learned from the past, when he coached Bayern Munich. Remember Bayern beating Real Madrid in the Champions League last season? Tuchel made the same mistake, and Madrid turned the game around.

If you know Tuchel playing strategy, no one would be surprised by today's result.

[Altryist]

I wasn't surprised when Argentina turned the game around, because Tuchel always makes mistakes. Look at what he did by taking Declan Rice off too early and immediately bringing in three defenders. That shows Tuchel has a loser's mentality, wanting to end the game by defending for long periods. If England had continued their aggressive play until the end, the story wouldn't have ended like this. After taking a 1-0 lead, Tuchel felt he was in control, but the pressure turned against him, and he had to admit his reckless decision.

Tuchel hasn't learned from the past, when he coached Bayern Munich. Remember Bayern beating Real Madrid in the Champions League last season? Tuchel made the same mistake, and Madrid turned the game around.

If you know Tuchel playing strategy, no one would be surprised by today's result.

I think Tuchel did make some mistakes by allowing Argentina to completely control the closing stages of the match. On the other hand, it was difficult to make tactical adjustments against such a strong team once they switched to total pressing. But the FA intends to extend Tuchel's contract until 2028 so that he remains head coach of the England national team for the next Euros.

[The Founding Titan]

This was a good performance from Argentina. In fact, I even had a feeling that England would take the lead in this match. And that would wake Argentina up, for some reason, they only start playing when they concede a goal. Not a very good tendency, but it gets Argentina going, and they're starting to play much better. I liked Argentina more in this matchm and I really didn't like how, after England opened the scoring, they switched completely to a defensive game. Maybe that could have workedm, but why test it when they could have played the way they did before and pushed Argentina away from their goal.

England belittle themselves by goin back to play a complete defensive game after they scored that goal. It was too early, they should have continue playing as they were playing before the goal came in. That gave Argentina the opportunity to bombard their defense with endless strikes from different angles. They couldn't withstand the pressure and get tired. Argentina got the chance to score two goals. All defensive effort wasted. I respect Argentina.

England played to lose and they lost so the win was fair to Argentina, the moment England scored their goal the decided to rest the better playsrs and fell back to defence, after scoring they should have kept pushing and maybe they would have been able to score more, Argentina did not want to lose so even after conceding one goal they kept playing to win and it worked out in their favour and they won and are in the finals to now play against Spain.

[Bluedrem]

England played to lose and they lost so the win was fair to Argentina, the moment England scored their goal the decided to rest the better playsrs and fell back to defence, after scoring they should have kept pushing and maybe they would have been able to score more, Argentina did not want to lose so even after conceding one goal they kept playing to win and it worked out in their favour and they won and are in the finals to now play against Spain.

In the past, I have seen any team go on the defensive after being ahead, and then lose. The Egypt-Argentina match can also be cited as an example.
On the contrary, if you look at the France-Spain match, you will see that Spain played aggressively even after being ahead in the match and kept every opponent's player busy.
However, this World Cup is very special for Argentina because they came back great at the end after being behind in several matches.
However, I think the last match will be a good competition with Spain.

[johnsaributua]

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Snip.

England played to lose and they lost so the win was fair to Argentina, the moment England scored their goal the decided to rest the better playsrs and fell back to defence, after scoring they should have kept pushing and maybe they would have been able to score more, Argentina did not want to lose so even after conceding one goal they kept playing to win and it worked out in their favour and they won and are in the finals to now play against Spain.

Their own mistakes were created, that's what we should say and I watched the match so for example they kept playing as if there hadn't been a goal I think they would be able to advance to the final round but what surprised all parties was the occurrence of a defensive scheme that made Argentina's players more free to control the course of the match especially after England's goal Argentina immediately moved quickly starting from more ball possession they dominated so that England only held back the onslaught made by Argentina's players so that in the match that had entered the 75th minute Messi gave an assist to Enzo so that Enzo's kick could not be saved by England's emergency goalkeeper.

[Catenaccio]

England played to lose and they lost so the win was fair to Argentina, the moment England scored their goal the decided to rest the better playsrs and fell back to defence, after scoring they should have kept pushing and maybe they would have been able to score more, Argentina did not want to lose so even after conceding one goal they kept playing to win and it worked out in their favour and they won and are in the finals to now play against Spain.

