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

[Sithara007]

Seems a long way away but it’ll likely fly by & we’ll be here before we know it. Too early to start predicting who will in it, Messi won’t be playing nor Ronaldo. So much can happen in football in that amount of time. The US actually have a good, young team. They could surprise a few people with home advantage.
France will be there, Mbappe should be in his peak, Spain have some real stars too.
I won’t make any solid predictions though.

For Messi, what is left to achieve? After almost four decades, he captained Argentina to become the World Cup champions. Unfortunately for Ronaldo, becoming a world cup champion will remain as a dream for ever. And now coming to Kylian Mbappé, he is just 24 years old and has at least 3-4 more chances to become the world champion. Out of the three names mentioned here, I guess only Mbappé will be there for the 2026 World Cup (but then France need to qualify for the tournament. Given their volatile form, I am not sure about that as well).

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[mm2543363580]

Both of their participation in the next World Cup is uncertain, and I wouldn't be surprised if neither of them gets to represent their respective national teams in the next World Cup. They've both reached their peak in football and accomplished a lot. It's time for both of them to go so that we can see the new generation of young people.

The same argument was made regarding Ronaldo for the FIFA 2022 World Cup. But then, world cup happens only once every  years and participating in it and representing the country is a dream for almost all the top football players. I am 100% sure that Messi and Neymar will represent their respective countries during FIFA 2026. I am not against giving adequate opportunities for the younger players. But that doesn't always work well. We all saw the case with Portugal during Qatar 2022. At top level football, there is no substitute for international experience.

For Neymar, he still has a chance even though he was already 34 when the 2026 world cup was held. however, the truth is we will never know because it is possible that he will not be called up by the new Brazil coach. because, Brazil currently has many young generations that can be relied on.
Likewise with Messi, he is too old to fight in the 2026 world cup later. he already has what he aspires to be throughout his football career, it is time to be replaced by the younger generation and at the same time test their skills.
Especially for Ronaldo, his existence seems to fade with age. in fact, he is having a hard time scoring goals for his new team at the moment. apart from all that, Messi and Ronaldo are two of the greatest superstars of all time for me. but the time has come for them to entrust it to the younger generation.

There are many young players who'll be in 2026 world cup and they will be on peak of their careers , Ramos , Argentina's Enzo Fernandez, Mbappe,  hakim. So the picture of football will be totally different in upcoming world cup.

[slackovic]

For Messi, what is left to achieve? After almost four decades, he captained Argentina to become the World Cup champions. Unfortunately for Ronaldo, becoming a world cup champion will remain as a dream for ever. And now coming to Kylian Mbappé, he is just 24 years old and has at least 3-4 more chances to become the world champion. Out of the three names mentioned here, I guess only Mbappé will be there for the 2026 World Cup (but then France need to qualify for the tournament. Given their volatile form, I am not sure about that as well).

I don't think France will have problems qualifying for the World Cup 2026. Especially now when FIFA increased the number of participating countries. Europe god two spots more but even with the same number of spots for European countries I think that France should have no problem. As for Mbappe, it's hard to tell... Maybe in four years he won't be the player he is now. Also there are injuries that can occur but also new, better players that can show up in the mean time.

[rendravolt]

Seems a long way away but it’ll likely fly by & we’ll be here before we know it. Too early to start predicting who will in it, Messi won’t be playing nor Ronaldo. So much can happen in football in that amount of time. The US actually have a good, young team. They could surprise a few people with home advantage.
France will be there, Mbappe should be in his peak, Spain have some real stars too.
I won’t make any solid predictions though.

True, for the next 4 years there will be many things beyond our predictions. Like Messi or Ronaldo, I might predict that Messi will still appear to defend Argentina, but about Ronaldo the chances are very small considering that in 4 more years he will be over 40 years old, so for Ronaldo it is very unlikely to become a veteran in the Portuguese national team.

Mbappe I think will continue to shine and I think the 2026 World Cup will be the peak year of his career. Spain will continue to bring out the seeds of young talent to dominate the world cup later. But there is one country that in my opinion still cannot be said to be able to compete with several other big countries, namely the German national team, they seem to be far behind their competitors and the same thing could have happened like last year's world cup where they were eliminated in the group stage.

[LUCKMCFLY]

Well, many think that Mexico is just drugs, cartels and things like that...

