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

[Jody.Drummer]

I don't think it will be much different from the new format that we now see in the Champions League and Europa League. Basically everything is the same, but now there are more countries participating than usual. I don't know if this will be an advantage or a disadvantage, because the chances of countries that are difficult to get through to the World Cup are now greater and that could be something that makes the competition less competitive because there are countries that are entering the World Cup for the first time, for example, and other things.

The ones who will benefit are the countries as organizers, because with more participants, more tourists will visit them to join in the excitement of the World Cup.
While for the teams from the competing countries, of course, the additional quota given will help the competing teams quite a bit. I remain convinced that only the strong teams from each federation will qualify. Regardless of whether they can compete with the teams from the favored countries, we will see their preparations.

Of course, the host country always benefits, although in the last World Cup reportedly the host suffered a loss, but when they become the host, they will automatically qualify and that is an advantage for them. Many countries are also competing to host the World Cup, that means they have calculated everything, including the benefits they can get when they get the trust to host.
I don't want to focus on that, what I want to see is the increase in the number of participants in the next World Cup will make the competition more interesting and I hope the countries that qualify there can provide many surprises.

[temple]

Of course, the host country always benefits, although in the last World Cup reportedly the host suffered a loss, but when they become the host, they will automatically qualify and that is an advantage for them. Many countries are also competing to host the World Cup, that means they have calculated everything, including the benefits they can get when they get the trust to host.
I don't want to focus on that, what I want to see is the increase in the number of participants in the next World Cup will make the competition more interesting and I hope the countries that qualify there can provide many surprises.

Not that I deny that you are right about the general idea that many countries are competing  to become the host of a World Cup, but do you really think that countries are competing? I think it is all about politics and bribery. It has been like that forever when it comes to the FIFA giving their vote for a country to host the World Cup. Or rather the representatives of the FIFA for the various nations.

But yes the host has some advantage, which is quite natural as they have the whole country backing them and the people are everywhere inside and outside the stadium. But this is only valid for the football team itself, the people in countries that host World Cups are often times not better off financially, but maybe emotionally. Best example here is the last World Cup in Brazil that cost a shit ton of money while so many Brazilians live in poverty.

[Hirose UK]

~snip~

One good thing about Japan is they care about the younger player and they try to use the younger talents they have to develop their team. Japan is a team in Asia and there you cannot find many strong teams. Usually, the team in Asia fails to even have good performance in the World Cup and that's why we cannot expect to see good performance from these Asian teams in the 2026 World Cup too.
But it seems Japan is trying to act better than this and after a few years when their younger players get more experienced, we can hope to see Japan perform well in the World Cups.

But Japan also has some senior players who are still playing and are part of the main squad, that is one way for Japan to be able to provide the mentality of it young players, they will join and understand each other on the field and of course Japan will not rely on all young players and almost most of the team also have talented young players but none can really develop players like Japan.
There are no surprises in the World Cup for teams from Asia, but at least Asia is able to enliven the World Cup to be more interesting with quite good competition at the beginning of the competition, one thing that makes Asia lag behind is the quality and experience of the players is very different from several team from Europe or Conmebol.

[stompix]

Of course, the host country always benefits, although in the last World Cup reportedly the host suffered a loss, but when they become the host, they will automatically qualify and that is an advantage for them. Many countries are also competing to host the World Cup, that means they have calculated everything, including the benefits they can get when they get the trust to host.

Organizing the World Cup is a money pit for the host nations just as the Olympics
https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/geral-63882120

South Korea and Japan lost around 5 billion with their World Cup, and it's estimated that Greece lost close to 10 billion when organizing their Olympics, a thing that added to their debt crisis, organizing such a competition nowadays is a loss and that's why so many countries are giving up despite really waiting to host one, it simply becomes unaffordable and so we have more and more cups hosted by one or two or even four nations.

[Juse14]

~snip~

One good thing about Japan is they care about the younger player and they try to use the younger talents they have to develop their team. Japan is a team in Asia and there you cannot find many strong teams. Usually, the team in Asia fails to even have good performance in the World Cup and that's why we cannot expect to see good performance from these Asian teams in the 2026 World Cup too.
But it seems Japan is trying to act better than this and after a few years when their younger players get more experienced, we can hope to see Japan perform well in the World Cups.

