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

[bitgolden]

More teams in the World Cup means more matches and of course more money, but that does not mean that we will see a better competition.
In fact, we will see more boring and bad matches that will not be attractive for TV and fans.
The World Cup should be an exclusive competition in which only the best national teams from all continents can participate, not a competition in which practically every national team in the world can participate.
I think that the increase in the number of national teams at the World Cup was due to another reason, which is that it would be easier for the president and the leadership of FIFA to get support for another term in FIFA.
In the end, it always comes down to politics and money 

I think lower level teams still mean a lot of money for Fifa. Because it doesn't matter who the big clubs play for, and the small ones do not matter neither because they have nations that will end up watching this. This means instead of the classic amount of nations (and everyone else) there will be even more people and even more fans on the stands and even more money.

So all in all this is a good thing for Fifa, is it a good thing for world of football? I do not know, a team that barely got in, could end up winning some games, nobody expected Morocco to be this further neither but they did, so surprises could happen as well and we should be happy that everyone has a higher chance next time.

[Gosgosking]

I think it may be too forward, but in the 2026 World Cup that will be held in three countries, I would like to see Portugal versus England in the finals. I know the Portuguese side will be a young team led by an experienced 40-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, who did not retire despite everyone's criticism. Hopefully he wins his First World Cup in penalties or extra time. It will be fun to watch.

By then their wont be Ronaldo and don't think Portugal have a player that is as good as Ronaldo.  Ronaldos influence over the year is what have been taking Portugal far in world cup. In the last world cup he wasn't very active that was why Portugal performance was not that impressive.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

I think it may be too forward, but in the 2026 World Cup that will be held in three countries, I would like to see Portugal versus England in the finals. I know the Portuguese side will be a young team led by an experienced 40-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, who did not retire despite everyone's criticism. Hopefully he wins his First World Cup in penalties or extra time. It will be fun to watch.

I strongly doubt that Ronaldo will play in the 2026 world cup, if you watched their game against morocco(not 100 percent sure) in the last world cup which brought about their disqualification from the tournament, Ronaldo was crying while leaving the football pitch, many believe that the reason why he was crying was because the 2022 world cup match was his last, and he thought he could have done better but failed, even through out the entire game Portugal played in the 2022 world cup, Ronaldo wasn't as active and vibrant like the Ronaldo we all used to know, i highly doubt his participation in 2026 world cup.

[Sithara007]

I strongly doubt that Ronaldo will play in the 2026 world cup, if you watched their game against morocco(not 100 percent sure) in the last world cup which brought about their disqualification from the tournament, Ronaldo was crying while leaving the football pitch, many believe that the reason why he was crying was because the 2022 world cup match was his last, and he thought he could have done better but failed, even through out the entire game Portugal played in the 2022 world cup, Ronaldo wasn't as active and vibrant like the Ronaldo we all used to know, i highly doubt his participation in 2026 world cup.

I am not sure whether Ronaldo will ever be a part of the Portuguese national squad again. He has moved to Saudi Arabia with his family and is a part of the biding team for 2030 FIFA World Cup. There are rumors that he may take up Saudi Arabian citizenship. He is already cohabiting with his girlfriend (Georgina Rodríguez), which is against the Saudi law. Actually as per Saudi Arabian law, cohabiting without marriage is a crime punishable by death. They changed the law just for Ronaldo. And in all probability, this is just a beginning. There will be more high profile sports legends moving to the Kingdom in the coming months and years.

And now taking in to account the rough treatment that he received during the 2022 world cup from the Portugal coach (Fernando Santos, replaced with Roberto Martínez a few days back), I am not sure whether Ronaldo would be very excited to represent Portugal again. He wanted to play for the national team along with his son, but given the changed circumstances it may no longer be a priority for him.

[rendravolt]

I strongly doubt that Ronaldo will play in the 2026 world cup, if you watched their game against morocco(not 100 percent sure) in the last world cup which brought about their disqualification from the tournament, Ronaldo was crying while leaving the football pitch, many believe that the reason why he was crying was because the 2022 world cup match was his last, and he thought he could have done better but failed, even through out the entire game Portugal played in the 2022 world cup, Ronaldo wasn't as active and vibrant like the Ronaldo we all used to know, i highly doubt his participation in 2026 world cup.

