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

[sana54210]

Well.. everyone knows that the United States will provide the best facilities for the tourists. That is not one of the concerns, actually. I am more worried about the visa issues. And this edition is being co-hosted by three countries - Canada, United States and Mexico. I am not sure about the visa procedure in Mexico, but for the other two countries it is not that easy. And till now, FIFA hasn't clarified whether there will be a special visa procedure for those who want to attend the world cup in person. This creates a lot of uncertainty for the fans.

The best thing about USA is their customer services. And also it is an english country.
otherwise in many other countries language is a big problem. Especially in Arab and other countiers where people dont like speaking english it is very difficult to make you understand what you are trying to say

I think you have a wrong vision of Arab countries. A lot of them learn English because it is multinational language to trade with other countries, people, nations (and Arabs love to trade), a lot of them learn English to move from their countries in search for a better place to live and earn. They learn English to bring best specialists to their own country and learn from them. If a person is not from deep desert (sorry if that comparison offend someone), then 99% that person would speak English.
[/quote]
Depends on the person of course, there are a lot of Arabic people in all other nations as well, look at the population numbers and you will see, specially after the Arab spring a lot of qualified people left and started living in the west right now.

But, the people who are doing fine in their own nations wouldn't leave of course, why risk and leave, I am not English neither and yet as you can see I learned English anyway, just because one learns English doesn't mean they want to leave or they left, it just means it is the lingua franca of the world right now and that's why it is such a good thing to learn, it allows you to read and learn so much and communicate with so many more people. We both could have different native languages but can understand each other in English.

[Leviathan.007]

It is not bad that the players who are veterans have action, I also think that 38-39 years is not that bad, nor old, taking only young players is not good either, just look at the example that Luis's Spain team gave Enrique, a total failure, they had so many good players and they didn't want to take the ones who really play well, so taking veteran players and young players is the right combination, I do believe that veterans are needed so that they can get ahead Otherwise they would have the action that Spain had in Qatar.

It's not just Spain. In the playoff phase Portugal also tried the same approach and failed. What the teams need is an ideal mix of younger players and the experienced ones. France is a perfect example for such a team, and Argentina also comes close. And I don't agree with the argument that 38-29 year old players should not play for the national teams. Nowadays the players maintain adequate fitness levels, so that they remain competitive even at that age.

Doesn't really matter even if the players try to have themselves in the best form and increase their fitness levels to play at any age. Still, we all know a player with the age of more than 35y old can't have a good performance like a player in 25y old, and nothing can change this, even if the player is in their best form.
That's Why I think instead of using old players the national teams should start focusing on younger players and making them ready for the world cup.

[nullama]

~snip~
Doesn't really matter even if the players try to have themselves in the best form and increase their fitness levels to play at any age. Still, we all know a player with the age of more than 35y old can't have a good performance like a player in 25y old, and nothing can change this, even if the player is in their best form.
That's Why I think instead of using old players the national teams should start focusing on younger players and making them ready for the world cup.

Absolutely, even a superstar in their late thirties is worse than a good player at their early twenties.

It's a sad reality, but that's just how biology works.

[Zlantann]

The best thing about USA is their customer services. And also it is an english country.
otherwise in many other countries language is a big problem. Especially in Arab and other countiers where people dont like speaking english, it is very difficult to make you understand what you are trying to say

English is one of the languages that is spoken in most parts of the world. It will be a good advantage for an English-speaking nation to host the world cup. It will help the fans from different countries to communicate freely without language barriers. The official language of Canada is also English and French which will also be a plus to the world cup. But with the introduction of artificial intelligence tools, languages can be interpreted and responses made with ease.

Doesn't really matter even if the players try to have themselves in the best form and increase their fitness levels to play at any age. Still, we all know a player with the age of more than 35y old can't have a good performance like a player in 25y old, and nothing can change this, even if the player is in their best form.
That's Why I think instead of using old players the national teams should start focusing on younger players and making them ready for the world cup.

A good world cup team should be a blend of experience and strength. The old players might not have much stamina to run around or create chances but their wealth of experience is always priceless. Experienced strikers will know how to beat the offside line, they have great positioning skills and some of their shots are always accurate. While experienced defenders might commit fewer fouls and booking offenses. These advantages will not set aside the need for strong and young players. These set of players might be inexperienced but they are the hard worker in the team. They are fast and strong which helps the team to create chances and score goals. I am sure that players like Messi, Ronaldo, Modric, and Benzema might feature in the next world cup. They might not be strong but they have experience.