But Japan also has some senior players who are still playing and are part of the main squad, that is one way for Japan to be able to provide the mentality of it young players, they will join and understand each other on the field and of course Japan will not rely on all young players and almost most of the team also have talented young players but none can really develop players like Japan.
There are no surprises in the World Cup for teams from Asia, but at least Asia is able to enliven the World Cup to be more interesting with quite good competition at the beginning of the competition, one thing that makes Asia lag behind is the quality and experience of the players is very different from several team from Europe or Conmebol.

Japan still relies on a mix of experienced senior players and young talents, they do this to maintain their consistency in the international arena. Several senior players such as Kaoru Mitoma, Ritsu Doan, Takefusa Kubo, and captain Maya Yoshida, are still the main part of the Japanese national team. Not to mention the addition of other talented young players such as Wataru Endo, Daichi Kamada, Henry Kaiki Mochizuki and several other players, they are new players who will continue to make Japan's name famous in the international arena. And for most of the players who entered the Japanese national team, they are players who have careers in the top European leagues. and this is what makes Japan the strongest team in Asia.

And if you think that no Asian team is able to provide a surprise in the World Cup, maybe you forgot that Japan is a team that was able to beat Germany and Spain in the group phase, making it difficult for both teams to reach the last 16 in the 2022 World Cup.

[Litzki1990]

I don't think it will be much different from the new format that we now see in the Champions League and Europa League. Basically everything is the same, but now there are more countries participating than usual. I don't know if this will be an advantage or a disadvantage, because the chances of countries that are difficult to get through to the World Cup are now greater and that could be something that makes the competition less competitive because there are countries that are entering the World Cup for the first time, for example, and other things.

The ones who will benefit are the countries as organizers, because with more participants, more tourists will visit them to join in the excitement of the World Cup.
While for the teams from the competing countries, of course, the additional quota given will help the competing teams quite a bit. I remain convinced that only the strong teams from each federation will qualify. Regardless of whether they can compete with the teams from the favored countries, we will see their preparations.

Of course, the host country always benefits, although in the last World Cup reportedly the host suffered a loss, but when they become the host, they will automatically qualify and that is an advantage for them. Many countries are also competing to host the World Cup, that means they have calculated everything, including the benefits they can get when they get the trust to host.
I don't want to focus on that, what I want to see is the increase in the number of participants in the next World Cup will make the competition more interesting and I hope the countries that qualify there can provide many surprises.

The World Cup is held every four years and most of the countries in the world try to be the host country of this World Cup until the tournament, but the country which FIFA thinks is the best country to host the World Cup is allowed to host the World Cup. Basically Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup came into much discussion worldwide because Qatar had invested a lot of money in the last World Cup to host this football World Cup. But they had another plan through this world cup, firstly they wanted to present their country well in the world court through the world cup and also they have created high quality tourist spots and modern cities so that foreign tourists come to visit their country later. While they have cited the entire cost of hosting the World Cup as a ploy to become the center of attraction in their world court. However, it goes without saying that Qatar has given a great World Cup.

[Hanadawa]

And if you think that no Asian team is able to provide a surprise in the World Cup, maybe you forgot that Japan is a team that was able to beat Germany and Spain in the group phase, making it difficult for both teams to reach the last 16 in the 2022 World Cup.

I can say Japan is the best team in Asia and they always give surprises in the world cup. There is no other team on their level in Asia. Another Asian team that gave a surprise was Saudi Arabia when they beat Argentina in the first match of the 2022 world cup. But Japan is still the best because they always have a chance to beat top teams like Germany and Spain. South Korea is also the best team in Asia. But I did not include their record of making it to the semifinals of the 2002 world cup because many said they robbed Italy of victory in the round of 16-CMIIW

[hyudien]

It doesn't really matter when you lose, if you lose at qualifiers and then not go to world cup, that's bad and sad of course, but if you go to group stages and lose all three games (I think that's changing, but basically doing zero points is what I mean) then you are not going to get anything out of this neither, so why matters if you "go to world cup" if all you do is lose all the games?

I rather not go there at all if that's going to be the result, I rather win some games, if possible get out of the group stages, or get at least 2 or 3 points at group stages. With more and more teams joining, I bet you that there will be more teams with zero points now, and that makes no sense to me, those teams obviously don't deserve to be there.

