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

[Sithara007]

Why do you say that the World Cup held in Qatar was disappointing? I wasn't there so I can't say anything about organization of the competition and how the fans were treated, but on TV it looked pretty OK. There was a lot of surprising results so it was really a good competition. I feel the same with the World Cup that was hosted by Russia five years ago.

Well.. on the TV it would look great anyway. But that doesn't mean that everything was alright on the ground. Fans were left frustrated with the inflated hotel prices and restrictions on food and drinks. But what made this world cup a bitter experience for me was the refusal from Qatar to compensate the families of 6,000 plus workers who died during the stadium constructions. While Qatar was showing off its wealth during the tournament, little children of dead workers were going with empty stomach in Nepal and Bangladesh, as they were denied any sort of financial compensation.

I sincerely hope that FIFA would never allow countries like Qatar to host this competition ever again. Those who doesn't know the meaning of humanity and compassion doesn't have the right to stage such global tournaments. They spent close to $300 billion in hosting the world cup. Just 0.1% of this amount would have compensated the families of the poor workers who lost their lives.

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[Leviathan.007]

Why do you say that the World Cup held in Qatar was disappointing? I wasn't there so I can't say anything about organization of the competition and how the fans were treated, but on TV it looked pretty OK. There was a lot of surprising results so it was really a good competition. I feel the same with the World Cup that was hosted by Russia five years ago.

Well.. on the TV it would look great anyway. But that doesn't mean that everything was alright on the ground. Fans were left frustrated with the inflated hotel prices and restrictions on food and drinks. But what made this world cup a bitter experience for me was the refusal from Qatar to compensate the families of 6,000 plus workers who died during the stadium constructions. While Qatar was showing off its wealth during the tournament, little children of dead workers were going with empty stomach in Nepal and Bangladesh, as they were denied any sort of financial compensation.

I sincerely hope that FIFA would never allow countries like Qatar to host this competition ever again. Those who doesn't know the meaning of humanity and compassion doesn't have the right to stage such global tournaments. They spent close to $300 billion in hosting the world cup. Just 0.1% of this amount would have compensated the families of the poor workers who lost their lives.

There are many things on TV that look great and better than they actually are, but in fact, there are many poor people in Qatar who can receive some assistance from the government instead of building this stadium for the world cup because the Qatari government has no resources for the world cup. In 2026, I guess American's situation will be much better and they will not spend such a large amount of money on building stadiums when they have so many people who are in need.

[slackovic]

There are many things on TV that look great and better than they actually are, but in fact, there are many poor people in Qatar who can receive some assistance from the government instead of building this stadium for the world cup because the Qatari government has no resources for the world cup. In 2026, I guess American's situation will be much better and they will not spend such a large amount of money on building stadiums when they have so many people who are in need.

America has it's own problems with poor people not getting any financial or any other aid. I'm pretty sure that won't change even if they don't have to build new stadiums. I don't know why people expect that football competition should cause a country to change the way they treat poor people. I'm not saying that it's OK not to financially support poor people, I just think that football should focus on playing football and organizing competitions and let politics care about financial aids.

[rahmad2nd]

I can completely agree with this, the national leagues of Africa and Asia are really organizationally and financially far below the level of European football leagues and the quality of football is low.
However, if you look at the squads of the leading African and Asian teams, you will see that most of their main players actually play in European clubs and leagues and not in the national championships of their countries.
Through the experience of playing in the strongest European leagues, African and Asian players gain important experience, undergo professional training and raise the level of their game and understanding of all aspects of professional football.
This is why it is wrong to say that if football in African and Asian national leagues is bad, that automatically means that their national teams are also bad. Exactly the opposite, and that was brilliantly demonstrated by Morocco at the last world cup in Qatar.

For the African continent, it is clear, there are many players from African countries who play with teams in European leagues. In fact, there are several names who have become star players who have played for big European clubs. like for example, Sadio Mane, Osimhem, and also many other players. Even so, I don't really know for sure how things are going in their domestic league. at least, Africa is currently doing better than Asia.

For Asia, it is true that there are many Asian players playing in European competitions. but not all of Asia, mostly dominated by players from Japan, or South Korea. the rest, not so famous.To be honest, because I come from Asia, football in Asia doesn't change much. whether it's from the organization, finance, system, infrastructure, everything is below the level of European football. Naturally, if the quality of teams from Asia is very low.

