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

[Lidger]

Saudi Arabia is trying their best and spending a lot of money to popularize their country's football league but still they haven't made their country's league so popular. The players whose careers are over in the European League basically come to play for different clubs in the Saudi League. Not that young players are not offered in Saudi league but young players are offered huge amount of money but young players don't want to come to Saudi league to enhance their career. But if Saudi Arabia keeps trying more in the future, I believe they will be able to take this link to a better level in the future. If any club from the Saudi League gets the opportunity to play in the Champions League, then the popularity of this league will increase further.

I have answered this many times. Saudi Professional League got global audience only in 2023, when Ronaldo moved to Al Nassr. And it is going to take at least one decade more, for the SPL to rival any of the top European leagues. Look at the English Premier League. It took many decades for the EPL to reach the position it is at right now. And the funny thing is that the critics want SPL to achieve in one or two years, what the EPL has achieved in several decades. At the same time, they are ignoring the fact that the Saudi Professional League has already overtaken several of the European leagues, such as Ligue 1 and Bundesliga.

If Saudi Arabia didn't try, we might assume that there is no chance of them improving, but every season they try. Earlier we saw that Mbappe and Lionel Messi were offered record sums of money from Saudi Arabia only to come to Saudi Arabia on a one-year contract but they turned down the offer. Kylian Mbappé didn't come Lionel Messi didn't come but they didn't sit for them. It is also possible that they will offer another star player a bigger sum next season, which will force many star players to come to the Saudi league. A league will only be criticized when the league improves. The fact that some people are criticizing the Saudi league means that we have to understand that this league is slowly becoming popular and will become more popular in the future.

[pusaka]

You are wrong about discovering new talents. Sometimes you don't need to have a good league in the country to have better players because sometimes the players you need for the country are not the players they work in your league and that's why even getting the Saudi league improved cannot really solve anything for the Saudi Arabia team.
because there are some teams in Asia that have their players playing in the top European teams like Japan, If you check the Japanese players you can understand there are many players they have in the top European teams while they will have a much stronger team than Saudi Arabia because all they need is to give these young talents some chance to play.
 

But to be able to be at that level, a country must have a good foundation with their football. I think many players are constrained by some of the rules in the top leagues, such as in the English League. There is a rule there that players who can play there are players who come from countries that are ranked at least in the top 100 of the FIFA rankings (correct me if I'm wrong).
So this is also very important, it is true what you said, sometimes a good national team is a national team filled with players who have careers in other countries and that is Europe, you also gave a good example by saying Japan. However, Japan can also be like that because football in their country is very healthy so that players can easily have careers in the top leagues.

[Awaklara]

You are wrong about discovering new talents. Sometimes you don't need to have a good league in the country to have better players because sometimes the players you need for the country are not the players they work in your league and that's why even getting the Saudi league improved cannot really solve anything for the Saudi Arabia team.
because there are some teams in Asia that have their players playing in the top European teams like Japan, If you check the Japanese players you can understand there are many players they have in the top European teams while they will have a much stronger team than Saudi Arabia because all they need is to give these young talents some chance to play.
 

But to be able to be at that level, a country must have a good foundation with their football. I think many players are constrained by some of the rules in the top leagues, such as in the English League. There is a rule there that players who can play there are players who come from countries that are ranked at least in the top 100 of the FIFA rankings (correct me if I'm wrong).
So this is also very important, it is true what you said, sometimes a good national team is a national team filled with players who have careers in other countries and that is Europe, you also gave a good example by saying Japan. However, Japan can also be like that because football in their country is very healthy so that players can easily have careers in the top leagues.

the rules set by the English Football Federation aim to keep their league good with players who also have good skills. it's just that the rules also do not restrict players from countries below the established ranking. they still accept players from countries with low FIFA rankings if they do come from club academies in England and they play there for a certain time.
however, a good league will participate in building their national team from players who are also of good quality for competition on the world stage. We have seen how countries in Europe are indeed more dominant, they build their league well with full competition.