Everyone doesn't know what will happen when they qualify for the World Cup, so I think it's too early to talk about that, because the target for all countries now is to qualify first and secure a place in the World Cup. Regarding the next target, that will be a different discussion. Because it's impossible for them to do nothing and of course everyone will do their best. Some countries even try hard to qualify and maybe they don't calculate what they can do, maybe they will be at the bottom of the standings. Their main target is just to qualify, because being in the World Cup is already an achievement in itself, especially if they never qualify at all.

[Weawant]

Of course, the host country always benefits, although in the last World Cup reportedly the host suffered a loss, but when they become the host, they will automatically qualify and that is an advantage for them. Many countries are also competing to host the World Cup, that means they have calculated everything, including the benefits they can get when they get the trust to host.
I don't want to focus on that, what I want to see is the increase in the number of participants in the next World Cup will make the competition more interesting and I hope the countries that qualify there can provide many surprises.

The host always gets that qualification benefits but it doesn't guarantee they are going to perform well in the game and if they do, they get to get their scores accorded them accordingly without preference but asides the qualifications benefit, there are other economic benefits that the country gets hosting the world cup and even the fact that they get some level of international exposure for their players who weren't know much before the world cup and some Many other benefits to both the team and the country at large.

[Docnaster]

And if you think that no Asian team is able to provide a surprise in the World Cup, maybe you forgot that Japan is a team that was able to beat Germany and Spain in the group phase, making it difficult for both teams to reach the last 16 in the 2022 World Cup.

I can say Japan is the best team in Asia and they always give surprises in the world cup. There is no other team on their level in Asia. Another Asian team that gave a surprise was Saudi Arabia when they beat Argentina in the first match of the 2022 world cup. But Japan is still the best because they always have a chance to beat top teams like Germany and Spain. South Korea is also the best team in Asia. But I did not include their record of making it to the semifinals of the 2002 world cup because many said they robbed Italy of victory in the round of 16-CMIIW

Japan have in few occasions proven that there's an Asian team that's capable of conquering the world of football but just that they were unfortunate not to have made it to the final of the FIFA World Cup. Personally, I feel Japan is one of the best footballing nations of the world but the fact that no Asian nation have won the World Cup trophy before is the reason they're underrated.
South Korea have also recorded good performances in the World Cup before but an Asian nation would have to win tournament before they can be pitched against European and South American counterparts

[Leviathan.007]

Recently i have checked about Group A standing and interested about Qatar because on 2022 they can playing at the world cup for the first time because at that time Qatar as a host of this tournament but for qualification stages recently Qatar has been displayed poor performance because they only able to occupy 4th place with only collect 7 points from 6 matches and 3 times lost even Qatar defensive lines is very weak because they are as the team with the most conceded in Group A and with 6 difference points with Uzbekistan i highly doubt Qatar can qualified to world cup or finish at top 2  so i think Qatar highest achievement is only top 4 or qualified to round 4

If I'm not wrong, Uzbekistan should fight for the World Cup ticket but Iran is already qualified to the 2026 World Cup with Japan. However, the performance I saw from Iran so far was not good enough and I think if they get the ticket for the World Cup, still they won't have any chance against the top teams in this tournament and still getting can be their final destination. There is an even worse situation with Uzbekistan and they really had poor performance regardless of the results they got so far.

[hosemary]

If I'm not wrong, Uzbekistan should fight for the World Cup ticket but Iran is already qualified to the 2026 World Cup with Japan.

No team has already qualified for the world cup.

In group A, Iran now has 6 more points than the third placed team and given that there are 4 more matches remaining for each team, it's still possible that Iran will not finish the group at the top two places.
In group C, Japan now has 10 more points than the third place team. It's very unlikely that Japan will fail to qualify for the world cup, but that's still possible.

[Jody.Drummer]

Of course, the host country always benefits, although in the last World Cup reportedly the host suffered a loss, but when they become the host, they will automatically qualify and that is an advantage for them. Many countries are also competing to host the World Cup, that means they have calculated everything, including the benefits they can get when they get the trust to host.
I don't want to focus on that, what I want to see is the increase in the number of participants in the next World Cup will make the competition more interesting and I hope the countries that qualify there can provide many surprises.

