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

[Godday]

To me it would seem a bit silly for Messi to play in the next world cup, he has the chance to retire after he won the world cup, and now he can play a bit more to make some extra cash, plus then he will be able to continue making money by doing ads and things like that.

Playing the next world cup would not bring anything else to him, even if he wins it

Maybe Messi won't get anything in the next World Cup, but what some users here have mentioned is that Messi is still Messi, a football superstar who has become the idol of footballers all over the world and that also includes Argentinian footballers. Messi won't get anything, but young Argentine national team players will get something very valuable in their lives, namely playing football with Lionel Messi. It is possible that in the 2026 World Cup there will be several new faces in the Argentina national team and we can confirm that their average age is 20-29 years which means they are football players born in 1997-2006 and it is certain that they will be very motivated for every match.

[1715647464]

1715647464

[Weawant]

To me it would seem a bit silly for Messi to play in the next world cup, he has the chance to retire after he won the world cup, and now he can play a bit more to make some extra cash, plus then he will be able to continue making money by doing ads and things like that.

Playing the next world cup would not bring anything else to him, even if he wins it

Maybe Messi won't get anything in the next World Cup, but what some users here have mentioned is that Messi is still Messi, a football superstar who has become the idol of footballers all over the world and that also includes Argentinian footballers. Messi won't get anything, but young Argentine national team players will get something very valuable in their lives, namely playing football with Lionel Messi. It is possible that in the 2026 World Cup there will be several new faces in the Argentina national team and we can confirm that their average age is 20-29 years which means they are football players born in 1997-2006 and it is certain that they will be very motivated for every match.

Definitely if Messi happens to participate in the fort coming world cup, he may not be aiming to get anything really big but then his presence in the tournament alone will really mean a lot to his country and the entire tournament as a whole as it will cause some side attractions, for a football idol participating for the last time in the tournament.

Most of the young Argentina players would be delighted to have ever played with such a big star at the same time in a tournament. His contribution to the team as an experienced world cup player will as well be off great benefit and importance to the team, and I'm very sure the fan base for his country will be bigger than usual as many more people would want to witness him play.

It going to be more beneficial to the tournament, his team and his country at large than it will be to him, but then on the long run it will be narrowed down to him as an achievement in his football career, he will be forever regarded as an idol in football both nationally and globally. So I don't think there's anything silly about him participating in the next world cup even if the achievement wouldn't be for him but for national interest I think it's worth it.

[FanEagle]

Messi will definitely play, he is not going to be all that old when he plays on the WC, the only one I wonder would be Ronaldo, I am sure that he will want to play and that looks like a possibility as well, he gained some more shape at Saudi league because he is constantly playing and training, not like when he was at United on his last season, for a summer he did nothing and then when he came back he didn't get proper minutes neither.

However, he will be around 40 years old if I am not mistaken and not like Portugal lacks any players, they could easily replace a 40 year old Ronaldo, don't get me wrong he was their best player ever in their entire history, but that doesn't mean that you are not going to get Ronaldo dropping with age, so maybe he may miss it.

[shogun47]

Messi will definitely play, he is not going to be all that old when he plays on the WC, the only one I wonder would be Ronaldo, I am sure that he will want to play and that looks like a possibility as well, he gained some more shape at Saudi league because he is constantly playing and training, not like when he was at United on his last season, for a summer he did nothing and then when he came back he didn't get proper minutes neither.

However, he will be around 40 years old if I am not mistaken and not like Portugal lacks any players, they could easily replace a 40 year old Ronaldo, don't get me wrong he was their best player ever in their entire history, but that doesn't mean that you are not going to get Ronaldo dropping with age, so maybe he may miss it.

But what differentiates them is that Messi is getting along great with his teammates and they would want him to be on board for the World Cup. The team and the fans would want it even if he gets a little worse than he currently still is. Ronaldo isn't all that popular within the team, but they can't argue against him because he is still scoring most of the time. I think that Ronaldo's nomination will depend on whether or not he can maintain a high level of scorer points whereas Messi will be nominated no matter what unless he himself decides to retreat from the Argentinian national team. Not sure if you guys agree but you get my point I hope.