Even though it was once doubted that Ronaldo would not appear at the 2026 world cup, I saw the official video release from the Portuguese national team Instagram account where the new coach Roberto Martínez said that he would still add Ronaldo's name to his list in the Portugal squad, but this does not mean Ronaldo can strengthen Portugal in the 2026 world cup which I think is impossible considering that Ronaldo is already 38 years old now and if you wait until the 2026 world cup title he will definitely be 42 years old in my opinion that is too old, but for other competitions like Euro 2024 I think he is will still appear to defend the Portuguese national team, even though he will only be a substitute on the bench.

[sovie]

I strongly doubt that Ronaldo will play in the 2026 world cup, if you watched their game against morocco(not 100 percent sure) in the last world cup which brought about their disqualification from the tournament, Ronaldo was crying while leaving the football pitch, many believe that the reason why he was crying was because the 2022 world cup match was his last, and he thought he could have done better but failed, even through out the entire game Portugal played in the 2022 world cup, Ronaldo wasn't as active and vibrant like the Ronaldo we all used to know, i highly doubt his participation in 2026 world cup.

Even though it was once doubted that Ronaldo would not appear at the 2026 world cup, I saw the official video release from the Portuguese national team Instagram account where the new coach Roberto Martínez said that he would still add Ronaldo's name to his list in the Portugal squad, but this does not mean Ronaldo can strengthen Portugal in the 2026 world cup which I think is impossible considering that Ronaldo is already 38 years old now and if you wait until the 2026 world cup title he will definitely be 42 years old in my opinion that is too old, but for other competitions like Euro 2024 I think he is will still appear to defend the Portuguese national team, even though he will only be a substitute on the bench.

I also think that Cristiano Ronaldo's career is at its end now. There is absolutely no chance of playing the World Cup in 2026. His game shows no progress. He could not match himself in the new club.

[nullama]

~snip~
I also think that Cristiano Ronaldo's career is at its end now. There is absolutely no chance of playing the World Cup in 2026. His game shows no progress. He could not match himself in the new club.

The fact that he's now playing at Saudi Arabia until 2025 means that he's career is basically over.

He will not be playing at the highest level for years, plus he's getting older.

There's no chance for him to play in the next world cup. He just took the money and ran.

[Lida93]

The Fifa world cup 2026 will be co-hosted by three nations United States, Canada and Mexico.

Key Highlights

1- This will be the first time we will see 48 teams in the tournament, instead of 32.
2- There will be a total of 80 matches to be played in this Fifa world cup.
3- United States will host 60 Matches
4- Canada and Mexico will host 10 matches each.


Qualification

The qualification process for the FIFA 2026 world cup has not been finalized but this is for sure that more teams will be able to fulfill their dreams of playing in the Fifa world cup.

We shall discuss everything from qualification, preparation, and then the commencement of the actual Fifa world cup in 2026. 

I don't think the world cup would be interesting like this. They should have just left it for just one country to host.

Hosting the world cup is not an easy financial burden for a country, it's just about the love and prestige that comes with being a host of the world cup that makes nations push for the opportunity to host it. With three countries now being the host for the 2026 WC tournament it will easy the financial burden as the countries involved will have to share the cost. Another good part about this is that it will also afford countries that couldn't host it single handedly to have the opportunity to do so by merging with another. As for Qatar they have the financial will and that's why they were able to give us such astonishing and remarkable hosting of the 2022 WC, but not for countries that are going through some huge financial deficit and debt which the USA is not an exception.

[LUCKMCFLY]

The Fifa world cup 2026 will be co-hosted by three nations United States, Canada and Mexico.

Key Highlights

1- This will be the first time we will see 48 teams in the tournament, instead of 32.
2- There will be a total of 80 matches to be played in this Fifa world cup.
3- United States will host 60 Matches
4- Canada and Mexico will host 10 matches each.


Qualification

The qualification process for the FIFA 2026 world cup has not been finalized but this is for sure that more teams will be able to fulfill their dreams of playing in the Fifa world cup.

We shall discuss everything from qualification, preparation, and then the commencement of the actual Fifa world cup in 2026. 

I don't think the world cup would be interesting like this. They should have just left it for just one country to host.

Hosting the world cup is not an easy financial burden for a country, it's just about the love and prestige that comes with being a host of the world cup that makes nations push for the opportunity to host it. With three countries now being the host for the 2026 WC tournament it will easy the financial burden as the countries involved will have to share the cost. Another good part about this is that it will also afford countries that couldn't host it single handedly to have the opportunity to do so by merging with another. As for Qatar they have the financial will and that's why they were able to give us such astonishing and remarkable hosting of the 2022 WC, but not for countries that are going through some huge financial deficit and debt which the USA is not an exception.