I wonder if mexico would be an appropriate place to organize the world cup since they are a very insecure country:

“You could hear the shooting – huge blasts, so much noise,” said the Mexican businessman, who had planned to board a flight to the eastern city of San Luis Potosí.[/size]

source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/06/terror-cartel-violence-engulfs-mexican-city-el-chapo-son

reading the article, and just do more research that anyone can see that this type of news is very frequent in mexico, I can not understand why they are putting mexico to organize the world cup when they know the issue of crimes they have, I know that in every country in the world the number of crimes varies, but the difference between Mexico and other countries is that in Mexico they are dealing with drug crimes in which criminals already have evolved weapons and fight against the police, the brazil for example has this, they organized the world cup, but in brazil drug dealers stay in their territory, they have no power in the cities where the police are, whereas in mexico all institutions are corrupted by drug dealers

Mexico is a very beautiful country, with great people and its people are quite friendly, I have some friends from Mexico and they are good people, but we can't cover the sun with one finger either, there is also a lot of drug trafficking, and they are quite radical, but they are also like that In Colombia, in these countries, you must be very careful because things are delicate, so it is best not to get into trouble or something, you cannot make a lot of fuss or anything like that, because they can take certain things as missing Respect for your country, so you have to be careful, but for an event like this, the government will surely put in many security systems so that nothing happens, there is no doubt about that, and to protect people and fans of others countries.

Seems a long way away but it’ll likely fly by & we’ll be here before we know it. Too early to start predicting who will in it, Messi won’t be playing nor Ronaldo. So much can happen in football in that amount of time. The US actually have a good, young team. They could surprise a few people with home advantage.
France will be there, Mbappe should be in his peak, Spain have some real stars too.
I won’t make any solid predictions though.

True, for the next 4 years there will be many things beyond our predictions. Like Messi or Ronaldo, I might predict that Messi will still appear to defend Argentina, but about Ronaldo the chances are very small considering that in 4 more years he will be over 40 years old, so for Ronaldo it is very unlikely to become a veteran in the Portuguese national team.

Mbappe I think will continue to shine and I think the 2026 World Cup will be the peak year of his career. Spain will continue to bring out the seeds of young talent to dominate the world cup later. But there is one country that in my opinion still cannot be said to be able to compete with several other big countries, namely the German national team, they seem to be far behind their competitors and the same thing could have happened like last year's world cup where they were eliminated in the group stage.

I really didn't know if CR7 will go to the World Cup and it's not because I'm a fan of him or something like that, but I think he's going to play in the next World Cup, CR7 has been preparing all his life. His body is very well worked out, as I have said in previous threads, before being a soccer player he is an athlete and in a study that was carried out on him they determined that he was almost 10 years younger than he is today, and in addition to the promise he has with his son that he wants to play next to his dad, that is something he can do, and I don't blame him, for a son he can do that and more, so according to his statements, it is possible.

Of course, you also have to take into account that when the studies that were done on CR7 were done before his baby died, after his baby died things changed drastically for him, and the same thing is happening with Valverde from Real Madrid, It's just that Real Madrid aren't treating him the way they treated CR7 at Man, of course that's my speculation and personally I'd like him to be in the World Cup.

Investigating I found this news, which, I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but things can get complicated for CR7, I think they see him as the main culprit that things go wrong, that's one of the worst things that can happen Passing a star like him, being a world star can put you on top or completely bury you when it comes to something as delicate as not giving good results, but I think that we are all human, and sometimes things do not turn out the way you want.

Ronaldo will return to Europe, Al Nassr coach claims

Al Nassr coach Rudi Garcia has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo’s legendary career will not end in the Middle East as he expects the superstar to return to Europe.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is a positive addition, as he helps to disperse defenders,” Garcia said.

“He is one of the best players in the world. He will not finish his career at Al Nassr, he will return to Europe,” the French coach added.

The Portuguese captain will be 40 years old at the end of his current deal, limiting his prospects of joining a competitive side within the European circle.

Source: https://dohanews.co/ronaldo-will-return-to-europe-al-nassr-coach-claims/

The article shows it as something positive, but we all know what is the point of this, and it is totally the disappointment that the owners of Al Nassr can have, this is delicate, I hope I am wrong in what I think, but it would be very sad if due to this end his career in a way that is not the most appropriate.

[dezoel]

I think Ronaldo being in this one would be very very weird. Dude is already 37-38 years old, meaning by the time we are in 2026, that would make him at least 40, maybe 41 I don't know when it is. So that means he would be much worse than he is right now, and we have seen him not be that great this year already, so the fact that he could play on the next one would be insane, he would be much worse and not worth it at all.