[Sithara007]

~~~~
Still, we all know a player with the age of more than 35y old can't have a good performance like a player in 25y old, and nothing can change this, even if the player is in their best form.
~~~~

Again I have to disagree with you. Did you watched Lionel Messi during Qatar 2022? He was 35 year old. And for me, he was playing at his peak form. When he was 25 years old, I don't think that he was this good. So you can't issue generalized statements. Including younger players is good for the team. But if the younger players are not performing up to the mark, how they can be included in the squad? Players like Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar, Modrić and Kane are rare. Such players emerge only once in a while. You can't suddenly include some young player and expect him to play like Messi. 

[Leviathan.007]

I was checking the article from 2020 and they're studying Messi's performance in different seasons however during all these seasons he was playing for Barcelona but this shows us how stable was Messi's performance in the different seasons. But he had this situation until 2020 and now is in 2023 when even Messi's performance is not the same unstable anymore. It will be even worst in the next years.




https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/37583978/ronaldinho-barcelona-understudy-goat-candidate

[temple]

~~~~
Still, we all know a player with the age of more than 35y old can't have a good performance like a player in 25y old, and nothing can change this, even if the player is in their best form.
~~~~

Again I have to disagree with you. Did you watched Lionel Messi during Qatar 2022? He was 35 year old. And for me, he was playing at his peak form. When he was 25 years old, I don't think that he was this good. So you can't issue generalized statements. Including younger players is good for the team. But if the younger players are not performing up to the mark, how they can be included in the squad? Players like Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar, Modrić and Kane are rare. Such players emerge only once in a while. You can't suddenly include some young player and expect him to play like Messi. 

This is funny because you are actually talking about the year when he scored 91 goals in 69 games in 2012 (when he turned 25), shattering all records during that year with Barcelona and Argentina. There is no point in comparing the 25 year old and 35 year old Messi and then saying that one was better than the other. At 25 he was unstoppable as a striker and dribbler. At 35 he is more of an organizer for the game. But the numbers for the year 2012 when he was 25 are that insane, it doesn't make sense to say that he was a better player at 35. See all his performances and his one-man-shows in the Champions League and in La Liga, scoring up to five goals in a game. We won't see that Messi again, but now we have a different one and he is still one of the best.

[Distinctin]

I think letting America and two other countries host the world can be very good but the thing about America is they don't have many football fans and compared to many other countries in the world America is a country to place football in first priority maybe that's the reason to say they could find a better host but the fact is America is country where they can provide best sports facilities and hotels to host the world cup.



https://www.statista.com/chart/2360/the-level-of-interest-in-soccer-in-selected-countries/

(However, that's for 2014, not today)

Even if these data are correct today, they make little sense if you look not at percentages but at the population. For example, Mexico has 125 million inhabitants, Argentina has 50, and the United States has more than 300. Obviously, simply due to the number of people, this is the largest market, and if we also take into account solvency, then they will not have a single competitor.

Either way, it's not that shocking because USA have their major sports as well that has been supported by the vast majority living in their country. They have MLB, NBA, NHL and NFL, so it actually makes sense why the data above is saying that Americans doesn't support or like soccer that much, or football as other countries call it except in America as they have another sport meant for football under NFL.

[uneng]

Either way, it's not that shocking because USA have their major sports as well that has been supported by the vast majority living in their country. They have MLB, NBA, NHL and NFL, so it actually makes sense why the data above is saying that Americans doesn't support or like soccer that much, or football as other countries call it except in America as they have another sport meant for football under NFL.

Soccer has never been popular in USA. A decade ago, during the World Cup of South Africa, people started saying the sport was getting more popularized there and that the national team would become a great potency on the following years, but it just didn't happen. Americans haven't developed considerable interest for soccer yet, and it seems there isn't a tendency showing they will. They are a people who like preserving their traditional habits or developing their own methods. They export culture and a way of life, but don't import it very much.

At same time it's good news for foreigners who will have more tickets to buy for the games, more opportunities to watch the matches, since the local public isn't very interested on it...

