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

[Hispo]

~snip~
If anything, I would dare to say that there is a chance that playing at home could impact negatively on the performance of a team, because the expectations placed over them, which could lead to stress and mistakes during the match.

It comes to mind the famous Germany Vs. Brazil during the 2014 world cup.

If I have time, tomorrow I would do some research and see if I can find some statistics about Playing at home.

Playing at home clearly gives you an advantage. Here are the world cup winners at home:

1930, Uruguay
1934, Italy
1966, England
1974, West Germany
1978, Argentina
1998, France

And you can see that the best performance of each team is usually when they hosted the world cup.

So would you be more inclined to bet on teams when they are hosting the world cup based on that perception?
Because, I personally think that it is not reliable enough (specially if the host country does not have a long tradition in football), Qatar is a good example. I think it could be fair to let this be a factor on where to place bets, if we talk about specific teams.

[1714621846]

1714621846

[1714621846]

1714621846

[1714621846]

1714621846

[1714621846]

1714621846

[1714621846]

1714621846

[nullama]

~snip~
I agree that a team's superstars don't guarantee success. It depends on individual talent and teamwork. France, an example, has succeeded because its players know each other's strengths and weaknesses. I believe the Netherlands can recover from their recent struggles. Despite their lack of celebrities, they have a strong foundation of talented players who have performed well in their domestic leagues. They can improve their game and become powerful with proper instruction and tact.

Yeah, but at the end of the day having superstars will increase their chances of winning.

Of course it's never 100% but having great players will simply increase the odds of your team winning.

Also, playing well in their domestic league doesn't always mean they're going to perform great when playing for their country.

[Strongkored]

Playing at home clearly gives you an advantage. Here are the world cup winners at home:

1930, Uruguay
1934, Italy
1966, England
1974, West Germany
1978, Argentina
1998, France

And you can see that the best performance of each team is usually when they hosted the world cup.

Not always, and there are also hosts with good World Cup history who are big favorites who fail in front of their own crowd
1990 Italy Champion West Germany
2006 Germany Champion of Italy
2014 Brazil Champion Germany
Can gives an advantage but also a definite disadvantage as they will feel the pressure of having to win stronger, and it was quite bad when Brazil lost to Germany in the quarter-finals by a landslide 2014.

[keyscore44]

Playing at home clearly gives you an advantage. Here are the world cup winners at home:

1930, Uruguay
1934, Italy
1966, England
1974, West Germany
1978, Argentina
1998, France

And you can see that the best performance of each team is usually when they hosted the world cup.

Not always, and there are also hosts with good World Cup history who are big favorites who fail in front of their own crowd
1990 Italy Champion West Germany
2006 Germany Champion of Italy
2014 Brazil Champion Germany
Can gives an advantage but also a definite disadvantage as they will feel the pressure of having to win stronger, and it was quite bad when Brazil lost to Germany in the quarter-finals by a landslide 2014.

I think it's unfortunate that Brazil won't make it to the finals in this year's 2022 World Cup. But for 2026, the Brazil team will build themselves up and be considered one of the best teams in the World Cup.

[Daniel91]

/snip

But I find it funny how host countries are sometimes able to somehow beat favorite teams. Russia played so well that they were eliminated in quarter-finals while almost beat Croatia, that went into finals and Qatar beat Argentina, a team that defeat all the other teams and won Fifa World Cup.
Russian players were definitely on steroids because they were running like horses but idk about Qatar.

Qatar didn't beat Argentina in the World Cup. They played really badly and it was evident that they don't have the quality to play against top teams of the world. They played four games in the group stage and managed to score only one goal against Senegal.

But I see your point. Playing at home often makes players give an extra effort for the fans and then surprises can happen. But sadly that didn't work out for Qatar.

Not that kind of advantage really that will boost the team's morale, I strongly think that it is the other way around where most of them are already feeling the pressure because they are the host and the people, and their federation are expecting that they can at least defeat some teams along the way so that the host team, for example Qatar, will still be relevant and won't get embarrassed in the early phase.