[doomloop]

If Saudi Arabia didn't try, we might assume that there is no chance of them improving, but every season they try. Earlier we saw that Mbappe and Lionel Messi were offered record sums of money from Saudi Arabia only to come to Saudi Arabia on a one-year contract but they turned down the offer. Kylian Mbappé didn't come Lionel Messi didn't come but they didn't sit for them. It is also possible that they will offer another star player a bigger sum next season, which will force many star players to come to the Saudi league. A league will only be criticized when the league improves. The fact that some people are criticizing the Saudi league means that we have to understand that this league is slowly becoming popular and will become more popular in the future.

Right now, we have Saudi League into his first phase as they are spending huge funds for making their mark and having some solid fan base which is good strategy because right now they can spend huge funds after this we have second phase which could be more important specially now as they have rights of hosting FIFA World Cup 2034 this period is going to be more important for them with this we can have good structure and system which will help them for having good strategy for having long run policies for improving their competitiveness.

If they are able to go through with their next phase then surely we will have good name of this league in top leagues because their sources are huge, and their strategy is also good now we have to check can they go with this roadmap without any problem of we will have things which will stop them, and they will be also ended like we have few other leagues in Asia.

[AirtelBuzz]

Saudi Arabia is trying their best and spending a lot of money to popularize their country's football league but still they haven't made their country's league so popular. The players whose careers are over in the European League basically come to play for different clubs in the Saudi League. Not that young players are not offered in Saudi league but young players are offered huge amount of money but young players don't want to come to Saudi league to enhance their career. But if Saudi Arabia keeps trying more in the future, I believe they will be able to take this link to a better level in the future. If any club from the Saudi League gets the opportunity to play in the Champions League, then the popularity of this league will increase further.

We have seen that they is spending a lot of money to popularize their country's football league and they are looking to buy many of the best players. They have already bought several other players including Ronaldo Neymar. But one thing to note is the players that Saudi Arabia has already bought those players are too old. Moreover, this league has become much more popular since Cristiano Ronaldo came to Al Nassr club in Saudi Arabia. If Saudi Arabia can buy young players then maybe their league will become much more popular. At present, another older player may join the club in Saudi Arabia.

[pusaka]

But to be able to be at that level, a country must have a good foundation with their football. I think many players are constrained by some of the rules in the top leagues, such as in the English League. There is a rule there that players who can play there are players who come from countries that are ranked at least in the top 100 of the FIFA rankings (correct me if I'm wrong).
So this is also very important, it is true what you said, sometimes a good national team is a national team filled with players who have careers in other countries and that is Europe, you also gave a good example by saying Japan. However, Japan can also be like that because football in their country is very healthy so that players can easily have careers in the top leagues.

the rules set by the English Football Federation aim to keep their league good with players who also have good skills. it's just that the rules also do not restrict players from countries below the established ranking. they still accept players from countries with low FIFA rankings if they do come from club academies in England and they play there for a certain time.
however, a good league will participate in building their national team from players who are also of good quality for competition on the world stage. We have seen how countries in Europe are indeed more dominant, they build their league well with full competition.

Of course that is their goal, because they also know that they are the most popular league in the world and with that they also have to make sure their league can have quality. Yes there are rules where players from countries that are ranked low in the rankings can play there, but still with the terms and conditions that they have set. Therefore once again countries that are still developing in their football must try hard to make them better, because that will be a leap for talented players. Because talented players do not all come from rich families who can register their children to big academies, sometimes they are detected accidentally and come from remote areas.

[Zlantann]

We have seen that they is spending a lot of money to popularize their country's football league and they are looking to buy many of the best players. They have already bought several other players including Ronaldo Neymar. But one thing to note is the players that Saudi Arabia has already bought those players are too old. Moreover, this league has become much more popular since Cristiano Ronaldo came to Al Nassr club in Saudi Arabia. If Saudi Arabia can buy young players then maybe their league will become much more popular. At present, another older player may join the club in Saudi Arabia.

Time will not permit me to trace to history of some of the top clubs in Europe. But I doubt if most of them grew the league by investing in big players. My thought is that growing a club is better when more focus is placed on local talents. Lavishing money on well-known players is good for publicity and Public Relations but what will sustain the league will be its ability to grow players that can be exported to other leagues.