I think it's quite important to remember that the best thing to do would be just making sure that he would be not hurting the team. You could end up with something much better if he was called but not played, it would be like a veteran legend out there helping the players psychologically at the very best case, but not playing.

The Portuguese coach might also not consider calling him into the world cup squad even though he is still playing, because no matter how great a player is age will reduce his ability and by forcing him to remain in the national team will waste opportunities for young players who are likely to be able to contribute better for the team, so a lot of consideration should be needed before deciding to continue to make him a core player or also a substitute player at the next World Cup.

I can understand why he could be called up, I do not think that Portugal would have 25 people who would be better than him, not just in talent but him being there even if he doesn't play at all is a big deal, there are players who doesn't play at all during world cups even when they are called up.

So, I can totally see him going there, but not playing, just be the help they need in veteran leadership, help them with tactics, basically be the guy who turns managers voice into player voice and bring that fire in the players, be their friends instead of hearing it from your boss, hearing it from your colleague type of guy. That could work, but that's it, he can't help them by playing when he is 40+ years old.

[freedomgo]

Seems a long way away but it’ll likely fly by & we’ll be here before we know it. Too early to start predicting who will in it, Messi won’t be playing nor Ronaldo. So much can happen in football in that amount of time. The US actually have a good, young team. They could surprise a few people with home advantage.
France will be there, Mbappe should be in his peak, Spain have some real stars too.
I won’t make any solid predictions though.

You just said it yourself mate, it's still too premature to say anything towards the upcoming FIFA World Cup this 2026 and saying that Messi nor CR7 not playing is still a speculation as both superstars haven't hung their boots/cleats yet. Although, there's been a wide rumor already that CR7's last dance is in Euro 2024 but that will remain a mere speculation as of now because people are still believing that both superstar will still play in the FIFA as it will heavily boost their comrades confidence especially Messi as they are the defending champs.

[KennyR]

Seems a long way away but it’ll likely fly by & we’ll be here before we know it. Too early to start predicting who will in it, Messi won’t be playing nor Ronaldo. So much can happen in football in that amount of time. The US actually have a good, young team. They could surprise a few people with home advantage.
France will be there, Mbappe should be in his peak, Spain have some real stars too.
I won’t make any solid predictions though.

You just said it yourself mate, it's still too premature to say anything towards the upcoming FIFA World Cup this 2026 and saying that Messi nor CR7 not playing is still a speculation as both superstars haven't hung their boots/cleats yet. Although, there's been a wide rumor already that CR7's last dance is in Euro 2024 but that will remain a mere speculation as of now because people are still believing that both superstar will still play in the FIFA as it will heavily boost their comrades confidence especially Messi as they are the defending champs.

Until some official announcement come, these are mere speculation. Based on the age we people itself have concluded that both won't play in the FIFA World Cup 2026. Ronaldo have moved to Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr on two year contract. His plan is to develop good football around the world and now he's concentrating on the Asian countries which is why he left Manchester United and joined Al Nassr. Lets wait if anything comes official.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

Seems a long way away but it’ll likely fly by & we’ll be here before we know it. Too early to start predicting who will in it, Messi won’t be playing nor Ronaldo. So much can happen in football in that amount of time. The US actually have a good, young team. They could surprise a few people with home advantage.
France will be there, Mbappe should be in his peak, Spain have some real stars too.
I won’t make any solid predictions though.

You just said it yourself mate, it's still too premature to say anything towards the upcoming FIFA World Cup this 2026 and saying that Messi nor CR7 not playing is still a speculation as both superstars haven't hung their boots/cleats yet. Although, there's been a wide rumor already that CR7's last dance is in Euro 2024 but that will remain a mere speculation as of now because people are still believing that both superstar will still play in the FIFA as it will heavily boost their comrades confidence especially Messi as they are the defending champs.

From what I've heard outside this forum, it is widely believed that both Messi and Ronaldo won't be playing in the 2026 world cup because by then, both of them must have retired from football, I actually believed it, but then all the same, I still think you are right, non of them both have come out to make an official announcement that he is retiring at a certain time or year, so the current argument whether they wil play or not in the 2026 world cup is indeed all speculations currently, let see what happens going forward.

