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

[Leviathan.007]

I'm not saying Asian teams are better, but still, we know Morocco having a good performance in the last World Cup was a miracle and even the coaches and players in Morocco were not expecting to see their team in the semi-final match. The African teams are most don't have a good financial situation and they can't improve enough, also they have poor management systems,
I think expect to see another miracle from African teams in the 2026 World Cup.

Comparison with Asian, African national teams have quit well and better performance during last several FIFA World Cup edition always have an African national teams success qualifying from quarter final until semifinal stage. Last FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar have Morocco success managed well until semifinal stage and best achievement from Asian national teams is 16th round only. In financial side, Asian have better than African but players composition are balance who play with Europe teams between Asian and African national teams. I think its time for Asian and African national teams dominance in FIFA World Cup exactly on next edition without loss compete from European or South American national teams always success lead until final stage and become the winner.

I didn't think if it was right to compare these two, because Asia has a different situation from Africa and Europe is not the same as these two.
We know African countries usually don't have a good amount of investment in their teams and they usually don't get good results because of that, also there you can't find good sport facilities in most of the countries. While there is a better situation in Asian countries.

[Jody.Drummer]

Yes, that's how it is, very different. I will give an example to Maradona, for example. Who doesn't remember when his "hand of God" goal was at that time? I think if everyone experiences it, they will remember that incident. And if that happened in the current era then the goal wouldn't have happened, I mean when the game system becomes more advanced they will annul the goal with the help of VAR. Low of The Game, also different from now, right?
A player has his era based on his era at that time, and maybe in the future there will be a great new player emerging and being considered the best player of all time, even though he is in a different era.

Yes but technology will mostly assist with accuracy and fairness. Now that we have made this much progress from the least accuracy and fairness to very high accuracy and fairness, I don't expect much to change on that front. It could be improved by the millimeter for example, when the question arises whether the ball crossed the goal line or whether it should be a corner or throw in (I guess those will also be included in the future). Any improvements there would only have minor impact on future outcomes of the game. The hand of god would of course never have counted and it shouldn't because it is ridiculous. We want players to play at their maximum and that is why we need technological assistance to reduce human error.

I think more will happen with the players themselves. Longevity, physical advancement, both of which can lead to longer careers and hence to maybe new records as they have more games to play and can score more goals. I think it will be more changes on that end.

True, technology really helps the referee to decide things more precisely, so it will reduce the controversy when the referee decides, because it is helped by the technology used. I'm very confident that it will progress further in the future. But on the other hand, for me it's a bit of a distraction from the usual tension in football. I mean when it comes to goal celebrations for example, before when the referee decided it was a goal it would be celebrated immediately, even though there were controversies in it. Now you have to wait for the referee to check the VAR and for me that's a bit of a distraction, although I don't deny it's a good thing.

[wiss19]

There is really no argument on "no finances" type of stuff, Argentina is one of the poorest nations in the entire world and they just won the world cup, so that means money isn't everything. It's all about raising talents, all those Argentina stars ended up growing back in Argentina, but they all went to Europe because they have better facilities to make them better. That's what Africans need, networking. If they can get good scouting, and then networking, they could find talented young kids, and then send them to Europe to get better.

Do you really think that a kid that grows up to be 30 years old and play all his life in Ghana or Nigeria or anywhere like that would be a superstar? You raise them at max until 17 there then send them to Europe.

[shogun47]

There is really no argument on "no finances" type of stuff, Argentina is one of the poorest nations in the entire world and they just won the world cup, so that means money isn't everything. It's all about raising talents, all those Argentina stars ended up growing back in Argentina, but they all went to Europe because they have better facilities to make them better. That's what Africans need, networking. If they can get good scouting, and then networking, they could find talented young kids, and then send them to Europe to get better.

Do you really think that a kid that grows up to be 30 years old and play all his life in Ghana or Nigeria or anywhere like that would be a superstar? You raise them at max until 17 there then send them to Europe.

I haven't looked into any statistics, but I would assume that the number of successful African players in Europe is much higher these days than they around the year 2000. The scouting has developed a lot and there were also some limitations in the past that only so many players from outside of a country or Europe could play in a team I think. All these things aren't in place anymore and European clubs have long understood that scouting African players early pays off very well. But it could be even more as everybody knows that they have amazing talent available that needs the right promotion.