Well, you are right about that, just after seeing the demonstration that Qatar gave, that they did not skimp on exorbitant expenses, which drew attention since they did not expect any type of ROI, they wanted to demonstrate the majesty of their country, and obviously This contained everything that is their culture that was enclosed for many in a series of rules and things that some people do not quite accept, however it was a very showy world, where technology was observed at its maximum splendor, they wanted to give more, I think They gave everything they could, the Arabs really excelled in my personal opinion, I hope that this World Cup these three countries help each other for the good of the show.

[Daniel91]

I strongly doubt that Ronaldo will play in the 2026 world cup, if you watched their game against morocco(not 100 percent sure) in the last world cup which brought about their disqualification from the tournament, Ronaldo was crying while leaving the football pitch, many believe that the reason why he was crying was because the 2022 world cup match was his last, and he thought he could have done better but failed, even through out the entire game Portugal played in the 2022 world cup, Ronaldo wasn't as active and vibrant like the Ronaldo we all used to know, i highly doubt his participation in 2026 world cup.

Even though it was once doubted that Ronaldo would not appear at the 2026 world cup, I saw the official video release from the Portuguese national team Instagram account where the new coach Roberto Martínez said that he would still add Ronaldo's name to his list in the Portugal squad, but this does not mean Ronaldo can strengthen Portugal in the 2026 world cup which I think is impossible considering that Ronaldo is already 38 years old now and if you wait until the 2026 world cup title he will definitely be 42 years old in my opinion that is too old, but for other competitions like Euro 2024 I think he is will still appear to defend the Portuguese national team, even though he will only be a substitute on the bench.

I also think that Cristiano Ronaldo's career is at its end now. There is absolutely no chance of playing the World Cup in 2026. His game shows no progress. He could not match himself in the new club.

Ronaldo has not been playing at the highest level for the last 2-3 years and this can clearly be seen from his statistics.
But his ego and selfishness during that time destroyed the ambitions and sports results of Juve, Manchester United and finally the Portuguese national team in Qatar.
Not only will Ronaldo not play in the next world cup in 2026 but it was a serious mistake that he even played for Portugal in the last world cup in 2022 in Qatar.
With his behavior and arrogance, he damaged the atmosphere in the Portuguese team and made it impossible for them to show their quality and maybe play in the final.
He is no longer a football player, but a rich retiree who wants to play recreational football in Saudi Arabia for huge sums of money 

[rahmad2nd]

Ronaldo has not been playing at the highest level for the last 2-3 years and this can clearly be seen from his statistics.
But his ego and selfishness during that time destroyed the ambitions and sports results of Juve, Manchester United and finally the Portuguese national team in Qatar.
Not only will Ronaldo not play in the next world cup in 2026 but it was a serious mistake that he even played for Portugal in the last world cup in 2022 in Qatar.
With his behavior and arrogance, he damaged the atmosphere in the Portuguese team and made it impossible for them to show their quality and maybe play in the final.
He is no longer a football player, but a rich retiree who wants to play recreational football in Saudi Arabia for huge sums of money 

I agree with the points you said, it was his ego and arrogance that stopped him from playing at European level. his early career ended, after his interview session with Piers Morgan. as it were, he felt he was still in demand by many big clubs in European leagues. in fact he ended up in the Arab league, which even Ronaldo was reluctant to play in the Arab League, during his first interview with Piers Morgan. it's a shame, in fact he is one of the megastars who actually can still exist on the European scene if he can control his ego and try to be a little humble. In fact, Zlatan, who in fact has entered the age of 40+, can still play at a big club, even though his existence is not as great as when he was young.

Actually I like Ronaldo on the field, he is an agile player who is also hungry for goals. unfortunately, his career will end with his new team and even if Portugal still includes him in his squad at the 2026 world cup later. as you said, the portuguese team will not show the quality of the regeneration of other players.