[Sithara007]

I don't think France will have problems qualifying for the World Cup 2026. Especially now when FIFA increased the number of participating countries. Europe god two spots more but even with the same number of spots for European countries I think that France should have no problem. As for Mbappe, it's hard to tell... Maybe in four years he won't be the player he is now. Also there are injuries that can occur but also new, better players that can show up in the mean time.

Italy failed to qualify for the 2022 edition. UEFA qualifiers are always tough. 99.9% probability is that France will qualify. But if they end up in some of the tougher groups during qualifiers, then there is a small chance of not making it to the 2026 edition. Now coming to Kylian Mbappé, without a doubt he is the most promising younger player in the world right now. But whenever I hear about him, I remember what happened to Mario Balotelli. I hope he is able to handle all the fame he is getting right now and stay out of injury troubles.

[rendravolt]

I really didn't know if CR7 will go to the World Cup and it's not because I'm a fan of him or something like that, but I think he's going to play in the next World Cup, CR7 has been preparing all his life. His body is very well worked out, as I have said in previous threads, before being a soccer player he is an athlete and in a study that was carried out on him they determined that he was almost 10 years younger than he is today, and in addition to the promise he has with his son that he wants to play next to his dad, that is something he can do, and I don't blame him, for a son he can do that and more, so according to his statements, it is possible.

Cristiano Ronaldo has an extraordinary ambition for football and he is still active until now that proves his seriousness in playing football and of course he wants to always break new records throughout his career. About playing with his son beside him it seemed like it would be a sweet dream forever, but in official matches it seemed that would be impossible. But at least this expression can keep Cristiano Ronaldo's enthusiasm and performance up to now.

[slackovic]

Italy failed to qualify for the 2022 edition. UEFA qualifiers are always tough. 99.9% probability is that France will qualify. But if they end up in some of the tougher groups during qualifiers, then there is a small chance of not making it to the 2026 edition. Now coming to Kylian Mbappé, without a doubt he is the most promising younger player in the world right now. But whenever I hear about him, I remember what happened to Mario Balotelli. I hope he is able to handle all the fame he is getting right now and stay out of injury troubles.

The Italian team has problems and it was evident when they couldn't qualify for the last World Cup. But it's not just Italy. England also failed to qualify for the Euro2008. I remember that pretty good because it was Croatia that beat them in England. Of course there is always a chance for any of the strong teams not to qualify but those are rare occasions.

[freedomgo]

Seems a long way away but it’ll likely fly by & we’ll be here before we know it. Too early to start predicting who will in it, Messi won’t be playing nor Ronaldo. So much can happen in football in that amount of time. The US actually have a good, young team. They could surprise a few people with home advantage.
France will be there, Mbappe should be in his peak, Spain have some real stars too.
I won’t make any solid predictions though.

You just said it yourself mate, it's still too premature to say anything towards the upcoming FIFA World Cup this 2026 and saying that Messi nor CR7 not playing is still a speculation as both superstars haven't hung their boots/cleats yet. Although, there's been a wide rumor already that CR7's last dance is in Euro 2024 but that will remain a mere speculation as of now because people are still believing that both superstar will still play in the FIFA as it will heavily boost their comrades confidence especially Messi as they are the defending champs.

From what I've heard outside this forum, it is widely believed that both Messi and Ronaldo won't be playing in the 2026 world cup because by then, both of them must have retired from football, I actually believed it, but then all the same, I still think you are right, non of them both have come out to make an official announcement that he is retiring at a certain time or year, so the current argument whether they wil play or not in the 2026 world cup is indeed all speculations currently, let see what happens going forward.

That's true and given that we're still in the year 2023, we are still quite away from the next World Cup that will happen in 2026 and both said superstars are now busy on their own career thus there's still a lot of things that will happen in the future as well. Let's just wait for their official announcement as arguing whether Messi and CR7 are retired by then is nonsense for now because even if there's a big rumor, only them can answer the big question.

[swogerino]

Seems a long way away but it’ll likely fly by & we’ll be here before we know it. Too early to start predicting who will in it, Messi won’t be playing nor Ronaldo. So much can happen in football in that amount of time. The US actually have a good, young team. They could surprise a few people with home advantage.
France will be there, Mbappe should be in his peak, Spain have some real stars too.
I won’t make any solid predictions though.