[Leviathan.007]

Messi will definitely play, he is not going to be all that old when he plays on the WC, the only one I wonder would be Ronaldo, I am sure that he will want to play and that looks like a possibility as well, he gained some more shape at Saudi league because he is constantly playing and training, not like when he was at United on his last season, for a summer he did nothing and then when he came back he didn't get proper minutes neither.

However, he will be around 40 years old if I am not mistaken and not like Portugal lacks any players, they could easily replace a 40 year old Ronaldo, don't get me wrong he was their best player ever in their entire history, but that doesn't mean that you are not going to get Ronaldo dropping with age, so maybe he may miss it.

I don't think if they let him play and I think Messi himself will get retired from the national games before the World Cup because any team including Argentina needs players to be in the best form while Messi even right now is not in good to have a good performance as he had years ago in Barcelona and surely after years when he gets older this player won't be helpful for Argentina like he is right now, That's why I think that's a better idea for them to get more opportunities to younger players.

[nullama]

~snip~
Maybe Messi won't get anything in the next World Cup, but what some users here have mentioned is that Messi is still Messi, a football superstar who has become the idol of footballers all over the world and that also includes Argentinian footballers. Messi won't get anything, but young Argentine national team players will get something very valuable in their lives, namely playing football with Lionel Messi. It is possible that in the 2026 World Cup there will be several new faces in the Argentina national team and we can confirm that their average age is 20-29 years which means they are football players born in 1997-2006 and it is certain that they will be very motivated for every match.

Yes, but I think it is time to leave the space so that other promising younger player get the chance to play.

If Messi goes to the world cup, then they will definitely put him on the team, leaving the younger players with less experience.

I think it's his time to retire at the peak.

[Sithara007]

Yes, but I think it is time to leave the space so that other promising younger player get the chance to play.

If Messi goes to the world cup, then they will definitely put him on the team, leaving the younger players with less experience.

I think it's his time to retire at the peak.

The only thing that I would say at this point is that Lionel Messi should take the decision without much delay. If he doesn't want to participate in North America 2026 (as a player), then he should inform this to the Argentine management at least by 2024, so that they have time to prepare. The coach (Lionel Scaloni) can try out a few combinations during the ongoing CONMEBOL qualifiers and that will give these younger players some real match experience rather than directly putting them to the line of fire during the 2026 tournament.

[alegotardo]

Are you following the qualifiers?

I ask you because after a month apart, the most exciting and difficult qualifiers in the world will return this week. There are ten South American teams that will face each other again with the aim of reaching one of the much-desired places for the World Cup.
So far... Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay and Venezuela have scored three points in at least one match and will try to continue at this pace. On the other side.... Paraguay, Peru, Chile and Bolivia need to start winning if they want to qualify too.

The next games are:

• Colombia x Uruguay
• Bolivia x Ecuador
• Argentina x Paraguay
• Brazil x Venezuela
• Chile x Peru

Are you betting on this???

[Vaskiy]

Yes, but I think it is time to leave the space so that other promising younger player get the chance to play.

If Messi goes to the world cup, then they will definitely put him on the team, leaving the younger players with less experience.

I think it's his time to retire at the peak.

The only thing that I would say at this point is that Lionel Messi should take the decision without much delay. If he doesn't want to participate in North America 2026 (as a player), then he should inform this to the Argentine management at least by 2024, so that they have time to prepare. The coach (Lionel Scaloni) can try out a few combinations during the ongoing CONMEBOL qualifiers and that will give these younger players some real match experience rather than directly putting them to the line of fire during the 2026 tournament.

Early announcement will give the chance to try few combinations and keep the best for the World Cup. Popular players prefer to play until they're fit enough. For now he's good with his fitness, so they don't make announcement on taking rest without playing. The Qualifiers matches seems to be the right choice to understand teams, so that new combinations will easily get connected. Recently Ronaldo also made a twist on a question. Will you be seen in 2026 World Cup, he had said I can't project myself that far. Further added anything can happen, and now the focus is on Euro and later we'll see what happens.

[armanda90]

Are you following the qualifiers?

I ask you because after a month apart, the most exciting and difficult qualifiers in the world will return this week. There are ten South American teams that will face each other again with the aim of reaching one of the much-desired places for the World Cup.
So far... Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay and Venezuela have scored three points in at least one match and will try to continue at this pace. On the other side.... Paraguay, Peru, Chile and Bolivia need to start winning if they want to qualify too.