[nullama]

~snip~
This is funny because you are actually talking about the year when he scored 91 goals in 69 games in 2012 (when he turned 25), shattering all records during that year with Barcelona and Argentina. There is no point in comparing the 25 year old and 35 year old Messi and then saying that one was better than the other. At 25 he was unstoppable as a striker and dribbler. At 35 he is more of an organizer for the game. But the numbers for the year 2012 when he was 25 are that insane, it doesn't make sense to say that he was a better player at 35. See all his performances and his one-man-shows in the Champions League and in La Liga, scoring up to five goals in a game. We won't see that Messi again, but now we have a different one and he is still one of the best.

Yeah, Messi is a super star, of course.

He is a good player today, but definitely he was better ten years ago.

Aging is a fact of life, and there's nothing we can do about it. New players will come and take his place. He already did everything there is to do in football.

[alegotardo]

Yeah, Messi is a super star, of course.

He is a good player today, but definitely he was better ten years ago.

Aging is a fact of life, and there's nothing we can do about it. New players will come and take his place. He already did everything there is to do in football.

I need to disagree with you.
In the last World Cup, many already said the same thing.... Messi has already played a lot, he needs to retire, he's not the same anymore. The answer to that? The whole world has seen what he is still capable of.

Was Messi better 10 years ago? Certainly! However, in my opinion, he is far from leaving the field, even though he himself claimed to be the last... but I must remind you that this was the second time that Messi speaks of farewells with Argentina's shirt. In 2016, after losing the second Copa America final in two years, Messi announced that he was going to retire, but he didn't. I doubt it!

If Messi returns to the 2026 World Cup, he will play in his sixth World Cup, no other player has achieved this merit. Messi could still become the top scorer in the World Cup with 16 goals scored.

[Sithara007]

This is funny because you are actually talking about the year when he scored 91 goals in 69 games in 2012 (when he turned 25), shattering all records during that year with Barcelona and Argentina. There is no point in comparing the 25 year old and 35 year old Messi and then saying that one was better than the other. At 25 he was unstoppable as a striker and dribbler. At 35 he is more of an organizer for the game. But the numbers for the year 2012 when he was 25 are that insane, it doesn't make sense to say that he was a better player at 35. See all his performances and his one-man-shows in the Champions League and in La Liga, scoring up to five goals in a game. We won't see that Messi again, but now we have a different one and he is still one of the best.

I agree with most of your post. But at the same time, the fact is that Messi was unable to win the world cup in 2010 or 2014 for Argentina, despite being in his peak form (back then the squad contained several other star players like Ángel Di María, Juan Sebastián Verón, Nicolás Otamendi and Maxi Rodríguez). He was able to do that in 2022. That matters more for me. As a striker and dribbler, perhaps his performance was better back in 2012. But his contribution to the team has remained as important as ever. IMO, if he wants he can easily lead Argentina again during the 2026 World Cup.

[LUCKMCFLY]

I don't care if alcohol is something good or bad I'm talking about freedom and freedom is what we need in a country when they host the world cup otherwise the people who come to that country to watch the games won't be happy stay that country, in Qatar is was the main problem but I think in the 2026 world cup we won't have any problem about it.

Well freedom as to what? to alcoholic beverages? there can be that freedom but outside of a stadium where you are not in a live match, because that is where the problems arise, in that instance it can be done and I think that everyone is within their rights, drinking is not bad either but do it very carefully, unlike you I did like the organization of the World Cup in Qatar, I think that for some of these scenarios order should always prevail, it is better that everything be strict and a lot of order than that there is debauchery of things where the show is overshadowed by some misfits who couldn't control themselves with alcohol, there are people who lose control with alcohol, and it's not worth it because of these people everything is clouded, fútbol is far above those things.

[Maslate]

Yeah, Messi is a super star, of course.

He is a good player today, but definitely he was better ten years ago.

Aging is a fact of life, and there's nothing we can do about it. New players will come and take his place. He already did everything there is to do in football.

I need to disagree with you.
In the last World Cup, many already said the same thing.... Messi has already played a lot, he needs to retire, he's not the same anymore. The answer to that? The whole world has seen what he is still capable of.

Was Messi better 10 years ago? Certainly! However, in my opinion, he is far from leaving the field, even though he himself claimed to be the last... but I must remind you that this was the second time that Messi speaks of farewells with Argentina's shirt. In 2016, after losing the second Copa America final in two years, Messi announced that he was going to retire, but he didn't. I doubt it!

If Messi returns to the 2026 World Cup, he will play in his sixth World Cup, no other player has achieved this merit. Messi could still become the top scorer in the World Cup with 16 goals scored.