[gagux123]

what you say is very true, the prestige is really needed by the fifa world cup so that it continues to be the biggest sporting event in the world always and it is very good if FIFA continues to maintain it for 4 years

I myself see that what FIFA has been doing for a long time has been very good, the selection they have made has also been very good so far so increasing the number of countries playing will only add to the burden and I think it will be bad for the future of the world cup

I believe that year after year the FIFA management/staff intends to make some changes in the future world cups, I confess that I am not a sports specialist, but I do not know if the insertion of more countries in the world cup will be something extremely beneficial , I have no doubt that this will help a small country that has never participated in a world cup, but I have no doubt that it could lower the level of future world cups.
For me, an icing on the cake of the world cup is the fact that it takes place every 4 years.

[romero121]

what you say is very true, the prestige is really needed by the fifa world cup so that it continues to be the biggest sporting event in the world always and it is very good if FIFA continues to maintain it for 4 years

I myself see that what FIFA has been doing for a long time has been very good, the selection they have made has also been very good so far so increasing the number of countries playing will only add to the burden and I think it will be bad for the future of the world cup

I believe that year after year the FIFA management/staff intends to make some changes in the future world cups, I confess that I am not a sports specialist, but I do not know if the insertion of more countries in the world cup will be something extremely beneficial , I have no doubt that this will help a small country that has never participated in a world cup, but I have no doubt that it could lower the level of future world cups.
For me, an icing on the cake of the world cup is the fact that it takes place every 4 years.

The changes made in recent seasons haven't affected the teams or the football game in any means. Similar will be the changes, and the move of adding more teams will make football even high. When more countries gets chance to participate, it truly make more people turn to be fans of football. More teams into FIFA won't affect the future of Football which is really a wrong guess.

[Cryptock]

Ronaldo has not been playing at the highest level for the last 2-3 years and this can clearly be seen from his statistics.
But his ego and selfishness during that time destroyed the ambitions and sports results of Juve, Manchester United and finally the Portuguese national team in Qatar.
Not only will Ronaldo not play in the next world cup in 2026 but it was a serious mistake that he even played for Portugal in the last world cup in 2022 in Qatar.
With his behavior and arrogance, he damaged the atmosphere in the Portuguese team and made it impossible for them to show their quality and maybe play in the final.
He is no longer a football player, but a rich retiree who wants to play recreational football in Saudi Arabia for huge sums of money 

Whatever we say - Ronaldo is yet a very powerful player and we all have all eyes focus on him all the time!
Let's not forget that he moved the cocacola market with his one disapproval - this is success.

[kotwica666]

what you say is very true, the prestige is really needed by the fifa world cup so that it continues to be the biggest sporting event in the world always and it is very good if FIFA continues to maintain it for 4 years

I myself see that what FIFA has been doing for a long time has been very good, the selection they have made has also been very good so far so increasing the number of countries playing will only add to the burden and I think it will be bad for the future of the world cup

I believe that year after year the FIFA management/staff intends to make some changes in the future world cups, I confess that I am not a sports specialist, but I do not know if the insertion of more countries in the world cup will be something extremely beneficial , I have no doubt that this will help a small country that has never participated in a world cup, but I have no doubt that it could lower the level of future world cups.
For me, an icing on the cake of the world cup is the fact that it takes place every 4 years.

The changes made in recent seasons haven't affected the teams or the football game in any means. Similar will be the changes, and the move of adding more teams will make football even high. When more countries gets chance to participate, it truly make more people turn to be fans of football. More teams into FIFA won't affect the future of Football which is really a wrong guess.

Lionel Messi's Argentina is the champion of this World Cup. We all may not know if a legend like Lionel Messi will play in the 2026 World Cup. But I personally see the possibility of not playing.

[og kush420]

what you say is very true, the prestige is really needed by the fifa world cup so that it continues to be the biggest sporting event in the world always and it is very good if FIFA continues to maintain it for 4 years

I myself see that what FIFA has been doing for a long time has been very good, the selection they have made has also been very good so far so increasing the number of countries playing will only add to the burden and I think it will be bad for the future of the world cup

I believe that year after year the FIFA management/staff intends to make some changes in the future world cups, I confess that I am not a sports specialist, but I do not know if the insertion of more countries in the world cup will be something extremely beneficial , I have no doubt that this will help a small country that has never participated in a world cup, but I have no doubt that it could lower the level of future world cups.
For me, an icing on the cake of the world cup is the fact that it takes place every 4 years.

The changes made in recent seasons haven't affected the teams or the football game in any means. Similar will be the changes, and the move of adding more teams will make football even high. When more countries gets chance to participate, it truly make more people turn to be fans of football. More teams into FIFA won't affect the future of Football which is really a wrong guess.