A look at the structure is most clubs in the Saudi Professional League shows that there is a big problem. The salary difference or gap between top players and others is too large. Local players will not give their best will such injustice and it will not also attract players from other continents. Players from Africa or America will gladly move to lowly placed clubs or Leagues in Europe rather than move to Saudi Arabia.

[EarnOnVictor]

You are wrong about discovering new talents. Sometimes you don't need to have a good league in the country to have better players because sometimes the players you need for the country are not the players they work in your league and that's why even getting the Saudi league improved cannot really solve anything for the Saudi Arabia team.
because there are some teams in Asia that have their players playing in the top European teams like Japan, If you check the Japanese players you can understand there are many players they have in the top European teams while they will have a much stronger team than Saudi Arabia because all they need is to give these young talents some chance to play.
 

But to be able to be at that level, a country must have a good foundation with their football. I think many players are constrained by some of the rules in the top leagues, such as in the English League. There is a rule there that players who can play there are players who come from countries that are ranked at least in the top 100 of the FIFA rankings (correct me if I'm wrong).
So this is also very important, it is true what you said, sometimes a good national team is a national team filled with players who have careers in other countries and that is Europe, you also gave a good example by saying Japan. However, Japan can also be like that because football in their country is very healthy so that players can easily have careers in the top leagues.

the rules set by the English Football Federation aim to keep their league good with players who also have good skills. it's just that the rules also do not restrict players from countries below the established ranking. they still accept players from countries with low FIFA rankings if they do come from club academies in England and they play there for a certain time.
however, a good league will participate in building their national team from players who are also of good quality for competition on the world stage. We have seen how countries in Europe are indeed more dominant, they build their league well with full competition.

There's nothing wrong in setting standards, it will at least curb some some issues but I do not think it's good to disenfranchise good players simply because they come from poor football-performing nations. That's why the point I bolded in the post of @pusaka above looks off to me and it made me dug deeper into it to learn more. I first asked AI, and it said "No, the statement is incorrect," then I went ahead to Google more about it and below was what Wikipedia stated to buttress the claim of the AI.

118 of the 211 foreign FIFA-affiliated nations have been represented in the Premier League. On 19 December 2024, Bangladesh became the most recent country to be represented, when Hamza Choudhury who played for Leicester City, switched international allegiance, was approved by FIFA.

Could that point be just a rumour?

[Leviathan.007]

You are wrong about discovering new talents. Sometimes you don't need to have a good league in the country to have better players because sometimes the players you need for the country are not the players they work in your league and that's why even getting the Saudi league improved cannot really solve anything for the Saudi Arabia team.
because there are some teams in Asia that have their players playing in the top European teams like Japan, If you check the Japanese players you can understand there are many players they have in the top European teams while they will have a much stronger team than Saudi Arabia because all they need is to give these young talents some chance to play.
 

But to be able to be at that level, a country must have a good foundation with their football. I think many players are constrained by some of the rules in the top leagues, such as in the English League. There is a rule there that players who can play there are players who come from countries that are ranked at least in the top 100 of the FIFA rankings (correct me if I'm wrong).
So this is also very important, it is true what you said, sometimes a good national team is a national team filled with players who have careers in other countries and that is Europe, you also gave a good example by saying Japan. However, Japan can also be like that because football in their country is very healthy so that players can easily have careers in the top leagues.

the rules set by the English Football Federation aim to keep their league good with players who also have good skills. it's just that the rules also do not restrict players from countries below the established ranking. they still accept players from countries with low FIFA rankings if they do come from club academies in England and they play there for a certain time.
however, a good league will participate in building their national team from players who are also of good quality for competition on the world stage. We have seen how countries in Europe are indeed more dominant, they build their league well with full competition.

Having players from the top European teams can be a solution for teams like Saudi Arabia since they want to get improve but they are far from it. I think the best thing they can do in the Saudi Arabia is to try to have better players and this can be easy for them if they know their way to it.
Teams like German teams and the English teams are good destinations for these players when they want to have a place to get improve. Maybe Saudi Arabia should spend money on building academies in this country for the top European teams and this way these top teams will try to find young Saudi talents. This can be the best way for them to get improve in the future.