There is no ifs about Messi's likelihood to play in the upcoming World Cup because he is already looking forward to play with his team and defend their throne from the team's who wanted to take their place. Regardless of what the result is, that might be his last World Cup because age is definitely keeping up with him by that time.

The latest rumor about him is that he will not re-sign under PSG anymore and he is already vocal to it because he doesn't see himself playing in the same team in the next 2 years, which is very likely that he will go to Barcelona again until he retires.

[temple]

This is funny because you are actually talking about the year when he scored 91 goals in 69 games in 2012 (when he turned 25), shattering all records during that year with Barcelona and Argentina. There is no point in comparing the 25 year old and 35 year old Messi and then saying that one was better than the other. At 25 he was unstoppable as a striker and dribbler. At 35 he is more of an organizer for the game. But the numbers for the year 2012 when he was 25 are that insane, it doesn't make sense to say that he was a better player at 35. See all his performances and his one-man-shows in the Champions League and in La Liga, scoring up to five goals in a game. We won't see that Messi again, but now we have a different one and he is still one of the best.

I agree with most of your post. But at the same time, the fact is that Messi was unable to win the world cup in 2010 or 2014 for Argentina, despite being in his peak form (back then the squad contained several other star players like Ángel Di María, Juan Sebastián Verón, Nicolás Otamendi and Maxi Rodríguez). He was able to do that in 2022. That matters more for me. As a striker and dribbler, perhaps his performance was better back in 2012. But his contribution to the team has remained as important as ever. IMO, if he wants he can easily lead Argentina again during the 2026 World Cup.

I agree with this quote!

But his contribution to the team has remained as important as ever.

I don't agree with this quote!

He was able to do that in 2022. That matters more for me.

I hate the discussion about a player being the GOAT only if he wins the World Cup because there can be amazing players who can't win the World Cup because of there nationality. Ronaldo is one of the best players who ever played this game and it doesn't matter whether he won a World Cup. Even though I prefer over him and that has nothing to do with Messi winning the World Cup, Ronaldo and his scoring quality remains unique forever. He was never my favorite player, but I acknowledge his achievements regardless of winning a World Cup or not. Is Gotze better than Messi because he scored the goal in the final against him in 2014? Messi has been the best for over a decade now and he has been already without this title. But I am happy he now won it as well.

I also agree that Messi could still be able to lead the team at the 2026 Cup. Whether he is still able to play most or all the games or not remains to be seen, but going with the team could still be beneficial for everyone. Maybe he is one of those playing coaches and substitutes himself in when a free kick possibility comes up shortly before the game ends and he kicks it in!

[Jody.Drummer]

I don't care if alcohol is something good or bad I'm talking about freedom and freedom is what we need in a country when they host the world cup otherwise the people who come to that country to watch the games won't be happy stay that country, in Qatar is was the main problem but I think in the 2026 world cup we won't have any problem about it.

Well freedom as to what? to alcoholic beverages? there can be that freedom but outside of a stadium where you are not in a live match, because that is where the problems arise, in that instance it can be done and I think that everyone is within their rights, drinking is not bad either but do it very carefully, unlike you I did like the organization of the World Cup in Qatar, I think that for some of these scenarios order should always prevail, it is better that everything be strict and a lot of order than that there is debauchery of things where the show is overshadowed by some misfits who couldn't control themselves with alcohol, there are people who lose control with alcohol, and it's not worth it because of these people everything is clouded, fútbol is far above those things.

I also don't care whether alcohol is good or bad, and I don't care whether people drink it or not. But in this matter there are things that we must also appreciate, it is the same as when we visit other people's homes. Are we going to put forward our habits under the pretext of freedom? of course not right? We will certainly respect the person who owns the house, and we will suppress our habits so that we do not make our hosts uncomfortable with us.
Things like this are actually problems that don't need to be brought up, after all, at that time Qatar was also relaxing the policies they implemented.

[freedomgo]

I don't care if alcohol is something good or bad I'm talking about freedom and freedom is what we need in a country when they host the world cup otherwise the people who come to that country to watch the games won't be happy stay that country, in Qatar is was the main problem but I think in the 2026 world cup we won't have any problem about it.