They did not have a final match in decades, did not win titles in decades since World Cup 1966 so when they were near to the final match or play in the final match, they had weak mentality and bad psychology so they were too much fearful while playing on the pitch. In World Cup 2018, they played similarly after leading Croatia 1 - 0, the same when they led Italy 1 - 0 in Wembley stadium, their home stadium in Euro 2020, and there were some similar matches. Head coaches can be different, from Southgate to Tuchel, but their players performed the same.

It's so shameful as before the goal of Gordon, England played almost equally with Argentina and if they only played a little bit worse than this, but aimed at control ball, do some attacks, counter attacks, they would not lose the semi final.

[bitLeap]

I think Tuchel did make some mistakes by allowing Argentina to completely control the closing stages of the match. On the other hand, it was difficult to make tactical adjustments against such a strong team once they switched to total pressing. But the FA intends to extend Tuchel's contract until 2028 so that he remains head coach of the England national team for the next Euros.

If so, England will only continue their downward trend of failing to win titles under Tuchel. Like it or not, Tuchel mistakes are numerous, and they've been repeated more than once. He benched Saka, didn't call up TAA to the national team, and the England national team isn't short of great players, it's just that England consistently chooses the wrong manager. Imagine a nation with the best league record in the world, yet when it comes to the World Cup, they haven't won it since 1966.

Don't you wonder?
There's no problem with the quality of the England squad, it's just that the coach hasn't been able to tap into the potential of the English players. That's a fact.

[kennycryptoitalia]

The outcome of the match between France and Spain yesterday have completely changed my mindset about today's game. I was thinking we are going to see the same finalists that we saw last world cup but seeing how Spain trashed France yesterday, I have the feeling that England will eliminate Argentina tonight. It is not going to be easy but it is possible especially when England try to hold Messi down, they would completely weaken the team that is built around him.

I also have the feeling that England could come out as favourites today, they will find a strong Argentina having already won a World Cup and with a lot of faith in their captain and in the qualities demonstrated in every department, but England also, strong from a series of exits from international cups, has something to prove, and for this reason i believe that tonight England will play the game.

[blue Snow]

Lionel Messi is a very genius player, he did both assists that made Lautaro Martínez scored both goals. I thought it might get to extra time but that is not going to happen. Argentina has won the match already is what has happened. Argentina and Spain will play the final.

I’d describe Messi as the saying goes: the older he gets, the better he gets. Time and again, Messi showed his magic in this match. With his two assists in this game, Messi set a record as the player with the most assists in World Cup history, 12 assists.

Congratulations to Argentina for reaching the final for the second consecutive time. I hope Argentina defeats Spain in the final so that Messi can cap off his career in the most perfect way possible, by winning two World Cup trophies in a row.

[dollyamo]

Congratulations to Argentina and Messi.

Spain vs Argentina, massive game. 

Messi winning the World Cup once Again.

they were just lucky that tuchel lined up the team in defense nothing more, it cannot be considered a victory given by the good football they played, if england had continued to play as messi and his teammates were doing they would never have won the match instead they lined up in defense and lost, congratulations to messi anyway.

[Solodoski]

I'm totally disappointed with England, like they betrayed the trust I had in them, at first I was all happy that they scored the first goal and take the lead, but what was the reason why they all ran back to defend against a team like Argentina that has some amazing players as they had, that was the worst of mistake they had ever done since this year FIFA world cup started, all the same a big congrats to the Argentine team, no doubt Enzo Fernandez was on fire last night, and I was like if they keep giving this guy this striking opportunity he might convert one, and he did converted one, nice one to Leo Messi for that assist.

If Argentina gets space, they can score very easily. England started playing full defensive by scoring on counter attack in the beginning, which gave Argentina a lot of confidence. And Argentina's amazing comeback in the last matches gave them courage and confidence. And they were able to score goals because of Messi's amazing assists. England's players were always marking Messi a lot. Messi didn't get a chance to shoot the ball on goal. That's why he decided to assist and Argentina's amazing comeback led to a strong team like England losing badly. If the goalkeeper hadn't made two amazing saves, Argentina's goal difference could have increased even more. Congratulations to Argentina for getting a chance to play in the final.