Lionel Messi's Argentina is the champion of this World Cup. We all may not know if a legend like Lionel Messi will play in the 2026 World Cup. But I personally see the possibility of not playing.

That is my opinion that it would have been better if the world cup will be hosted in one country which is supposed to be just USA or Canada
both these countries are great to host the big event like World cup but we must give a due credit to Qatar for being so amazing host.

[Zlantann]

Lionel Messi's Argentina is the champion of this World Cup. We all may not know if a legend like Lionel Messi will play in the 2026 World Cup. But I see the possibility of not playing.

Argentina's coach has made it clear that the door will always be open for Lionel Measi. Lionel Scaloni declared that it is up to the Argentine captain to decide if he wants to be part of the 2026 world cup. Messi will be close to 40 years before the next world cup, I doubt if his performance would still be optimal before then. But even having Messi on the bench will definitely be a big motivation for the team.

That is my opinion that it would have been better if the world cup will be hosted in one country which is supposed to be just USA or Canada
both these countries are great to host the big event like World cup but we must give a due credit to Qatar for being so amazing host.

It was the FA of the US, Mexico, and Canada that decided to jointly bid for the World Cup and they won the bid. Before now it was just Japan and Korea that have jointly hosted the world cup. But these three nations share common boundaries which means it might be easy to access all of them during the world cup. And it will also give football fans the opportunity of enjoying the culture and environment of their nations. All three countries indeed can host the world cup, but variety is what makes life interesting and not boring.

[gagux123]

It was the FA of the US, Mexico, and Canada that decided to jointly bid for the World Cup and they won the bid. Before now it was just Japan and Korea that have jointly hosted the world cup. But these three nations share common boundaries which means it might be easy to access all of them during the world cup. And it will also give football fans the opportunity of enjoying the culture and environment of their nations. All three countries indeed can host the world cup, but variety is what makes life interesting and not boring.

If I'm not mistaken, I believe this will be the first time in history that the world cup will be held in 3 different countries. In 2002 it was held in 2 countries, Japan and South Korea.

But i have a question... won't we have big differences in temperatures during some games?
Because the world cup is held in 3 different countries. For example, in Canada we know there is a cold country (generality), but on the other hand, in Dallas, Houston and even Mexico, temperatures tend to be warmer than in Canada, could this be a problem and could it harm some teams ?

I have no doubt, there are countries that have a great facility to play in the cold, others in the heat.
I know that playing with large differences in temperature is not as crucial as playing at altitude, like in some countries in South America, well, that's my question and I would like to know your answer.

[nullama]

~snip~
If I'm not mistaken, I believe this will be the first time in history that the world cup will be held in 3 different countries. In 2002 it was held in 2 countries, Japan and South Korea.

But i have a question... won't we have big differences in temperatures during some games?
Because the world cup is held in 3 different countries. For example, in Canada we know there is a cold country (generality), but on the other hand, in Dallas, Houston and even Mexico, temperatures tend to be warmer than in Canada, could this be a problem and could it harm some teams ?

I have no doubt, there are countries that have a great facility to play in the cold, others in the heat.
I know that playing with large differences in temperature is not as crucial as playing at altitude, like in some countries in South America, well, that's my question and I would like to know your answer.

Yes, this is the first time that the world cup will be hosted in three different countries.

This has many challenges, specially visas, but also weather and other conditions as you suggested.

Also, travel time, accommodation at different places, different languages, etc. It's going to be very challenging.

I don't really know why they wanted to do it like this, so disperse, when they could have done it only in one place, much simpler.

At the end of the day, most of the games are going to be played in the US anyway, so I wonder why the need to add other two countries into the mix.

[Strongkored]

But i have a question... won't we have big differences in temperatures during some games?
Because the world cup is held in 3 different countries. For example, in Canada we know there is a cold country (generality), but on the other hand, in Dallas, Houston and even Mexico, temperatures tend to be warmer than in Canada, could this be a problem and could it harm some teams ?

Canada and Mexico will only get rations for the group stage and after that all matches will be played in the United States that I know and surely teams playing in Canada will need adjustments, lucky for teams playing in Mexico because they will get relatively the same weather as the United States. And you're right, the cities in Canada that will hold matches will be relatively colder that month than cities in Mexico or in the United States, you can see examples on this website.
Weather adjustments can be detrimental but they can't complain about that as happened during the World Cup in Qatar which was relatively hotter than the previous host countries.