The next games are:

• Colombia x Uruguay
• Bolivia x Ecuador
• Argentina x Paraguay
• Brazil x Venezuela
• Chile x Peru

Are you betting on this???

Brazil managed top standings awhile FIFA World Cup Qualifier - CONMEBOL Zone after winning two matches in a row from Bolivia and Peru, Brazil lead top position remaining productivities goals than Argentina with the same points but difference goals only. Still early with FIFA World Cup qualifier because CONMEBOL zone have 18 matches to know which one national teams have chance for playing in FIFA World Cup 2026 such as Brazil and Argentina are favorable team automatically will qualify.

Next match Brazil vs Venezuele, current performance opponent teams not really bad performance have won one match and got one loss has opportunity take points from Brazil, but Brazil on the top performance and seems all their players not faced injury make easily for next three points.

[Sithara007]

Early announcement will give the chance to try few combinations and keep the best for the World Cup. Popular players prefer to play until they're fit enough. For now he's good with his fitness, so they don't make announcement on taking rest without playing. The Qualifiers matches seems to be the right choice to understand teams, so that new combinations will easily get connected. Recently Ronaldo also made a twist on a question. Will you be seen in 2026 World Cup, he had said I can't project myself that far. Further added anything can happen, and now the focus is on Euro and later we'll see what happens.

Ronaldo is being too extreme. He is close to 39 and even now he want to represent Portugal in 2024 Euro Cup, and most possibly in 2026 FIFA world cup. One of the reasons maybe that he wants to play with his son in the national team. Cristiano Ronaldo Jr is making a lot of waves in age-level football, but to expect him (at this point aged 13) to play in FIFA World Cup of 2026 will be pushing a bit too far. Currently he is training at the Mahd Academy in Saudi Arabia, and may not actively play for Portugal age group teams anymore.

[Jody.Drummer]

Talking about this, I remembered the previous year before the Qatar World Cup. Yes many of us speculated that the possibility of the Qatar World Cup would be the last World Cup for Messi and not just Messi but other players as well, like Ronaldo for example. But now we are starting to speculate about the possibility of Messi plying in the World Cup or not. Yes it is interesting considering his age, but indeed his influence on his country is huge. Even though he is only in the lineup and not the main player, he can give his experience to other players and also provide motivation. I also haven't heard any rumors of him retiring anytime soon.

He has seen what happened to Ronaldo during Qatar 2022. It doesn't matter whether you are a legend. When you get old, then you are out of favor with the coach. Messi will be 39 years old by the time of North America 2026 and there is a good chance that he will retire from active football before that. He has achieved whatever he wanted to achieve in international and club football. So rather than risking his reputation by playing in 2026, he may just stay out of that tournament. At the most, he may enroll for some sort of coaching responsibility for the national team.

Yes, it could very well happen when we see his name on the coaching staff list for his country. Age does not lie, even though he is still able to play, his contrbution to the game will not be the same as when he was younger and that cannot be denied. And even at his age, it's amazing that he can still contribute to the club he's playing for.
The next World Cup is the stage for the young players of today, and I'm sure there will be many new players who will get a lot of attention and then become a target for the big clubs.

[sana54210]

To me it would seem a bit silly for Messi to play in the next world cup, he has the chance to retire after he won the world cup, and now he can play a bit more to make some extra cash, plus then he will be able to continue making money by doing ads and things like that.

Playing the next world cup would not bring anything else to him, even if he wins it

Maybe Messi won't get anything in the next World Cup, but what some users here have mentioned is that Messi is still Messi, a football superstar who has become the idol of footballers all over the world and that also includes Argentinian footballers. Messi won't get anything, but young Argentine national team players will get something very valuable in their lives, namely playing football with Lionel Messi. It is possible that in the 2026 World Cup there will be several new faces in the Argentina national team and we can confirm that their average age is 20-29 years which means they are football players born in 1997-2006 and it is certain that they will be very motivated for every match.

I do believe that is going to be the case, Messi did all that he needs to do for his nation, for his clubs, and for himself as well. He is just doing something amazing and could not be considered doing anything short of greatest of all time to me. Most people may have some other thoughts and I understand that and I do not mind, you may think Ronaldo was the best and I understand that, but even on that case people should put Messi at the second place, that is how good these two were when they played.