[mammusu]

If Saudi Arabia didn't try, we might assume that there is no chance of them improving, but every season they try. Earlier we saw that Mbappe and Lionel Messi were offered record sums of money from Saudi Arabia only to come to Saudi Arabia on a one-year contract but they turned down the offer. Kylian Mbappé didn't come Lionel Messi didn't come but they didn't sit for them. It is also possible that they will offer another star player a bigger sum next season, which will force many star players to come to the Saudi league. A league will only be criticized when the league improves. The fact that some people are criticizing the Saudi league means that we have to understand that this league is slowly becoming popular and will become more popular in the future.

Right now, we have Saudi League into his first phase as they are spending huge funds for making their mark and having some solid fan base which is good strategy because right now they can spend huge funds after this we have second phase which could be more important specially now as they have rights of hosting FIFA World Cup 2034 this period is going to be more important for them with this we can have good structure and system which will help them for having good strategy for having long run policies for improving their competitiveness.

If they are able to go through with their next phase then surely we will have good name of this league in top leagues because their sources are huge, and their strategy is also good now we have to check can they go with this roadmap without any problem of we will have things which will stop them, and they will be also ended like we have few other leagues in Asia.

We have known that Saudi Arabia has a very big ambition to enter and play in the world cup, so they do not hesitate to increase the popularity of their current league to become one of the reflections of the development of football in the syech country, in terms of infrastructure of course they are no longer doubtful considering that the majority of Saudi Arabian clubs are rich club clubs,  Saudi Arabia has been chosen to host the 2034 World Cup, so I think Saudi Arabian football authorities must start improving and improving the quality of their local players to be ready to face the existing competition, a big investment in bringing in star players is indeed a good step, but I think for now it is necessary their to focus on the development of local young players, because indeed their mission to host the World Cup has been achieved at the time.

[Hanadawa]

But to be able to be at that level, a country must have a good foundation with their football. I think many players are constrained by some of the rules in the top leagues, such as in the English League. There is a rule there that players who can play there are players who come from countries that are ranked at least in the top 100 of the FIFA rankings (correct me if I'm wrong).
So this is also very important, it is true what you said, sometimes a good national team is a national team filled with players who have careers in other countries and that is Europe, you also gave a good example by saying Japan. However, Japan can also be like that because football in their country is very healthy so that players can easily have careers in the top leagues.

As far as I can remember, the Premier League has strict requirements for non-EU foreign players. As far as I can remember, they have a performance requirement where only players from countries that have been ranked at least 70th in the world in the last 2 years are allowed to play in the EPL. I don't know if this rule is still in effect or if I received wrong information. However, I am sure that the EPL does have rules regarding foreign players. And I agree that for now, to improve the quality of a player, they must be able to play in a top European league. This is like Japan which has many players who play in Europe. As far as I know, their starting XI is filled with players who play in the EPL, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and several other top European leagues.

[LUCKMCFLY]

But to be able to be at that level, a country must have a good foundation with their football. I think many players are constrained by some of the rules in the top leagues, such as in the English League. There is a rule there that players who can play there are players who come from countries that are ranked at least in the top 100 of the FIFA rankings (correct me if I'm wrong).
So this is also very important, it is true what you said, sometimes a good national team is a national team filled with players who have careers in other countries and that is Europe, you also gave a good example by saying Japan. However, Japan can also be like that because football in their country is very healthy so that players can easily have careers in the top leagues.

Nowadays things are different with players who play in other countries, because most of them play football in other countries, whether in Europe or anywhere else in the world, football has expanded a lot and because of that it has become international.

Some of my country's players have been lucky enough to be playing in European football , some in the Brazilian League, others in Argentina and Mexico and this is very good Because it makes things different in football, it is a football with more Diversity.

[AmoreJaz]

But to be able to be at that level, a country must have a good foundation with their football. I think many players are constrained by some of the rules in the top leagues, such as in the English League. There is a rule there that players who can play there are players who come from countries that are ranked at least in the top 100 of the FIFA rankings (correct me if I'm wrong).
So this is also very important, it is true what you said, sometimes a good national team is a national team filled with players who have careers in other countries and that is Europe, you also gave a good example by saying Japan. However, Japan can also be like that because football in their country is very healthy so that players can easily have careers in the top leagues.