The thing about the house and the advantage is somewhat ambiguous, if it is necessary to consider that a host team has a little more advantage, but you must have a little more tact when it comes to giving a red or yellow card, because it is the advantage of the host, then it cannot be dealt with radically and harshly either, the hosts are the ones who usually win the first game, but in the case of Qatar things were very different, they even said that Ecuador had offered a lot of money to the players to let themselves win, I don't know if it was speculation or truth, but somehow that causes a lot of curiosity.

in the past, countries that had strong teams struggled to organize the world cup because they had expectations that they could win the world cup, and they had a strong team, they had luxury hotels, so everything was heading towards high profits and prestige when they won the world cup they were organizing, but now the situation has become different

many countries are wanting to organize the world cup just for the profits they can get and the publicity that the hotels, beaches and many places of entertainment that these countries will have with the organization of the world cup, and I do not blame them because soccer today nowadays it has become a business, everyone wants to make money in this market, even fifa benefits a lot from it

Let's be realistic, in the past the journey was much longer, for example the national teams traveled to the first world cup in Uruguay in 1930 for weeks on a passenger ship, and they would arrive at the world cup tired and unprepared. At that time, the household advantage was really great, but it has not been like that for a long time.
Today, many small countries without a football tradition, such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia and others, want to organize the World Cup in football due to the possibility of making money but also promoting their unpopular regimes in the world, and this is a fact.
For them, football results and successes are actually secondary in that story.
After all, Qatar spent so much money on new football stadiums that they are actually at a loss after the end of the World Cup, but that obviously doesn't even matter to them, because they got a lot more than possible earnings from the World Cup, and that is a big international promotion of the country.

[LUCKMCFLY]

Well, regarding the Netherlands, I think I would take it out of that bunch you're talking about, because the Netherlands had a very tough match against Argentina, that match was very exciting and we saw Messi really upset, that for me was one of the most exciting matches I've seen from Qatar, they were too good, emotions were on the surface, I think Belgium was disappointing, because they have very good players and I saw very boring football, like Denmark, which I expected a lot but nothing happened, however It's not that they are bad teams, let's remember that these teams left Sweden and Italy out, and Portugal was saved.

Netherlands and Danmark are some of those "dying" teams. They are a shadow of their former self. And regarding Belgium, it is difficult to believe that this team was at the top of the FIFA rankings a few years back. Among the European teams, England, France, Spain, Portugal and Italy have maintained their standards, while others like Netherlands and Belgium have gone down the drain. The advantage with teams like England is that they have some of the best club competitions in the world and that ensures a steady supply of quality young players.

You are right, the countries like France and Italy I see as very strong, one of the things that Italy will ensure will be to go to the World Cup, I have no doubt about that, there are already two World Cups that are not going, obviously in the Euro they have to show that they are good Besides, Serie A is very exciting, if they have many players from Napoli and Inter+Milan +Roma they are with a team from another world, France because they have Mbappé and only he makes the difference, plus Deschamps has a lot of material to work with, He has the luxury of not putting Benzema in, which I consider to be very bad, let's wait and see what he will come up with in the Euro.

[sovie]

Well, regarding the Netherlands, I think I would take it out of that bunch you're talking about, because the Netherlands had a very tough match against Argentina, that match was very exciting and we saw Messi really upset, that for me was one of the most exciting matches I've seen from Qatar, they were too good, emotions were on the surface, I think Belgium was disappointing, because they have very good players and I saw very boring football, like Denmark, which I expected a lot but nothing happened, however It's not that they are bad teams, let's remember that these teams left Sweden and Italy out, and Portugal was saved.

Netherlands and Danmark are some of those "dying" teams. They are a shadow of their former self. And regarding Belgium, it is difficult to believe that this team was at the top of the FIFA rankings a few years back. Among the European teams, England, France, Spain, Portugal and Italy have maintained their standards, while others like Netherlands and Belgium have gone down the drain. The advantage with teams like England is that they have some of the best club competitions in the world and that ensures a steady supply of quality young players.

You are right, the countries like France and Italy I see as very strong, one of the things that Italy will ensure will be to go to the World Cup, I have no doubt about that, there are already two World Cups that are not going, obviously in the Euro they have to show that they are good Besides, Serie A is very exciting, if they have many players from Napoli and Inter+Milan +Roma they are with a team from another world, France because they have Mbappé and only he makes the difference, plus Deschamps has a lot of material to work with, He has the luxury of not putting Benzema in, which I consider to be very bad, let's wait and see what he will come up with in the Euro.