I hope that it gets to a point where we could see them play one more time against each other, this world cup was the one I wanted so much. I knew that it was nearly impossible, but a world cup finals, where Argentina and Portugal faces each other would have been amazing, based on the brackets if they both went to finals, they could have, because they were on the opposite sides. It would have made it the most watched world cup finals that ever happened.

[Juggy777]

To me it would seem a bit silly for Messi to play in the next world cup, he has the chance to retire after he won the world cup, and now he can play a bit more to make some extra cash, plus then he will be able to continue making money by doing ads and things like that.

Playing the next world cup would not bring anything else to him, even if he wins it

Maybe Messi won't get anything in the next World Cup, but what some users here have mentioned is that Messi is still Messi, a football superstar who has become the idol of footballers all over the world and that also includes Argentinian footballers. Messi won't get anything, but young Argentine national team players will get something very valuable in their lives, namely playing football with Lionel Messi. It is possible that in the 2026 World Cup there will be several new faces in the Argentina national team and we can confirm that their average age is 20-29 years which means they are football players born in 1997-2006 and it is certain that they will be very motivated for every match.

I do believe that is going to be the case, Messi did all that he needs to do for his nation, for his clubs, and for himself as well. He is just doing something amazing and could not be considered doing anything short of greatest of all time to me. Most people may have some other thoughts and I understand that and I do not mind, you may think Ronaldo was the best and I understand that, but even on that case people should put Messi at the second place, that is how good these two were when they played.

I hope that it gets to a point where we could see them play one more time against each other, this world cup was the one I wanted so much. I knew that it was nearly impossible, but a world cup finals, where Argentina and Portugal faces each other would have been amazing, based on the brackets if they both went to finals, they could have, because they were on the opposite sides. It would have made it the most watched world cup finals that ever happened.

@sana54210 Ronaldo has made his intentions clear that he’ll play in the 2026 World Cup and this is what I’m reading in various news reports and thus I feel that Messi too will postpone his retirement plans to compete with Ronaldo.

Lastly in my personal opinion both should not be selected by their respective countries because this is the time to groom other young player’s and not make the team around them as I doubt that they’ll be able to help their respective countries win the World Cup if they were to start every game.

[LUCKMCFLY]

I wouldn't be too sure about it. I doubt that he will play 90 minute games. I guess that doesn't make sense and may not physically be possible on the level that is required at a World Cup. But having him on the team could still boost some extra hype and when he gets substituted for some player during the game, I think the audiences would go nuts.

Your math about his age is correct, but Ronaldo has not retired yet either. These guys are in the game for records and Ronaldo is probably going to try and play one more hoping for his team to win it and equalize the difference to Messi. It is also an incredible event in terms of size.

Well, I do have faith and hope that Messi will play for the next World Cup, maybe at 39 years old things will not be so bad, if Messi and CR7 play Messi at 39 and CR7 at 41 would be a hard blow for all the European teams that They wanted to lower the football career of these players by telling them that they were old, very bad of them, Messi still has a lot to give , in the World Cup qualifiers they are doing very well, I think things are not discussed about this type of world stars, even though the most powerful players there are have not reached the level that CR7 and Messi have, they are players who can make the difference this time, in addition to everything that has been speculated about Barcelona than its 6 titles when Messi came to the team and with the World Cup, which they say helped him a lot, but they can clean up his name very well in the World Cup, it's good, and I would like a match on Argentina vs Portugal, where these two Legends are, I think that That's what it's about, to be able to do something very good , otherwise you wouldn't be able to have another type of emotion, I think that all of us as fans deserve this, one more meeting, since at Euorp they were treated so badly, Unfortunately, I think that these will be the last Clubs of these stars because at least CR7 Already said it, and Messi, well, I imagine that he doesn't want to live through so many tough times like the ones he experienced at PSG.

In general, things in world football and in its teams are usually treated in a different way, first, it must be considered that these players are world class, that everyone acclaims them, that those who are fans of Messi or CR7, in this In this case, I believe that Messi can Be Easily convinced by his Teammates and by all of Argentina to play again, the one who would like him to come back and help win the cup is the Dimaría noodle, because he did a great job in Qatar,  he was the one who helped the victories. from Argentina.