But different from Japanese football, South Korea, they have a much better system than other Asian. even if the two countries are serious about developing their football. I believe, Japan and South Korea can be much better than what they are currently showing. So, speaking of the 2026 world cup. several Asian teams that will participate in the world cup rounds later, will only be entertainment teams. I do not intend to belittle, but armed with what I know. that's the truth. however, the world cup still has a long time lag, hopefully teams from Asia will want to build up their football so that it can grow even more.

[Sithara007]

America has it's own problems with poor people not getting any financial or any other aid. I'm pretty sure that won't change even if they don't have to build new stadiums. I don't know why people expect that football competition should cause a country to change the way they treat poor people. I'm not saying that it's OK not to financially support poor people, I just think that football should focus on playing football and organizing competitions and let politics care about financial aids.

I agree with you to some extent. Sports should be separated from politics (but that doesn't happen always). But in this case, there is a strong link between the deaths of workers and the world cup. Because these workers died during the construction of stadiums during the world cup. Complaints were made to FIFA about the poor working conditions, but they refused to interfere. And at that point, they had a lot of influence and could have done something good for the workers if they had the will. The 6,000+ deaths during the construction of world cup stadiums will remain as a blot for FIFA, as long as this competition exists.

[Strongkored]

But different from Japanese football, South Korea, they have a much better system than other Asian. even if the two countries are serious about developing their football. I believe, Japan and South Korea can be much better than what they are currently showing. So, speaking of the 2026 world cup. several Asian teams that will participate in the world cup rounds later, will only be entertainment teams. I do not intend to belittle, but armed with what I know. that's the truth. however, the world cup still has a long time lag, hopefully teams from Asia will want to build up their football so that it can grow even more.

Talking about Japan and South Korea, they are more organized in terms of developing sports such as football and the large number of players who also compete in European leagues makes their national players have more experience and that is quite helpful when they will compete in the World Cup later. , and agree with you that there will be many Asian countries that will only be cheerers during the World Cup later but maybe it will be different if they start to improve from now on even though the results will not be immediately visible but at least in the next few World Cups there will be more Asian countries which provides strong resistance for strong teams such as from European and American countries.

[Leviathan.007]

But different from Japanese football, South Korea, they have a much better system than other Asian. even if the two countries are serious about developing their football. I believe, Japan and South Korea can be much better than what they are currently showing. So, speaking of the 2026 world cup. several Asian teams that will participate in the world cup rounds later, will only be entertainment teams. I do not intend to belittle, but armed with what I know. that's the truth. however, the world cup still has a long time lag, hopefully teams from Asia will want to build up their football so that it can grow even more.

Talking about Japan and South Korea, they are more organized in terms of developing sports such as football and the large number of players who also compete in European leagues makes their national players have more experience and that is quite helpful when they will compete in the World Cup later. , and agree with you that there will be many Asian countries that will only be cheerers during the World Cup later but maybe it will be different if they start to improve from now on even though the results will not be immediately visible but at least in the next few World Cups there will be more Asian countries which provides strong resistance for strong teams such as from European and American countries.

There is no doubt that both the Asian countries of Japan and South Korea are continuously striving to build their national teams, and both of them are striving to make their teams more organized than their Asian counterparts. As far as I know, of all the Asian teams they have played in the world cups, South Korea is the only one they have ever managed to play in a semi-final in 2002. I guess they would have been able to play better in the last world cup, and I'm eager to see what will happen in 2026.

[slackovic]

There is no doubt that both the Asian countries of Japan and South Korea are continuously striving to build their national teams, and both of them are striving to make their teams more organized than their Asian counterparts. As far as I know, of all the Asian teams they have played in the world cups, South Korea is the only one they have ever managed to play in a semi-final in 2002. I guess they would have been able to play better in the last world cup, and I'm eager to see what will happen in 2026.

Yeah, they are getting better on every tournament. I guess they have enough money and interest to develop their national team and it's starting to bring good results. With Qatar we can see that you can't create a competitive national football team in 10 years.

[keyscore44]

There is no doubt that both the Asian countries of Japan and South Korea are continuously striving to build their national teams, and both of them are striving to make their teams more organized than their Asian counterparts. As far as I know, of all the Asian teams they have played in the world cups, South Korea is the only one they have ever managed to play in a semi-final in 2002. I guess they would have been able to play better in the last world cup, and I'm eager to see what will happen in 2026.