[LUCKMCFLY]

African countries are very weak economically and very little money is spent on football in African countries. As African countries, several teams including Senegal, Morocco and Nigeria qualified for the World Cup and they performed fairly well in the World Cup tournament, but the 2022 World Cup has been different. Apart from Brazil, Argentina, France, Germany, Spain, Croatia, we never imagined that Morocco could play in the semi-finals. Morocco had prepared well ahead of the World Cup so they expected good things but it was probably beyond the expectations of the players that they would do so well. Morocco, who qualified in the semi-finals of the last World Cup, is now quite strong in football. Morocco will perform well again in the upcoming World Cup if they qualify for the World Cup.

At almost any competition, someone from the crowd of outsiders achieves success, simply due to the mass participation. Taking into account the fact that there will be even more outsiders at the 2026 World Cup, I am sure that again some team that was assessed as weak will go quite far. But it’s far from a fact that it will be Morocco. By the way, first they need to qualify, despite the fact that Africa has increased the number of its representatives, this can be a problem.

Well, of all those that are most evident to me, the strongest so far is Morocco, it is a team that can make a difference and not go unnoticed by many, on a personal level, I want to see Nigeria with that strength that they have always had I haven't seen Nigeria stand out for a long time, for me Cameroon is quite strong in terms of its players, they always do a good job, the style of play of these teams for me is very good, it is a happy football, it is a pleasure to see the African football, in addition to having some stars that are currently well recognized. The World Cup coming up in 2026 looks very promising, I think more teams can enter, this time I want to see African teams that make the difference even more, basically the level of the African teams is rising, what happens is that at the level World Cup, European and South American football are the ones that mostly set the tone, we have an Argentina that has a very good local football, a Brazil that has so many talented players that sometimes the very direct coach does not know who to count on, they have a lot of football To demonstrate, this change in level means that the African teams have also raised their level, all of this is good considering that there are going to be more teams for this World Cup, which I find exciting.

So in this order of ideas, it could be said that it will be the first World Cup with more teams, that have more opportunity for us to see more football, for longer and the spectacle will expand, I would like to see combinations of soccer groups where in each group this a team from each continent, this way you can see how much they have grown, this is just what I like, in addition to everything I would also like to see Italian football, which is one of the most beautiful footballs, with its style and good defense, that is why now teams from all continents have to be growing rapidly.

[Strongkored]

I haven't looked into any statistics, but I would assume that the number of successful African players in Europe is much higher these days than they around the year 2000. The scouting has developed a lot and there were also some limitations in the past that only so many players from outside of a country or Europe could play in a team I think. All these things aren't in place anymore and European clubs have long understood that scouting African players early pays off very well. But it could be even more as everybody knows that they have amazing talent available that needs the right promotion.

Seeing how football from African countries performed in the World Cup, it seems to be true because the more their players play in Europe which has leagues with better competition, the more their performance skills will improve.
And now quite a lot of African players have become core players in big European clubs, maybe they are not as famous as other players but their skills are at the same level. There are also Asian players who are key players at quite big clubs such as Takumi Minamino at Monaco and Son Heung-min at Tottenham Hotspur and many more at other clubs.
However, sometimes African players seem to have better skills than Asian players or maybe because their typical game is more interesting so they are preferred by clubs in Europe.

[nullama]

~snip~
I didn't think if it was right to compare these two, because Asia has a different situation from Africa and Europe is not the same as these two.
We know African countries usually don't have a good amount of investment in their teams and they usually don't get good results because of that, also there you can't find good sport facilities in most of the countries. While there is a better situation in Asian countries.

Brazil is one of the best, if not the best, team in the world, and many of their players grew up in poverty. No shoes, no food, etc.

On the other hand, countries like Luxembourg are one of the richest in the world but they simply don't exist in football.