But I think the Brazil team can do something great in the next World Cup. Because the team had great potential in the 2022 World Cup but due to some mistakes they could not move forward. However, the young players of the team will improve themselves in the next World Cup. As a result, it can be said that Brazil can do something good.

[Tumanggor]

Lionel Messi have been 35 years old right now and  FIFA World Cup 2026 :Canada/Mexico/United States left three years and seems has potential for Lionel Messi get last opportunity in FIFA World Cup with his age 38 years old. All possibility with Lionel Messi can participant next World Cup depending his performance with his current team.

Honestly Lionel Messi is the most influential player for Argentina and he has excited entertainment from all media and seems disappointed if next time World Cup 2026 Lionel Messi have been absent, lets see his contribution and performance with club but if still consistent I sure he will get position in next world Cup edition.

lionel messi has good thoughts, he once said that when Argentina wins the world cup, he will retire from the national team, and if we see him playing in the 2026 world cup then old age will affect his performance and I doubt he will spoil the achievement with that

but we can all only speculate about that because a month before the 2026 world cup takes place, everything could change

[rahmad2nd]

~snil~

~snip~

I agree that a team's superstars don't guarantee success. It depends on individual talent and teamwork. France, an example, has succeeded because its players know each other's strengths and weaknesses. I believe the Netherlands can recover from their recent struggles. Despite their lack of celebrities, they have a strong foundation of talented players who have performed well in their domestic leagues. They can improve their game and become powerful with proper instruction and tact.

In football, especially modern football. a team doesn't only need star players or superstars as the key to victory or a determinant of the team's overall performance. Football is currently more adopting a teamwork game system, not just relying on superstar players. and if we refer to France at the 2022 world cup Qatar, even Mbappe doesn't always show his best game, except in the final match vs Argentina. but here too we can see the role of the coach, and how they mix up their team so that the players play in an organized manner. the coaches build a system, chemistry, bonds, and finally the talent of the players.

As for the Netherlands squad, even though they failed to qualify for the next phase at the Qatar 2022 world cup. The Netherlands showed quite an impressive game, even though it was not supported by very well-known star players. Van Gal was able to take his team a step further, they showed a good game as well as solid teamwork. unfortunately, the Netherlands had to meet Argentina in the quarter-finals and they were eliminated from the penalty shoot-out. but to be honest, the Netherlands has had a pretty good performance and I'm quite happy with the current development of the Dutch squad. maybe, in the 2026 cup later they can surprise again.

[Gosgosking]

Well, regarding the Netherlands, I think I would take it out of that bunch you're talking about, because the Netherlands had a very tough match against Argentina, that match was very exciting and we saw Messi really upset, that for me was one of the most exciting matches I've seen from Qatar, they were too good, emotions were on the surface, I think Belgium was disappointing, because they have very good players and I saw very boring football, like Denmark, which I expected a lot but nothing happened, however It's not that they are bad teams, let's remember that these teams left Sweden and Italy out, and Portugal was saved.

Netherlands and Danmark are some of those "dying" teams. They are a shadow of their former self. And regarding Belgium, it is difficult to believe that this team was at the top of the FIFA rankings a few years back. Among the European teams, England, France, Spain, Portugal and Italy have maintained their standards, while others like Netherlands and Belgium have gone down the drain. The advantage with teams like England is that they have some of the best club competitions in the world and that ensures a steady supply of quality young players.

You are right, the countries like France and Italy I see as very strong, one of the things that Italy will ensure will be to go to the World Cup, I have no doubt about that, there are already two World Cups that are not going, obviously in the Euro they have to show that they are good Besides, Serie A is very exciting, if they have many players from Napoli and Inter+Milan +Roma they are with a team from another world, France because they have Mbappé and only he makes the difference, plus Deschamps has a lot of material to work with, He has the luxury of not putting Benzema in, which I consider to be very bad, let's wait and see what he will come up with in the Euro.

But I think the Brazil team can do something great in the next World Cup. Because the team had great potential in the 2022 World Cup but due to some mistakes they could not move forward. However, the young players of the team will improve themselves in the next World Cup. As a result, it can be said that Brazil can do something good.