Not that I deny that you are right about the general idea that many countries are competing  to become the host of a World Cup, but do you really think that countries are competing? I think it is all about politics and bribery. It has been like that forever when it comes to the FIFA giving their vote for a country to host the World Cup. Or rather the representatives of the FIFA for the various nations.

I don't really want to say things like that, but when you start, then I think I'll also give a little opinion about this. I also actually heard a lot about some bad news attacking FIFA, one of which was about the appointment of the host for the World Cup which was felt quite strongly that there was indeed bribery so that FIFA would appoint the country as the host. Even in the last World Cup, there was also a lot of news about it and one of the big news was that one of the FIFA officials was caught in a case. Even when we search on the search page, there are so many cases related to FIFA.

[Juse14]

And if you think that no Asian team is able to provide a surprise in the World Cup, maybe you forgot that Japan is a team that was able to beat Germany and Spain in the group phase, making it difficult for both teams to reach the last 16 in the 2022 World Cup.

I can say Japan is the best team in Asia and they always give surprises in the world cup. There is no other team on their level in Asia. Another Asian team that gave a surprise was Saudi Arabia when they beat Argentina in the first match of the 2022 world cup. But Japan is still the best because they always have a chance to beat top teams like Germany and Spain. South Korea is also the best team in Asia. But I did not include their record of making it to the semifinals of the 2002 world cup because many said they robbed Italy of victory in the round of 16-CMIIW

South Korea and Japan are the most consistent teams in Asia, their performance in every World Cup can be said to be quite consistent, and until now South Korea and Japan have always been in first place in their respective qualifying standings. Unlike Saudi Arabia, although they once surprised the world by defeating Argentina, their performance has actually decreased drastically, as well as Australia who has participated in the World Cup several times, even the two national teams, Saudi Arabia and Australia have to fight tooth and nail to be able to be in the runner-up position.

Japan have in few occasions proven that there's an Asian team that's capable of conquering the world of football but just that they were unfortunate not to have made it to the final of the FIFA World Cup. Personally, I feel Japan is one of the best footballing nations of the world but the fact that no Asian nation have won the World Cup trophy before is the reason they're underrated.
South Korea have also recorded good performances in the World Cup before but an Asian nation would have to win tournament before they can be pitched against European and South American counterparts

Yes, maybe that's one of the many reasons why Asian countries are often underestimated when appearing in the World Cup. And maybe, let alone winning the world title, they have never even reached the final round. However, even so, it is important to remember that when on the field, anything can happen and surprises can be created.

[AmoreJaz]

If I'm not wrong, Uzbekistan should fight for the World Cup ticket but Iran is already qualified to the 2026 World Cup with Japan.

No team has already qualified for the world cup.

In group A, Iran now has 6 more points than the third placed team and given that there are 4 more matches remaining for each team, it's still possible that Iran will not finish the group at the top two places.
In group C, Japan now has 10 more points than the third place team. It's very unlikely that Japan will fail to qualify for the world cup, but that's still possible.

We will see the qualifying teams in March 2025. But of course, we will already see which teams are the potential candidates for the world cup. This early, we are already seeing which teams can make it in the list.

But just look at how these confederations are selecting the qualifying teams. There are so many teams on each confederation, hence, it is understandable that getting to the final list would be years in the making. Just reaching the final list would be a big achievement already for any team.


2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

[Litzki1990]

Of course, the host country always benefits, although in the last World Cup reportedly the host suffered a loss, but when they become the host, they will automatically qualify and that is an advantage for them. Many countries are also competing to host the World Cup, that means they have calculated everything, including the benefits they can get when they get the trust to host.
I don't want to focus on that, what I want to see is the increase in the number of participants in the next World Cup will make the competition more interesting and I hope the countries that qualify there can provide many surprises.

Not that I deny that you are right about the general idea that many countries are competing  to become the host of a World Cup, but do you really think that countries are competing? I think it is all about politics and bribery. It has been like that forever when it comes to the FIFA giving their vote for a country to host the World Cup. Or rather the representatives of the FIFA for the various nations.

I don't really want to say things like that, but when you start, then I think I'll also give a little opinion about this. I also actually heard a lot about some bad news attacking FIFA, one of which was about the appointment of the host for the World Cup which was felt quite strongly that there was indeed bribery so that FIFA would appoint the country as the host. Even in the last World Cup, there was also a lot of news about it and one of the big news was that one of the FIFA officials was caught in a case. Even when we search on the search page, there are so many cases related to FIFA.