So, I don't think there is a correlation between money and quality

[shogun47]

I haven't looked into any statistics, but I would assume that the number of successful African players in Europe is much higher these days than they around the year 2000. The scouting has developed a lot and there were also some limitations in the past that only so many players from outside of a country or Europe could play in a team I think. All these things aren't in place anymore and European clubs have long understood that scouting African players early pays off very well. But it could be even more as everybody knows that they have amazing talent available that needs the right promotion.

Seeing how football from African countries performed in the World Cup, it seems to be true because the more their players play in Europe which has leagues with better competition, the more their performance skills will improve.
And now quite a lot of African players have become core players in big European clubs, maybe they are not as famous as other players but their skills are at the same level. There are also Asian players who are key players at quite big clubs such as Takumi Minamino at Monaco and Son Heung-min at Tottenham Hotspur and many more at other clubs.
However, sometimes African players seem to have better skills than Asian players or maybe because their typical game is more interesting so they are preferred by clubs in Europe.

Yes correct, this is what I mean and it is a good development in my opinion. The Africans were a bit neglected because the scouting wasn't as pervasive and mobility wasn't as high 30 years ago. It gradually increased over the last three decades I think and these days everyone is fully aware that Africans can be outstanding players. They have enough examples, just take Liverpool when Mané and Salah formed a team during their peak time. That was amazing. Ivory Coast has a couple of times played very well at big tournaments and Ghana as well. It is good to see that it becomes more and more international and citizens of almost any country have a fair chance to make their way into professional soccer and be seen on big stages.

[marcous]

Brazil is one of the best, if not the best, team in the world, and many of their players grew up in poverty. No shoes, no food, etc.

On the other hand, countries like Luxembourg are one of the richest in the world but they simply don't exist in football.

So, I don't think there is a correlation between money and quality

I think the correlation is in using money to buy quality players.

Many football players from Brazil come from underprivileged or poor families, so honing their talents and seeking their fortune in football is one way to eradicate this poverty. A motivation that is directly related to daily needs is earning money, something that Luxembourg citizens have never experienced. So I think it is natural that Brazil has a lot of talent in football, a fact that we have all seen for a long time.

[Weawant]

I don't know who ever came up with this idea that FIFA should host the world cup in three countries, I mean this is really crazy as it has so many demerits than merits, this is a personal opinion tho, because it's really going to cause really much expenses both on the fans and the various teams who will be participating in the world cup, it will be aswell hectic.

Traveling from the united states to Canada is about 3hrs or more on flight, this could possibly put player at risk of fatigue especially if they will have to travel two countries in a week due to fixtures, except the may have good adjustments in their fixtures to reduce too much of travel, although it's obvious most of the games will be in the states but then other games which will require them travel is my concern.

The fans on the other hand may not aswell find it easy as they will be challenged especially with countries that have travel restrictions as can be seen with some African countries and the states, but then let's hope FIFA would put measures in place to curb all this bottlenecks before, during and after the world cup. But the I see an exciting world cup as it's a first time they will be trying out so many new stuffs.

[Sithara007]

I think the correlation is in using money to buy quality players.

Many football players from Brazil come from underprivileged or poor families, so honing their talents and seeking their fortune in football is one way to eradicate this poverty. A motivation that is directly related to daily needs is earning money, something that Luxembourg citizens have never experienced. So I think it is natural that Brazil has a lot of talent in football, a fact that we have all seen for a long time.

I am not sure whether Brazilians see football mainly as a career option. A few hundred (or at the most a few thousand) Brazilians play in different leagues around the world. That represents only a minuscule portion of the Brazilian population (which is around 200 million). Compared to this number, even more people maybe employed in any of the large agrobusiness or mining facilities. Brazilians are crazy about football, because it is their passion. I am not sure whether too many people think about the money aspect before playing football.

[Docnaster]

I haven't looked into any statistics, but I would assume that the number of successful African players in Europe is much higher these days than they around the year 2000. The scouting has developed a lot and there were also some limitations in the past that only so many players from outside of a country or Europe could play in a team I think. All these things aren't in place anymore and European clubs have long understood that scouting African players early pays off very well. But it could be even more as everybody knows that they have amazing talent available that needs the right promotion.