Brazil would not want happened in the last world cup competition to occur again.  It was so annoying that Brazil did not take part much in the world cup. Brazil is one of teams that makes world cup competition interesting because of their quality in performance.

[Zackgeno96]

When do they actually start the draw for the group stage, I mean to qualify your own for this tournament? That is actually quite far away, a tournament only in 2026. But the run-up to Qatar has also taken a long time and the tournament itself will be over in a few weeks. Brazil did not play that bad at the last World Cup. The question is whether Neymar still wants to participate in the team at the World Cup in 2026. And interesting whether Messi will also participate. And we will not see Ronaldo there anymore, he is now a few years older and does not have good opponents in the current competition. If you look at the favorites, it will be about the same as the last World Cup in Qatar.

[nullama]

When do they actually start the draw for the group stage, I mean to qualify your own for this tournament? That is actually quite far away, a tournament only in 2026. But the run-up to Qatar has also taken a long time and the tournament itself will be over in a few weeks. Brazil did not play that bad at the last World Cup. The question is whether Neymar still wants to participate in the team at the World Cup in 2026. And interesting whether Messi will also participate. And we will not see Ronaldo there anymore, he is now a few years older and does not have good opponents in the current competition. If you look at the favorites, it will be about the same as the last World Cup in Qatar.

Still early days as they've mentioned that they're considering changes to what they've planned for the new world cup.

We'll have to wait and see, they said that Qatar was very entertaining and that they might end up with a similar group stage.

Hard to know what they will decide, but there will be lots of teams anyway, so it might feel like a classification stage. Or maybe they just add more groups and get a longer second stage.

[uneng]

~snil~

~snip~

I agree that a team's superstars don't guarantee success. It depends on individual talent and teamwork. France, an example, has succeeded because its players know each other's strengths and weaknesses. I believe the Netherlands can recover from their recent struggles. Despite their lack of celebrities, they have a strong foundation of talented players who have performed well in their domestic leagues. They can improve their game and become powerful with proper instruction and tact.

In football, especially modern football. a team doesn't only need star players or superstars as the key to victory or a determinant of the team's overall performance. Football is currently more adopting a teamwork game system, not just relying on superstar players. and if we refer to France at the 2022 world cup Qatar, even Mbappe doesn't always show his best game, except in the final match vs Argentina. but here too we can see the role of the coach, and how they mix up their team so that the players play in an organized manner. the coaches build a system, chemistry, bonds, and finally the talent of the players.

As for the Netherlands squad, even though they failed to qualify for the next phase at the Qatar 2022 world cup. The Netherlands showed quite an impressive game, even though it was not supported by very well-known star players. Van Gal was able to take his team a step further, they showed a good game as well as solid teamwork. unfortunately, the Netherlands had to meet Argentina in the quarter-finals and they were eliminated from the penalty shoot-out. but to be honest, the Netherlands has had a pretty good performance and I'm quite happy with the current development of the Dutch squad. maybe, in the 2026 cup later they can surprise again.

Sometimes the key players make the difference for the final victory, and sometimes they don't. On the last two world cups we have winners featuring star players as the major reason why they have won. In 2018 it was France with Mbappe and in 2022 it was Argentina with Messi. However, in 2014 Germany was the winner with a pretty solid and balanced team, where there wasn't a star player carrying everyone else on his back.

So it's kinda of random, it seems.

[Sirait]

But I think the Brazil team can do something great in the next World Cup. Because the team had great potential in the 2022 World Cup but due to some mistakes they could not move forward. However, the young players of the team will improve themselves in the next World Cup. As a result, it can be said that Brazil can do something good.

Brazil would not want happened in the last world cup competition to occur again.  It was so annoying that Brazil did not take part much in the world cup. Brazil is one of teams that makes world cup competition interesting because of their quality in performance.

Brazil has a lot to learn from their failure in December last year when they failed to advance to the final. if we look at the composition of the players that Brazil has, they are a star-studded team and talented players, but luck was not with them in last year's world cup. neymar, vini, casemiro will still be heavily involved in the 2026 world cup, we will surely see brazil at their best quality.