As far as I can remember, the Premier League has strict requirements for non-EU foreign players. As far as I can remember, they have a performance requirement where only players from countries that have been ranked at least 70th in the world in the last 2 years are allowed to play in the EPL. I don't know if this rule is still in effect or if I received wrong information. However, I am sure that the EPL does have rules regarding foreign players. And I agree that for now, to improve the quality of a player, they must be able to play in a top European league. This is like Japan which has many players who play in Europe. As far as I know, their starting XI is filled with players who play in the EPL, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and several other top European leagues.

They have indeed quite a strict requirements for non-EU foreign players. The homegrown athletes alone have very rigid training. What more getting from outside players?
The Premier League have their EPPP (Elite Player Performance Plan) Scheme to ensure the quality and quantity of home-grown athletes. So of course, if they will recruit foreign players, they will make sure that these athletes are also on top of their respective leagues or at the top tier worldwide.

[Docnaster]

We have seen that they is spending a lot of money to popularize their country's football league and they are looking to buy many of the best players. They have already bought several other players including Ronaldo Neymar. But one thing to note is the players that Saudi Arabia has already bought those players are too old. Moreover, this league has become much more popular since Cristiano Ronaldo came to Al Nassr club in Saudi Arabia. If Saudi Arabia can buy young players then maybe their league will become much more popular. At present, another older player may join the club in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia aren't only investing hugely to popularize football in the country or attract global audience to football in the league but also to improve the quality of football in the country and if you ask me , I'll say they've achieved so much already in their quest to win make the country one of the powerhouses of football. I think they've done much already to bring global football superstars to the country and should now focus on grooming young lads from the country to learn from these superstars so that they'll have a world class quality team to represent the country when they host the FIFA World Cup in 2034

[irhact]

We have seen that they is spending a lot of money to popularize their country's football league and they are looking to buy many of the best players. They have already bought several other players including Ronaldo Neymar. But one thing to note is the players that Saudi Arabia has already bought those players are too old. Moreover, this league has become much more popular since Cristiano Ronaldo came to Al Nassr club in Saudi Arabia. If Saudi Arabia can buy young players then maybe their league will become much more popular. At present, another older player may join the club in Saudi Arabia.

They can't get that many young players as the young players will want to stay and play in Europe and win lots of personal honours and trophies for their clubs. At Saudi Arabia, the players there are only interested in the money and not passion to play football. The Saudi pro league can only settle for old players right now but if they improve the quality of their league then they can begin to attract younger players to come play in the country. Alot more has to be done as the league is still very not professional to attract sponsors and attention. Although the Saudis don't need money from outside investors but they need them if they want to compete with the other leagues.

[tbterryboy]

the rules set by the English Football Federation aim to keep their league good with players who also have good skills. it's just that the rules also do not restrict players from countries below the established ranking. they still accept players from countries with low FIFA rankings if they do come from club academies in England and they play there for a certain time.
however, a good league will participate in building their national team from players who are also of good quality for competition on the world stage. We have seen how countries in Europe are indeed more dominant, they build their league well with full competition.

Current level of European leagues are not set in months or years it takes decades which helps them for having all required things which are important for having strong league and required material from where they can produce skilled and quality players which are their best assets right now from these leagues we have three leagues which are surely best in business Premier League, Serie A and La Liga but still they are having many challenges and other problems which are hurting them even they are doing amazing stuff but it's never been a complete system.

We have strong dominance of European and Latin American players while we have mostly Latin American players have enough natural talent which helps them for having their mark and European Leagues establish their players which give them good results now power order is changing but still it's going to take time with Africa is big challenge for Europe while we have enough space in Latin America which can give them good growth in the future.

[Zigabel]

We have seen that they is spending a lot of money to popularize their country's football league and they are looking to buy many of the best players. They have already bought several other players including Ronaldo Neymar. But one thing to note is the players that Saudi Arabia has already bought those players are too old. Moreover, this league has become much more popular since Cristiano Ronaldo came to Al Nassr club in Saudi Arabia. If Saudi Arabia can buy young players then maybe their league will become much more popular. At present, another older player may join the club in Saudi Arabia.