Seeing how football from African countries performed in the World Cup, it seems to be true because the more their players play in Europe which has leagues with better competition, the more their performance skills will improve.
And now quite a lot of African players have become core players in big European clubs, maybe they are not as famous as other players but their skills are at the same level. There are also Asian players who are key players at quite big clubs such as Takumi Minamino at Monaco and Son Heung-min at Tottenham Hotspur and many more at other clubs.
However, sometimes African players seem to have better skills than Asian players or maybe because their typical game is more interesting so they are preferred by clubs in Europe.

When it comes to football, I think Africa is one of the most talented football personnels just that most of them ends up playing for European countries because they feel they'll be more valued in the western countries than when they play for their indigenous country.
Asia on their own also has world class players who ply their trade in big European clubs but when it comes to comparison, Africa is way too better than Asia. African football main issue is poor management from the football federation of African countries.

[FanEagle]

Comparison with Asian, African national teams have quit well and better performance during last several FIFA World Cup edition always have an African national teams success qualifying from quarter final until semifinal stage. Last FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar have Morocco success managed well until semifinal stage and best achievement from Asian national teams is 16th round only. In financial side, Asian have better than African but players composition are balance who play with Europe teams between Asian and African national teams. I think its time for Asian and African national teams dominance in FIFA World Cup exactly on next edition without loss compete from European or South American national teams always success lead until final stage and become the winner.

South Korea made it to the semifinals during the world cup they hosted, so when it comes to the best results African teams and Asians teams have gotten they are even, however those results were the exception and not the rule, the reason European teams and South American teams dominate the world cup is that not only their infrastructure is better, soccer is by far the most popular sport there and in some countries it reaches the fervor that only a religion could generate.

That was a bit controversial for a long time, between lucky draws to some very bad ref calls, it was always a bit questionable how they got there, but they did and that is sort of point of how hosts are doing better usually, of course if they are a good team. Not like we should have expected Qatar to be any different, they do not have any decent players, not even a single one, which means that we are going to end up with something that would be a lot more riskier.

I hope that we could end up with a situation that would be a little bit of different, and that could be considered a lot of trouble for a long time. I believe that we are going to end up with something that would make sense one way or another for all three to do well.

[Patrol69]

I think the correlation is in using money to buy quality players.

Many football players from Brazil come from underprivileged or poor families, so honing their talents and seeking their fortune in football is one way to eradicate this poverty. A motivation that is directly related to daily needs is earning money, something that Luxembourg citizens have never experienced. So I think it is natural that Brazil has a lot of talent in football, a fact that we have all seen for a long time.

I am not sure whether Brazilians see football mainly as a career option. A few hundred (or at the most a few thousand) Brazilians play in different leagues around the world. That represents only a minuscule portion of the Brazilian population (which is around 200 million). Compared to this number, even more people maybe employed in any of the large agrobusiness or mining facilities. Brazilians are crazy about football, because it is their passion. I am not sure whether too many people think about the money aspect before playing football.

From childhood, Brazilians grow up dreaming that they will one day be a big footballer, they grow up dreaming of becoming a big footballer, so everyone says that they become professional footballers, but that's not the case. Everyone dreams of becoming a footballer but only those who have great football skills and who consider football to be an art and play great football can attract European club country. Those from Brazil who perform very well and have enough talent are placed in Europe and those who perform less compared to them are placed in various domestic leagues in Brazil.

All the footballers who have come to Brazil so far have come from very poor families and have shared their stories after becoming successful. Our parents dream of us studying and finding a good job, and the Brazilian Guardians dream of their son becoming a footballer.

[rdluffy]

I haven't seen anyone posting about it yet

FIFA members began their visits to inspect the cities and stadiums for the 2026 World Cup on September 20
After these visits, the city and stadium that will host the grand final will be chosen.
It seems that the decision is between the following cities: Dallas, New Jersey and Los Angeles and some sources say that Dallas (AT&T Stadium) is the favorite at the moment and should probably be chosen

Source

What do you think?

[Hirose UK]

I think the correlation is in using money to buy quality players.

Many football players from Brazil come from underprivileged or poor families, so honing their talents and seeking their fortune in football is one way to eradicate this poverty. A motivation that is directly related to daily needs is earning money, something that Luxembourg citizens have never experienced. So I think it is natural that Brazil has a lot of talent in football, a fact that we have all seen for a long time.