[nullama]

~snip~
Brazil has a lot to learn from their failure in December last year when they failed to advance to the final. if we look at the composition of the players that Brazil has, they are a star-studded team and talented players, but luck was not with them in last year's world cup. neymar, vini, casemiro will still be heavily involved in the 2026 world cup, we will surely see brazil at their best quality.

Winning the world cup is an incredibly difficult thing to achieve. Even the current champions, Argentina, lost one of their matches in the world cup, against Saudi Arabia.

So, in the end, Brazil lost the same amount of times than the world cup champions, (they both qualified undefeated), but Argentina had a bit more luck.

The thing is that you can be the number one in the world, like Brazil is, and still lose from time to time. You just have to be lucky and be incredibly good, to win the world cup.

[Strongkored]

the Brazil team will build themselves up and be considered one of the best teams in the World Cup.

Brazil is always the best team, always in first place in the FIFA Ranking, only occasionally they go down, almost certainly they always play in the World Cup, have a lot of good player material with an average playing in the big leagues, but in some of the World Cups they are like stuck in the quarterfinals but the next World Cup will be held on the American continent so the teams from America have a good chance including Brazil

[slapper]

the Brazil team will build themselves up and be considered one of the best teams in the World Cup.

Brazil is always the best team, always in first place in the FIFA Ranking, only occasionally they go down, almost certainly they always play in the World Cup, have a lot of good player material with an average playing in the big leagues, but in some of the World Cups they are like stuck in the quarterfinals but the next World Cup will be held on the American continent so the teams from America have a good chance including Brazil

As a football fan, the Brazilian national team is unquestionably great. Their vast accomplishments demonstrate their on-field skill. The proof, as they say, is in the eating. In the World Cup, all bets are off and teams are tested. I'm sure Brazil will do well in the event, but they'll encounter tough competition from other strong teams. Football is unpredictable, and anything can happen. They just need to glue everything together and a great coach can do so. Brazil's tournament fate is unknown, but we can be sure it will be a roller coaster of thrills, spills, and turns!

[Sirait]

As a football fan, the Brazilian national team is unquestionably great. Their vast accomplishments demonstrate their on-field skill. The proof, as they say, is in the eating. In the World Cup, all bets are off and teams are tested. I'm sure Brazil will do well in the event, but they'll encounter tough competition from other strong teams. Football is unpredictable, and anything can happen. They just need to glue everything together and a great coach can do so. Brazil's tournament fate is unknown, but we can be sure it will be a roller coaster of thrills, spills, and turns!

After being officially eliminated from the World Cup due to losing on penalties to Croatia, the Brazilian coach (TITE) immediately resigned from the Brazilian coaching chair and is currently still confused about who will train Brazil and the issue is Jose Mourinho getting that big offer. currently, brazil has the best squad in the world, they only need a coach who is able to manage their talents well. so that in the 2026 world cup, brazil will be a dangerous team again.

[Pierre 2]

the Brazil team will build themselves up and be considered one of the best teams in the World Cup.

Brazil is always the best team, always in first place in the FIFA Ranking, only occasionally they go down, almost certainly they always play in the World Cup, have a lot of good player material with an average playing in the big leagues, but in some of the World Cups they are like stuck in the quarterfinals but the next World Cup will be held on the American continent so the teams from America have a good chance including Brazil

I don't think continent matters that much. Brazilian football team is filled with star players, even their bench can be another team that can hit World Cups. But they have general issues with Latin Americans. Lack of motivation or dedication. Football is fun game for Brazil not like its competition. Consider Argentina, they started so bad in this year's world cup but that motivated them to fix their issues in later matches. Brazil will be part of this World cup and gonna pass to next round(s) for sure but they need some push to warn them so they can compete better.

[Masplanc]

the Brazil team will build themselves up and be considered one of the best teams in the World Cup.

Brazil is always the best team, always in first place in the FIFA Ranking, only occasionally they go down, almost certainly they always play in the World Cup, have a lot of good player material with an average playing in the big leagues, but in some of the World Cups they are like stuck in the quarterfinals but the next World Cup will be held on the American continent so the teams from America have a good chance including Brazil

Majority of brazil players are playing for big clubs, I get surprised sometimes why majority of players in Brazil team have good quality.  Their pattern of football is quite different from other teams, but it was so unfortunate that the Brazil team didn't show much effort in the concluded world cup competition.