In this regard, the FIFA president plays an important role. America tried hard to host the 2022 World Cup in their country but Qatar gave such a huge amount of money to FIFA that FIFA turned down America's offer and allowed Qatar to host the World Cup. Before the end of the World Cup in Qatar, it was announced which countries would host the next two World Cups, with the 2026 World Cup being hosted by Mexico, America and Canada, while the 2030 World Cup is slated to be hosted by Saudi Arabia.
In other words, the 2030 World Cup will again be hosted in a Middle Eastern country. Saudi Arabia is gearing up well in advance to give football lovers a great World Cup.

[mammusu]

If I'm not wrong, Uzbekistan should fight for the World Cup ticket but Iran is already qualified to the 2026 World Cup with Japan.

No team has already qualified for the world cup.

In group A, Iran now has 6 more points than the third placed team and given that there are 4 more matches remaining for each team, it's still possible that Iran will not finish the group at the top two places.
In group C, Japan now has 10 more points than the third place team. It's very unlikely that Japan will fail to qualify for the world cup, but that's still possible.

So far there are several teams that do have enough positions in the standings, such as Japan which is at the top of the standings, while South Korea and Iran are of course still not safe, because mathematically it is still possible for them to fail to win points in the next match, Japan has a 10-point advantage over their opponents, while Iran and Korea only have a point difference that is relatively still possible to be pursued by other teams in the group phase,  Uzbekistan also has a good chance, but they must remain consistent and at least keep their distance from the UAE who are currently ranked third.

[hosemary]

while the 2030 World Cup is slated to be hosted by Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 world cup, not 2030 world cup.
The 2030 world cup will be hosted by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco.

while Iran and Korea only have a point difference that is relatively still possible to be pursued by other teams in the group phase

In group A, Iran has 3 more points than the second placed team and 6 points more than the third placed team.
In group B, South Korea has 3 more points than the second place team and 5 points more than the third placed team.

[LUCKMCFLY]

The World Cup will certainly be more lively if Indonesia participates, because Indonesia has supporters of around 277 million people. If you look at the scenario to qualify, Indonesia's steps are indeed quite difficult. Two of the four matches that Indonesia must face in the future are quite tough, Australia and Japan are clearly not easy to beat. In fact, Bahrain and China are also the same, Indonesia must work extra hard to secure 3 points in the remaining matches ahead. luck could be on Indonesia side, although the chances are relatively low, I am optimistic that this time Indonesia looks like it could pass the qualifying round.

Indonesia is a team that practically has a similar situation to that of Venezuela in the South American qualifiers, but to be honest I see that Indonesia has a much better and more feasible situation, Australia can be beaten, China is strong, but I have seen Indonesian football and I like it, the only thing I think it lacks is more height because that has a lot to do with heading in corner kicks, but the players are more skillful and that is also good, the situation can arise in 2025 so that they can go to the World Cup, I hope that Indonesia can go, I want to see that team demonstrate its football in the USA.

[Hirose UK]

~snip~

Japan still relies on a mix of experienced senior players and young talents, they do this to maintain their consistency in the international arena. Several senior players such as Kaoru Mitoma, Ritsu Doan, Takefusa Kubo, and captain Maya Yoshida, are still the main part of the Japanese national team. Not to mention the addition of other talented young players such as Wataru Endo, Daichi Kamada, Henry Kaiki Mochizuki and several other players, they are new players who will continue to make Japan's name famous in the international arena. And for most of the players who entered the Japanese national team, they are players who have careers in the top European leagues. and this is what makes Japan the strongest team in Asia.

And if you think that no Asian team is able to provide a surprise in the World Cup, maybe you forgot that Japan is a team that was able to beat Germany and Spain in the group phase, making it difficult for both teams to reach the last 16 in the 2022 World Cup.

Well, that something that actually can't be done by some team, especially Indonesia which as whole relies on young players and often has unstable emotions, Japan has senior players who are really experienced and that can have good impact on young players because their mentality and self-confidence are more maintained.

It the same with Saudi Arabia, but I don't consider it good achievement considering that in the group phase, big team often lose and look difficult, but after reaching the round of 16 to the quarter-finals, they will show their true strength.