Yeah, they are getting better on every tournament. I guess they have enough money and interest to develop their national team and it's starting to bring good results. With Qatar we can see that you can't create a competitive national football team in 10 years.

In fact, since Qatar is very economically viable, they need to train their national football team well and turn it into a fairly good team for the next World Cup. But I think Qatar will turn into a good team in a few years.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

There is no doubt that both the Asian countries of Japan and South Korea are continuously striving to build their national teams, and both of them are striving to make their teams more organized than their Asian counterparts. As far as I know, of all the Asian teams they have played in the world cups, South Korea is the only one they have ever managed to play in a semi-final in 2002. I guess they would have been able to play better in the last world cup, and I'm eager to see what will happen in 2026.

Yeah, they are getting better on every tournament. I guess they have enough money and interest to develop their national team and it's starting to bring good results. With Qatar we can see that you can't create a competitive national football team in 10 years.

I think the world of football is changing rapidly, with all that happened in the Qatar 2022 world cup where we see smaller teams beating big teams, and also, Morocco, which have never before made it to the semi final, did it in the last world cup, this alone made the whole Qatar 2022 world cup and big experience and exciting for the very many that watched and followed the games.

Judging from all that happened in Qatar, I can almost bet anything that 2026 world cup would be another really exciting experience as many teams considered small right now will come out to surprise the entire world.
Things are shifting and it's shifting fast, let us all cross our fingers for what is coming in 2026.

[slapper]

Why do you say that the World Cup held in Qatar was disappointing? I wasn't there so I can't say anything about organization of the competition and how the fans were treated, but on TV it looked pretty OK. There was a lot of surprising results so it was really a good competition. I feel the same with the World Cup that was hosted by Russia five years ago.

Well.. on the TV it would look great anyway. But that doesn't mean that everything was alright on the ground. Fans were left frustrated with the inflated hotel prices and restrictions on food and drinks. But what made this world cup a bitter experience for me was the refusal from Qatar to compensate the families of 6,000 plus workers who died during the stadium constructions. While Qatar was showing off its wealth during the tournament, little children of dead workers were going with empty stomach in Nepal and Bangladesh, as they were denied any sort of financial compensation.

I sincerely hope that FIFA would never allow countries like Qatar to host this competition ever again. Those who doesn't know the meaning of humanity and compassion doesn't have the right to stage such global tournaments. They spent close to $300 billion in hosting the world cup. Just 0.1% of this amount would have compensated the families of the poor workers who lost their lives.

Your viewpoint resonates with me entirely! The extravagant showcase of wealth by Qatar throughout the world cup, coupled with their indifference towards the families of the workers who perished constructing the stadiums, is an act of sheer inhumanity and insensitivity. The anguish felt by those destitute children as they observe the abundance and splendor while their kin struggles to survive without any compensation is unfathomable.

It's the responsibility of FIFA to ensure that countries hosting such global events are held accountable for their laborers' welfare. The notion of human lives being offered up for the sake of sports and entertainment is unacceptable. It is my fervent hope that Qatar is never allowed to host the world cup again until they demonstrate that human life takes precedence over profits.

[Sithara007]

There is no doubt that both the Asian countries of Japan and South Korea are continuously striving to build their national teams, and both of them are striving to make their teams more organized than their Asian counterparts. As far as I know, of all the Asian teams they have played in the world cups, South Korea is the only one they have ever managed to play in a semi-final in 2002. I guess they would have been able to play better in the last world cup, and I'm eager to see what will happen in 2026.

Japan and South Korea have become stagnant since the 2000s. The teams that are showing the maximum improvement from Asia are Saudi Arabia, Australia and Iraq. And some of the most promising ones are United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan. In terms of ranking, Japan, South Korea and Iran are at the top, but I am not witnessing much improvement in the quality of their game for the past many years. Both Japan and South Korea win a match each against stronger sides in Qatar 2022, but they found it hard to maintain momentum.

[sana54210]

For the African continent, it is clear, there are many players from African countries who play with teams in European leagues. In fact, there are several names who have become star players who have played for big European clubs. like for example, Sadio Mane, Osimhem, and also many other players. Even so, I don't really know for sure how things are going in their domestic league. at least, Africa is currently doing better than Asia.

Not just African players playing in European leagues, it is also African players playing in European national teams as well which makes the difference. I mean lets face it, France was filled with many African and many other non-French players, even Spanish as well, so it wasn't really France that won, it was the players that moved to France that won this and that is the difference.