I am not sure whether Brazilians see football mainly as a career option. A few hundred (or at the most a few thousand) Brazilians play in different leagues around the world. That represents only a minuscule portion of the Brazilian population (which is around 200 million). Compared to this number, even more people maybe employed in any of the large agrobusiness or mining facilities. Brazilians are crazy about football, because it is their passion. I am not sure whether too many people think about the money aspect before playing football.

Not all of them because there are only a few football players from Brazil who are able to develop and become top players and most of the others may only play for local teams in the Brazilian League and having the view of making football a career choice is the desire of many people but again there are only a few who can make it happen.

Some people want to make football a career choice because they have seen how great or rich the top players are and that is why more and more young people want to become football players.

But so far there are several names of young Brazilian players who have emerged and are starting to be looked at by big European teams so it can be confirmed that the Brazilian national team might have players who can still be said to be quite great may.

[armanda90]

From childhood, Brazilians grow up dreaming that they will one day be a big footballer, they grow up dreaming of becoming a big footballer, so everyone says that they become professional footballers, but that's not the case. Everyone dreams of becoming a footballer but only those who have great football skills and who consider football to be an art and play great football can attract European club country. Those from Brazil who perform very well and have enough talent are placed in Europe and those who perform less compared to them are placed in various domestic leagues in Brazil.

All the footballers who have come to Brazil so far have come from very poor families and have shared their stories after becoming successful. Our parents dream of us studying and finding a good job, and the Brazilian Guardians dream of their son becoming a footballer.

Based on several article I read, more competitive with Brazilian player become professional football and huge pressure for them under 18 years old have braveness leaving their home and get challenge to Europe until Asian continent to be professional football and get their first club contract. I like with Brazilian motivation to be professional football and brave leaving their family, friend and their lovely environment to get their goals becoming first professional contract with top European teams. Some of them if failed above 18 years old make them have to leave football and working in their real life.

We can see with every years, Brazil have thousand football professional players active around the world and they don't afraid have to leave their live when still on the young age.

[Rockstarguy]

Brazil is one of the best, if not the best, team in the world, and many of their players grew up in poverty. No shoes, no food, etc.

On the other hand, countries like Luxembourg are one of the richest in the world but they simply don't exist in football.

So, I don't think there is a correlation between money and quality

I think football is more than a sport for the people of Brazil,  they value football so much. Every Brazilian sees football to be as a culture for them, they do not play football for the purpose of joining a big team to make money from it but they take football as a culture,  something they can do to entertain people for free. The way Brazilians take football that is why their pattern of football is quite different from other nations. I can the Brazilian people the owner of football.

[Leviathan.007]

Brazil is one of the best, if not the best, team in the world, and many of their players grew up in poverty. No shoes, no food, etc.

On the other hand, countries like Luxembourg are one of the richest in the world but they simply don't exist in football.

So, I don't think there is a correlation between money and quality

I think football is more than a sport for the people of Brazil,  they value football so much. Every Brazilian sees football to be as a culture for them, they do not play football for the purpose of joining a big team to make money from it but they take football as a culture,  something they can do to entertain people for free. The way Brazilians take football that is why their pattern of football is quite different from other nations. I can the Brazilian people the owner of football.

Any Brazilian person thinks they are still ranked one in the world and many people there play football in the street with any object they find even if they don't have enough money to buy sports facilities but sill they need to have better management and better coaches other wise the Brazilian football is dying because the football we see in the world is developing every day and if Brazil don't develop itself they will lose everything.

[Sithara007]

There is even more drama surrounding the SoFi Stadium as one of the venues for 2026 World Cup. This particular stadium in Los Angeles is considered as the most expensive sports facility in the world, and it cost some $5.5 billion for constructing it. SoFi stadium was opened for the first time back in September 2020. However news reports indicate that the owners (Kroenke Sports and Entertainment) and not happy with their revenue-sharing agreement with FIFA and are now threatening to pull out of the tournament. More details can be found here:

https://www.marca.com/en/football/2023/09/22/650d00f3ca4741d6578b4597.html