That's the point here. Messi and Ronaldo would probably still be able to make a difference at the World Cup 2026. They may not take the ball and dribble across the whole field just on their own and then score, but Messi's free kick and passing precision is unprecedented and he would still be able to either score or assist in many game situations. Ronaldo is probably hardly losing any of his physical strength until then. Maybe just a few %, but he would still be quick and fit enough to be a center forward who understands how and where to strike during a game. Imagine you have Ronaldo sitting on the bench and you can bring him on for just 20 minutes at the end of the game. I guess it doesn't even matter if he is 41 years old or 37 years old.

I would say that leaving CR7 or Messi sitting on the bench is a crime, and they should fire every technician who does it, because they are legends, and they cannot understand that, for example with Don't do what is happening to him now, that It's just that I call him Karma 'because he is a Coach who wanted to make CR7 look Ridiculous , and believes that right now he is having a very bad time, because I think the MU is reacting and they know that his biggest mistake in life has been to put him in charge. He, in the case of Messi, Barcelona's Worst mistake because they took him out Through the back door, so the team now needed his presence in the team, that is also karmic for these players to play in the next World Cup we are Good fans , we must put it as one of the best things we must enjoy, we cannot lose a single minute of these two legends, according to Messi he does not want to go to this 2026 World Cup, but we hope that he can, but above all I would all like Argentina vs Portugal to be able to meet, watching these two play will be something great, so I hope that this match happens and that these two stars are there, in this order of ideas I think that the World Cup will be very good if it happens.

CR7 was given the opportunity to respond, why didn't he Dribble like before, why doesn't he do it, if he is at his full capacity? He said that he doesn't do it now because he cares more about giving a good pass and scoring a goal than about the luxury itself, that he doesn't need it anymore, he needs is that his team can have a good goal and how to do it, that's basically what things can be done , Personally I understand this perfectly, I believe that sometimes those dribbles are very useful to leave a player Behind , and in a very elegant way, because not everyone can do this type of tricks and run away from such an impressive way, so this can happen that way, I would like some player with at least 1/4 of the quality and talent of CR7 to play for my country , so this type of player in a World Cup has to be very good valued.

[Weawant]

Talking about this, I remembered the previous year before the Qatar World Cup. Yes many of us speculated that the possibility of the Qatar World Cup would be the last World Cup for Messi and not just Messi but other players as well, like Ronaldo for example. But now we are starting to speculate about the possibility of Messi plying in the World Cup or not. Yes it is interesting considering his age, but indeed his influence on his country is huge. Even though he is only in the lineup and not the main player, he can give his experience to other players and also provide motivation. I also haven't heard any rumors of him retiring anytime soon.

He has seen what happened to Ronaldo during Qatar 2022. It doesn't matter whether you are a legend. When you get old, then you are out of favor with the coach. Messi will be 39 years old by the time of North America 2026 and there is a good chance that he will retire from active football before that. He has achieved whatever he wanted to achieve in international and club football. So rather than risking his reputation by playing in 2026, he may just stay out of that tournament. At the most, he may enroll for some sort of coaching responsibility for the national team.

Yes, it could very well happen when we see his name on the coaching staff list for his country. Age does not lie, even though he is still able to play, his contrbution to the game will not be the same as when he was younger and that cannot be denied. And even at his age, it's amazing that he can still contribute to the club he's playing for.
The next World Cup is the stage for the young players of today, and I'm sure there will be many new players who will get a lot of attention and then become a target for the big clubs.

I think this will a better idea for him, if he is seen amongst the coaching staff for his country I think he will do more from there, with regards to contributions and I'm very sure they will be very willing to benefit from his wealth of knowledge and experience in the world cup and football generally, he will be more impactful from the sides than he would on the pitch.

If he happens to be on the pitch he will not be very optimal as age will definitely tell on him, he may not even be able to play full time, so it will not be much needed as he will be fatigue prone and if the team puts some level of dependency on him it will turn out the teams morale may drop when he fails to meet up with expectations owing to age telling on him.