Obviously if you took everyone's ancient line into play and put those players in those clubs things could change, but at certain point politically speaking if a player moved to a nation and became their citizen, then we need to consider them players for those nations as well.

[LUCKMCFLY]

In the next World Cup I have high hopes of seeing some countries that have never been to the World Cup, it is also good taste that the quotas of the countries that will participate will be increased, this means that we will have much more time enjoying great football, that means that there will be more emotions, and if the World Cup lasts longer, it means that there will be more opportunity to know much more about the host countries, this refers to their customs, it will also generate more business and it will translate into great tourism for the countries , which will cause the economy of those countries to have large income and achieve more progress.

There is no doubt that both the Asian countries of Japan and South Korea are continuously striving to build their national teams, and both of them are striving to make their teams more organized than their Asian counterparts. As far as I know, of all the Asian teams they have played in the world cups, South Korea is the only one they have ever managed to play in a semi-final in 2002. I guess they would have been able to play better in the last world cup, and I'm eager to see what will happen in 2026.

Yeah, they are getting better on every tournament. I guess they have enough money and interest to develop their national team and it's starting to bring good results. With Qatar we can see that you can't create a competitive national football team in 10 years.

In fact, since Qatar is very economically viable, they need to train their national football team well and turn it into a fairly good team for the next World Cup. But I think Qatar will turn into a good team in a few years.

You know that I also think the same, in many countries, including mine, there is a lot of talent, especially where I live, because fútbol is played here at a very high level, and there are many children and young people who show great talent, however, here it is. What is most seen is that these talents are wasted because they do not have a sponsor or support, the majority are dedicated to alcohol and lose an entire career, and those who choose to play are always the same "rosca" and thus fútbol does not grow , soccer grows with investment, with schools, and that is if they have it in Qatar.

[Leviathan.007]

There is no doubt that both the Asian countries of Japan and South Korea are continuously striving to build their national teams, and both of them are striving to make their teams more organized than their Asian counterparts. As far as I know, of all the Asian teams they have played in the world cups, South Korea is the only one they have ever managed to play in a semi-final in 2002. I guess they would have been able to play better in the last world cup, and I'm eager to see what will happen in 2026.

Japan and South Korea have become stagnant since the 2000s. The teams that are showing the maximum improvement from Asia are Saudi Arabia, Australia and Iraq. And some of the most promising ones are United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan. In terms of ranking, Japan, South Korea and Iran are at the top, but I am not witnessing much improvement in the quality of their game for the past many years. Both Japan and South Korea win a match each against stronger sides in Qatar 2022, but they found it hard to maintain momentum.

The reason why Japan and South Korea could get more progress is the plan they got and the hard work they do to stick to the plan they have. It is still quite common for other teams and countries like Saudi Arabia to spend much more money than other teams in similar fields in Asia. This is why, based on the investment they have made in these years, it is quite normal for them to be showing more improvement as compared to other teams.

[freedomgo]

There is no doubt that both the Asian countries of Japan and South Korea are continuously striving to build their national teams, and both of them are striving to make their teams more organized than their Asian counterparts. As far as I know, of all the Asian teams they have played in the world cups, South Korea is the only one they have ever managed to play in a semi-final in 2002. I guess they would have been able to play better in the last world cup, and I'm eager to see what will happen in 2026.

Japan and South Korea have become stagnant since the 2000s. The teams that are showing the maximum improvement from Asia are Saudi Arabia, Australia and Iraq. And some of the most promising ones are United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan. In terms of ranking, Japan, South Korea and Iran are at the top, but I am not witnessing much improvement in the quality of their game for the past many years. Both Japan and South Korea win a match each against stronger sides in Qatar 2022, but they found it hard to maintain momentum.

The reason why Japan and South Korea could get more progress is the plan they got and the hard work they do to stick to the plan they have. It is still quite common for other teams and countries like Saudi Arabia to spend much more money than other teams in similar fields in Asia. This is why, based on the investment they have made in these years, it is quite normal for them to be showing more improvement as compared to other teams.

I think it's because Japan and South Korea is not giving any priorities nor funds to their football clubs because the said sports didn't belong to the country's top favorites, I mean, we can see it in the SEA games where their soccer/football team is really not that good. Aside from that, the named countries are taking more focus on their economic growth as they don't have that much funds like the Saudi Arabia does where they have the luxury to spend millions on their national team.