You just said it yourself mate, it's still too premature to say anything towards the upcoming FIFA World Cup this 2026 and saying that Messi nor CR7 not playing is still a speculation as both superstars haven't hung their boots/cleats yet. Although, there's been a wide rumor already that CR7's last dance is in Euro 2024 but that will remain a mere speculation as of now because people are still believing that both superstar will still play in the FIFA as it will heavily boost their comrades confidence especially Messi as they are the defending champs.

From what I've heard outside this forum, it is widely believed that both Messi and Ronaldo won't be playing in the 2026 world cup because by then, both of them must have retired from football, I actually believed it, but then all the same, I still think you are right, non of them both have come out to make an official announcement that he is retiring at a certain time or year, so the current argument whether they wil play or not in the 2026 world cup is indeed all speculations currently, let see what happens going forward.

That's true and given that we're still in the year 2023, we are still quite away from the next World Cup that will happen in 2026 and both said superstars are now busy on their own career thus there's still a lot of things that will happen in the future as well. Let's just wait for their official announcement as arguing whether Messi and CR7 are retired by then is nonsense for now because even if there's a big rumor, only them can answer the big question.

That is normal that only them can answer this question but I doubt Cristiano will be able to play in the next World Cup,in the Euro Cup I know that this is highly possible because just 1.5 years from now it should be taking place and 1.5 years is not that big of a time to feel a radical change in the body of a super athlete like Cristiano.

For the World Cup though,in 2026 he should be well over 40 which makes it highly unlikely for him to be playing for the World Cup of 2026 for the Portugal team.Maybe Messi will be playing as he is a bit younger but also I have many doubts for him too.

[Asiska02]

I don't think France will have problems qualifying for the World Cup 2026. Especially now when FIFA increased the number of participating countries. Europe god two spots more but even with the same number of spots for European countries I think that France should have no problem. As for Mbappe, it's hard to tell... Maybe in four years he won't be the player he is now. Also there are injuries that can occur but also new, better players that can show up in the mean time.

I have no doubt that France will have a difficult time qualifying for the World Cup in the next four years. Look at their squad, there are some great players there, as well as some upcoming ones. Some players who competed in the 2018 World Cup did not compete in the 2022 World Cup, but they still made it to the finals. I have no doubts about their qualifications.

About Mbappe, he is a rising young player who caught everyone's attention at a young age. I don't see him relenting in his efforts over the next four years. I believe he'll be even better than he is now and a great player by then.

[nullama]

I don't think France will have problems qualifying for the World Cup 2026. Especially now when FIFA increased the number of participating countries. Europe god two spots more but even with the same number of spots for European countries I think that France should have no problem. As for Mbappe, it's hard to tell... Maybe in four years he won't be the player he is now. Also there are injuries that can occur but also new, better players that can show up in the mean time.

The top 10 European countries in the FIFA world ranking are(in order): France, Belgium, England, The Netherlands, Croatia, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Germany.

I can easily see all of them qualify for the next world cup.

It was such a weird thing to not see Italy in Qatar, I'm sure they're going to be in the next one.

[alegotardo]

The top 10 European countries in the FIFA world ranking are(in order): France, Belgium, England, The Netherlands, Croatia, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Germany.

I can easily see all of them qualify for the next world cup.

It was such a weird thing to not see Italy in Qatar, I'm sure they're going to be in the next one.

The 2022 cup was really very atypical, much more frustrating than seeing Italy not qualify (and for very little, not even Portugal), was seeing other favorite teams for the title being eliminated prematurely.

In 2026, in fact, there will be more space for the traditional teams that we know, and certainly all those from Europe will have to qualify, but I believe that the difficulty level will be even higher than the one we saw in the last world cup event, and I think that many more "surprises" await us.

Again, I believe it will be difficult for us bettors to make any money with the predictions of the next FIFA World Cup.

[LUCKMCFLY]

This is the role of media in destroying a country's image just because of any incident that happened in that particular country. Same thing happens with Pakistan all the time , bad media coverage and wrong reporting unfact exaggeration makes any country an insecure country to live in .
All countries have their good and bad points and I am sure mexico is not just about drug cartels or criminals there will be  uch more than that and for fifa fans there will be much more to explore and experience.

I am from Pakistan and we have been through this situation where we were denied hosting any international cricket match for 10 years because there was a terrorist attack on the Srilanka team in our country.
That is now history but the rival countries always hesitate to visit our country and give excuses of that event. This is not right as the security situation is improved over time.
I hope Mexico does not face the same unjustice situation which we have been facing for the last many years.