England switched from controlling the game to absorbing pressure from Argentina. This is the playing style we have all been criticizing Arsenal for all through last season. But Thomas Tuchel did not know which team was best to use this tactic for. Argentina is not the type of team you let pressure you. I saw the switch yesterday. Messi at the right wing instead of the center. He kept putting the ball in the 18-yard box back to back, looking for that one moment. England kept sitting deep, absorbing all the pressure that led to the winning goal.

[fuguebtc]

Tuchel hasn't learned from the past, when he coached Bayern Munich. Remember Bayern beating Real Madrid in the Champions League last season? Tuchel made the same mistake, and Madrid turned the game around.

If you know Tuchel playing strategy, no one would be surprised by today's result.

Tuchel thought he could defeat Argentina by playing defensively. I also agree with you that Tuchel has not learned from his mistakes  in previous matches. Tuchel has proven this again.

We saw in the match against Egypt that Argentina scored 3  goals in the last 15  minutes to secure a 3-2 victory. We  have never seen any other team make such a comeback even after being behind by  2 goals. We also saw in the match against Switzerland that Argentina became terrible in the  last minute. Tuchel created a  completely defensive strategy to counter Argentina's attacks. And it did not work.

If the England team had counter-attacked, then naturally the argentine players would have been under pressure and their attack speed would have decreased. But England only played  defensively. As a result, the argentine players were able to create many opportunities to attack.

[Yorubek]

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Snip.

England played to lose and they lost so the win was fair to Argentina, the moment England scored their goal the decided to rest the better playsrs and fell back to defence, after scoring they should have kept pushing and maybe they would have been able to score more, Argentina did not want to lose so even after conceding one goal they kept playing to win and it worked out in their favour and they won and are in the finals to now play against Spain.

Their own mistakes were created, that's what we should say and I watched the match so for example they kept playing as if there hadn't been a goal I think they would be able to advance to the final round but what surprised all parties was the occurrence of a defensive scheme that made Argentina's players more free to control the course of the match especially after England's goal Argentina immediately moved quickly starting from more ball possession they dominated so that England only held back the onslaught made by Argentina's players so that in the match that had entered the 75th minute Messi gave an assist to Enzo so that Enzo's kick could not be saved by England's emergency goalkeeper.

It is true that if England had been able to continue playing the same way they started from the beginning and finish the game, then the result could have been different, but as time passed, their game started to deteriorate and Argentina took advantage of this opportunity. I have seen most of Argentina's games where they performed inconsistently at the beginning of the game, but towards the end of the game, their game changed a lot and the opposing team's game started to deteriorate. As a result, the Argentine players were able to make good use of this opportunity, which is why they have survived so far.

[Razmirraz]

I don't see how Argentina is the favorite from what I watched in the first half. England got a shot on target and Argentina didn't. Secondly, Argentina played roughly in the first half because they're not able to tactically get the ball from England players.

The second half will produce at least one goal and I expect to see a higher game tempo from England when Saka and Rashford steps into the field. It's still 50/50 for both teams to advance to the finals.

Unfortunately, England were able to play a little bit in the first half but could not maintain it in the second half. Even after they scored the first goal, they were very weak in front of the Argentine attackers.
And the Argentine players did not let go of that weakness, but instead, taking advantage of that weakness, the Argentine team made a remarkable comeback at the very last moment and immediately took the lead. And Argentina's performance basically proves that they are the most favorite team in this World Cup and have the highest chance of winning the World Cup trophy.

It must be admitted, England played very well in the first half, they also managed to create several chances and the peak was when entering the second half, precisely in the 55th minute they took a 1-0 lead after Anthony Gordon managed to capitalize on Morgan Rogers crossing. Following this, Tuchel made a blunder when replacing a forward with a defender, which significantly impacted their attacking creativity. Argentina managed to exploit the gaps in England's defense so that they managed to make a 2-1 comeback which prevented England from advancing to the final.
Previously, Tuchel decision to call up Jordan Henderson, Dan Burns, and Noni Madueke was also considered controversial, while experienced players such as Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Morgan Gibbs-White, Luke Shaw, TAA, and Maguire were not included in the squad. Tuchel decision to play defensively and field players with minimal experience came at a high price.