Messi is most likely to have retired by then although all these are just speculations but the let's wait and watch till 2026 and see how it plays out if he will still be in active football service and get a call from his country or he might have retired and probably taken up some coaching responsibility with the national team of his country, till then let's keep our fingers crossed.

[Sithara007]

Yes, it could very well happen when we see his name on the coaching staff list for his country. Age does not lie, even though he is still able to play, his contrbution to the game will not be the same as when he was younger and that cannot be denied. And even at his age, it's amazing that he can still contribute to the club he's playing for.
The next World Cup is the stage for the young players of today, and I'm sure there will be many new players who will get a lot of attention and then become a target for the big clubs.

The fact that he has moved out of European league tells that the retirement is very near. Usually star players devote the last 2-3 years of their career to get a good deal from some of the American or Asian clubs, so they can retire with enough savings. The same has happened with Lionel Messi, who has moved to Inter-Miami in Major League Soccer (MLS). The level of competition in MLS will obviously much lower than that in different European leagues. And this will be taken into account, when Argentina announces their squad for 2026 World Cup.

[rdluffy]

Are you following the qualifiers?

I ask you because after a month apart, the most exciting and difficult qualifiers in the world will return this week. There are ten South American teams that will face each other again with the aim of reaching one of the much-desired places for the World Cup.
So far... Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay and Venezuela have scored three points in at least one match and will try to continue at this pace. On the other side.... Paraguay, Peru, Chile and Bolivia need to start winning if they want to qualify too.

The next games are:

• Colombia x Uruguay
• Bolivia x Ecuador
• Argentina x Paraguay
• Brazil x Venezuela
• Chile x Peru

Are you betting on this???

Of course I'm betting hahaha  
I even created the thread to talk more about the CONMEBOL qualifiers, take a look here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5465893.msg62805054#msg62805054 (Everyone is invited to participate in the thread  )
And in the next round we'll have Brazil vs Uruguay  , usually a good match to bet on

And remember that this time there will be 6 teams qualifying directly for the World Cup and 1 more with a place in the play-offs
Only 3 will miss out

[Blitzboy]

To me it would seem a bit silly for Messi to play in the next world cup, he has the chance to retire after he won the world cup, and now he can play a bit more to make some extra cash, plus then he will be able to continue making money by doing ads and things like that.

Playing the next world cup would not bring anything else to him, even if he wins it

Maybe Messi won't get anything in the next World Cup, but what some users here have mentioned is that Messi is still Messi, a football superstar who has become the idol of footballers all over the world and that also includes Argentinian footballers. Messi won't get anything, but young Argentine national team players will get something very valuable in their lives, namely playing football with Lionel Messi. It is possible that in the 2026 World Cup there will be several new faces in the Argentina national team and we can confirm that their average age is 20-29 years which means they are football players born in 1997-2006 and it is certain that they will be very motivated for every match.

I do believe that is going to be the case, Messi did all that he needs to do for his nation, for his clubs, and for himself as well. He is just doing something amazing and could not be considered doing anything short of greatest of all time to me. Most people may have some other thoughts and I understand that and I do not mind, you may think Ronaldo was the best and I understand that, but even on that case people should put Messi at the second place, that is how good these two were when they played.

I hope that it gets to a point where we could see them play one more time against each other, this world cup was the one I wanted so much. I knew that it was nearly impossible, but a world cup finals, where Argentina and Portugal faces each other would have been amazing, based on the brackets if they both went to finals, they could have, because they were on the opposite sides. It would have made it the most watched world cup finals that ever happened.

Messi is truly amazing on the pitch. I just discovered that he's been shortlisted for the 2023 Best FIFA Men's Player award, which might be his third! It's a credit to his consistent excellence, ranking alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski. His move from PSG to Inter Miami was a buzz, and his first season in Miami was bright. Remember his Leagues Cup win with Inter Miami? This was truly magical. You're right: a Messi-Ronaldo World Cup finals match would have been the peak of football greatness and rivalry. So many people would be riveted to their screens!

[Volgastallion]

Who is gonna put MEssi in doubt for the next world cup? Man he is gonna play no matter what, the only thing that can stop him for playing is a serious injury because he is no longer young anymore, he now is old.

Yesterday i saw the news about Cristiano, tlling he is gonna play also this next world cup, i think he can but lets see.