This same thing happens in India also that made FIFA to ban India n football federation from participating in football and other similar sports because of what had ensue many years ago. I don't blame anyone for this but this most time could be as a result of insecurity that lead to the rampage causing a serious scene that had lead to sanctions.

When allocating a country that would host the world cup, there are many things that FIFA used to put in consideration in entails the safety of every athletes, hotel to lodge, security and so many other factors to prevent natural or man made disaster. No country would be happy hearing that the lives of there players was lost as a result of hist country not able to safeguard the life of their players and fans.

Well, we all know that in Mexico there are many scenarios where there are many things that have happened due to what some do about the cartels and everything that has to do with drug trafficking, but we must also trust that the government must handle this type of crime very well. inconvenient, maybe the government has to negotiate a possible deal with them so that they don't tarnish this great event as it is a World Cup, plus Mexico is a big fan of soccer, I think it is one of the sports that Mexicans love the most and I don't think so I'm going to do things wrong, everything where the games are given I imagine there will be great security, it is something that should not be ruled out.

I don't think France will have problems qualifying for the World Cup 2026. Especially now when FIFA increased the number of participating countries. Europe god two spots more but even with the same number of spots for European countries I think that France should have no problem. As for Mbappe, it's hard to tell... Maybe in four years he won't be the player he is now. Also there are injuries that can occur but also new, better players that can show up in the mean time.

Italy failed to qualify for the 2022 edition. UEFA qualifiers are always tough. 99.9% probability is that France will qualify. But if they end up in some of the tougher groups during qualifiers, then there is a small chance of not making it to the 2026 edition. Now coming to Kylian Mbappé, without a doubt he is the most promising younger player in the world right now. But whenever I hear about him, I remember what happened to Mario Balotelli. I hope he is able to handle all the fame he is getting right now and stay out of injury troubles.

Well, in view of all this, and also taking into account that Italy is a team with a long history, it has already gone to 2 consecutive World Cups, and following Serie A, I have noticed that its level of football has increased a lot, of course, everything is It is a matter of showing themselves more in the UCL, but they are on the right track, this is something that fills them with a lot of hope, also, as they have said that they are going to extend the quotas, that is, many more teams are going to qualify, this is something great, as far as As far as I'm concerned, I would like Italy and Sweden to classify, since they are countries that show great football, and Italy is really for me one of the football powers of all history, almost like Brazil, they are styles of football very good and elegant.

[Sithara007]

The 2022 cup was really very atypical, much more frustrating than seeing Italy not qualify (and for very little, not even Portugal), was seeing other favorite teams for the title being eliminated prematurely.

In 2026, in fact, there will be more space for the traditional teams that we know, and certainly all those from Europe will have to qualify, but I believe that the difficulty level will be even higher than the one we saw in the last world cup event, and I think that many more "surprises" await us.

Again, I believe it will be difficult for us bettors to make any money with the predictions of the next FIFA World Cup.

Football has become more globalized. Previously we had 8 to 10 teams who were capable of entering the semi-final stage of the world cup. But that has changed. Now almost all the participants are capable of doing so, proven by Morocco during the last edition. European teams are till dominating, but I can notice hints of their upcoming weakness. Younger players are not emerging from club football sector, especially for teams such as Germany and Italy. This time, during Qatar 2022 we had at least a dozen upsets. That proves that the gap between "stronger" teams and "weaker" teams is narrowing.

That said, UEFA qualifications are always complicated. Always there will be a few deserving teams that lose out. Italy attracted a lot of attention when they failed to qualify. But some of the other deserving teams also failed to make the cut, such as Iceland, Republic of Ireland and North Macedonia. FIFA is trying to address this issue by increasing the number of participants from 32 to 48.

[Strongkored]

With three countries hosting the 2026 World Cup then the remaining places up for grabs are 44 because usually the hosts as well as the defending champions don't go through the continental qualifiers because they automatically qualify, but fortunately as this will be the first world cup with such a large number participants there will be no debate will arise.

That said, UEFA qualifications are always complicated. Always there will be a few deserving teams that lose out. Italy attracted a lot of attention when they failed to qualify. But some of the other deserving teams also failed to make the cut, such as Iceland, Republic of Ireland and North Macedonia. FIFA is trying to address this issue by increasing the number of participants from 32 to 48.

I just imagine if there would still be European teams that were considered strong but still failed to qualify even though the number of participants had been increased by FIFA then it would be very embarrassing for these strong teams.