Well for a country who hasn't been on the football map and been on the business enough and now they have seen that there's so much they could achieve with football and so they would want to explore the football business and so they had to do that which they are doing now, the buying of all of this players they are buying now so they will be able to get the country as a whole gets on the football map of the world.

[Lidger]

Saudi Arabia is trying their best and spending a lot of money to popularize their country's football league but still they haven't made their country's league so popular. The players whose careers are over in the European League basically come to play for different clubs in the Saudi League. Not that young players are not offered in Saudi league but young players are offered huge amount of money but young players don't want to come to Saudi league to enhance their career. But if Saudi Arabia keeps trying more in the future, I believe they will be able to take this link to a better level in the future. If any club from the Saudi League gets the opportunity to play in the Champions League, then the popularity of this league will increase further.

We have seen that they is spending a lot of money to popularize their country's football league and they are looking to buy many of the best players. They have already bought several other players including Ronaldo Neymar. But one thing to note is the players that Saudi Arabia has already bought those players are too old. Moreover, this league has become much more popular since Cristiano Ronaldo came to Al Nassr club in Saudi Arabia. If Saudi Arabia can buy young players then maybe their league will become much more popular. At present, another older player may join the club in Saudi Arabia.

Not every club in the Saudi League is worried about spending money, but their league has not yet become as popular as the European leagues, so many young players are turning down big-money offers. Because they have taken big steps and if they stick to their decision and if they keep trying then someday their league will become much more popular. Basically, footballers pay more attention to club level football than whether the club can play in the Champions League. Since no club in the Saudi League has been guaranteed to play in the Champions League so far, this league is not very reliable for young footballers. But when one or two teams from this Saudi League get the opportunity to play in the Champions League, it will be seen that many young players are coming to the Saudi League considering the money and the opportunity to play in the Champions League.

[AirtelBuzz]

Saudi Arabia is trying their best and spending a lot of money to popularize their country's football league but still they haven't made their country's league so popular. The players whose careers are over in the European League basically come to play for different clubs in the Saudi League. Not that young players are not offered in Saudi league but young players are offered huge amount of money but young players don't want to come to Saudi league to enhance their career. But if Saudi Arabia keeps trying more in the future, I believe they will be able to take this link to a better level in the future. If any club from the Saudi League gets the opportunity to play in the Champions League, then the popularity of this league will increase further.

We have seen that they is spending a lot of money to popularize their country's football league and they are looking to buy many of the best players. They have already bought several other players including Ronaldo Neymar. But one thing to note is the players that Saudi Arabia has already bought those players are too old. Moreover, this league has become much more popular since Cristiano Ronaldo came to Al Nassr club in Saudi Arabia. If Saudi Arabia can buy young players then maybe their league will become much more popular. At present, another older player may join the club in Saudi Arabia.

Since no club in the Saudi League has been guaranteed to play in the Champions League so far, this league is not very reliable for young footballers. But when one or two teams from this Saudi League get the opportunity to play in the Champions League, it will be seen that many young players are coming to the Saudi League considering the money and the opportunity to play in the Champions League.

Maybe it will be much more difficult for clubs in Saudi Arabia. If a club in Saudi Arabia wants to play in the Champions League, they need to improve a lot, if they can't improve themselves, they may never qualify for the Champions League. The clubs that are currently in Saudi Arabia, the players of the clubs are not always able to perform well, even there are not many skilled players. Moreover, there is a lot of difference between the performance of various European clubs and the performance of Saudi Arabian clubs. Perhaps this is where Saudi Arabia lags behind. So the clubs in Saudi Arabia should buy many talented and skilled players who will make this Saudi league more popular and help them qualify for the Champions League.

[Hirose UK]

Shocking news came from Indonesia, there are many rumors about PSSI plans to make major changes to the Indonesian national team and all of that cannot be separated from Shin Tae-yong future as coach there, he has become coach who has been proud and even considered great coach because of his success in leading the Indonesian national team so far in the 2026 World Cup qualifying round.
Dismissal of Shin Tae-yong is certainly heavy blow for all Indonesians and if the dismissal is really carried out by PSSI then it could cause the Indonesian national team to decline like what happened to Saudi Arabia, the remaining matches in the qualifying round are very important to determine whether Indonesia will be able to qualify or not and when the decline occurs it can be very detrimental.