[rahmad2nd]

But different from Japanese football, South Korea, they have a much better system than other Asian. even if the two countries are serious about developing their football. I believe, Japan and South Korea can be much better than what they are currently showing. So, speaking of the 2026 world cup. several Asian teams that will participate in the world cup rounds later, will only be entertainment teams. I do not intend to belittle, but armed with what I know. that's the truth. however, the world cup still has a long time lag, hopefully teams from Asia will want to build up their football so that it can grow even more.

Talking about Japan and South Korea, they are more organized in terms of developing sports such as football and the large number of players who also compete in European leagues makes their national players have more experience and that is quite helpful when they will compete in the World Cup later. , and agree with you that there will be many Asian countries that will only be cheerers during the World Cup later but maybe it will be different if they start to improve from now on even though the results will not be immediately visible but at least in the next few World Cups there will be more Asian countries which provides strong resistance for strong teams such as from European and American countries.

Actually I really hope, the development of football in Asia has increased. at least, being able to compete with the two Asian countries which always take part in the world cup stage, such as Japan and South Korea for example. but unfortunately, most of the development of football in other Asian countries has not changed much. especially, ASEAN countries whose football development is very slow. Also, the bad system is dilapidated as well as weak regulation, which makes the development of football in several other Asian countries not stand out.

Spoke Japanese and South Korean squads. these two countries, have very high discipline, dedication, work ethic, whatever the field, including football. therefore, if their government prioritizes the development of their football. I am quite optimistic, Japan and South Korea can compete with European and Latin American countries, regardless of the many Japanese and South Korean players who play in European clubs.

So, in the 2026 world cup later. only the two teams from this country seem to be able to put up a pretty good fight, compared to other teams from Asia who will take part in the stage at the world cup championship later.

[nullama]

~snip~
Actually I really hope, the development of football in Asia has increased. at least, being able to compete with the two Asian countries which always take part in the world cup stage, such as Japan and South Korea for example. but unfortunately, most of the development of football in other Asian countries has not changed much. especially, ASEAN countries whose football development is very slow. Also, the bad system is dilapidated as well as weak regulation, which makes the development of football in several other Asian countries not stand out.

Spoke Japanese and South Korean squads. these two countries, have very high discipline, dedication, work ethic, whatever the field, including football. therefore, if their government prioritizes the development of their football. I am quite optimistic, Japan and South Korea can compete with European and Latin American countries, regardless of the many Japanese and South Korean players who play in European clubs.

So, in the 2026 world cup later. only the two teams from this country seem to be able to put up a pretty good fight, compared to other teams from Asia who will take part in the stage at the world cup championship later.

Japan is probably the best one at the moment. South Korea does have a great team as well though.

But yeah, in general the Asian countries don't really shine in the football arena. Not sure why, maybe they lack a bit of passion for it?

They do seem to have been excellent in other areas so I'm thinking maybe they are not that interested in football.

[livingfree]

Japan is probably the best one at the moment. South Korea does have a great team as well though.

But yeah, in general the Asian countries don't really shine in the football arena. Not sure why, maybe they lack a bit of passion for it?

They do seem to have been excellent in other areas so I'm thinking maybe they are not that interested in football.

It's because the sport for most asian are like about physical and contact sports. Now after the recent world cup, it has opened a lot of eyes that Asian's aren't just limited for those type of sports.

But it has encouraged a lot to get into Football and that's why there will be more aspiring great football players that we might see in the next decade coming from this continent.

[romero121]

Japan is probably the best one at the moment. South Korea does have a great team as well though.

But yeah, in general the Asian countries don't really shine in the football arena. Not sure why, maybe they lack a bit of passion for it?

They do seem to have been excellent in other areas so I'm thinking maybe they are not that interested in football.

It's because the sport for most asian are like about physical and contact sports. Now after the recent world cup, it has opened a lot of eyes that Asian's aren't just limited for those type of sports.

But it has encouraged a lot to get into Football and that's why there will be more aspiring great football players that we might see in the next decade coming from this continent.

Even before the World Cup football is there in Asian countries, but the importance and infrastructure available is very limited. In specific specific region of the country used to have good number of clubs and players. With the football world cup there is big awareness and people have known much about football. Once again the participation of Ronaldo into Saudi Arabia Pro League have made things even better and made people read about football in everyday news. Few days it was Ronaldo's contract pay that was the discussion everywhere. This is how things move, and it tempts even the unknown person to see who is Ronaldo.