Well freedom as to what? to alcoholic beverages? there can be that freedom but outside of a stadium where you are not in a live match, because that is where the problems arise, in that instance it can be done and I think that everyone is within their rights, drinking is not bad either but do it very carefully, unlike you I did like the organization of the World Cup in Qatar, I think that for some of these scenarios order should always prevail, it is better that everything be strict and a lot of order than that there is debauchery of things where the show is overshadowed by some misfits who couldn't control themselves with alcohol, there are people who lose control with alcohol, and it's not worth it because of these people everything is clouded, fútbol is far above those things.

I also don't care whether alcohol is good or bad, and I don't care whether people drink it or not. But in this matter there are things that we must also appreciate, it is the same as when we visit other people's homes. Are we going to put forward our habits under the pretext of freedom? of course not right? We will certainly respect the person who owns the house, and we will suppress our habits so that we do not make our hosts uncomfortable with us.
Things like this are actually problems that don't need to be brought up, after all, at that time Qatar was also relaxing the policies they implemented.

Right! Visitors doesn't need to have numerous reminders when visiting other countries because it is their responsibility to take some safety precautions not to disrespect someone else and because it is another's home, the visitor have the duty to make a slight research about the do's and don'ts, while others are already common sense.

After all, just like you've said and I do agree about it, Qatar was already expecting some behaviors that will be made by the visitors that is not aligned with their beliefs or traditions and so they are giving some slack towards the visitors because of the World Cup. Which we need to appreciate by the way.

[Leviathan.007]

I don't care if alcohol is something good or bad I'm talking about freedom and freedom is what we need in a country when they host the world cup otherwise the people who come to that country to watch the games won't be happy stay that country, in Qatar is was the main problem but I think in the 2026 world cup we won't have any problem about it.

Well freedom as to what? to alcoholic beverages? there can be that freedom but outside of a stadium where you are not in a live match, because that is where the problems arise, in that instance it can be done and I think that everyone is within their rights, drinking is not bad either but do it very carefully, unlike you I did like the organization of the World Cup in Qatar, I think that for some of these scenarios order should always prevail, it is better that everything be strict and a lot of order than that there is debauchery of things where the show is overshadowed by some misfits who couldn't control themselves with alcohol, there are people who lose control with alcohol, and it's not worth it because of these people everything is clouded, fútbol is far above those things.

I also don't care whether alcohol is good or bad, and I don't care whether people drink it or not. But in this matter there are things that we must also appreciate, it is the same as when we visit other people's homes. Are we going to put forward our habits under the pretext of freedom? of course not right? We will certainly respect the person who owns the house, and we will suppress our habits so that we do not make our hosts uncomfortable with us.
Things like this are actually problems that don't need to be brought up, after all, at that time Qatar was also relaxing the policies they implemented.

The whole point is there are not many countries that ban alcohol and if you look at the picture I got from Wikipedia there are only a few Asian countries that completely banned alcohol.
That's why I think Fifa could choose another country to host the world cup where alcohol is not banned to give more freedom to the visitors. Regardless of whether alcohol is good or bad, they should respect freedom.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_alcohol_prohibition

[KTChampions]

I was checking the article from 2020 and they're studying Messi's performance in different seasons however during all these seasons he was playing for Barcelona but this shows us how stable was Messi's performance in the different seasons. But he had this situation until 2020 and now is in 2023 when even Messi's performance is not the same unstable anymore. It will be even worst in the next years.




https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/37583978/ronaldinho-barcelona-understudy-goat-candidate

Freaky statistic in my opinion. If a player made 5 successful dribbles, but it was 5 successful attempts out of 100, then all these actions were at a loss for the team. Miracles of univariate analysis when, with the right approach, you can achieve any result you want and pass off bad indicators as good ones. I'm not saying that Messi was consistently bad, but such statistics are only annoying.

[LUCKMCFLY]

China is a totalitarian dump, and food has nothing to do with it. Read, for example, the monstrous story about Peng Shuai - this tennis player (moreover, world-famous) simply disappeared when she accused an official of sexual violence. Imagine what happens to ordinary people there. I don't think there should be any international competition in shitty countries like China.

If FIFA agrees that the internal politics of a country immediately disqualify it to be a host, then I can say it is fair to reconsider China. In those cases still I would like to see the World Cup be host in the closest location to the Chinese culture, Taiwan is highly democratic and free but the political tensions between China and Taiwan would also disqualify it, some people would not feel safe being there and I do not know if a country like Vietnam or Mongolia has the economical resources to invest them in hosting an important event like that...

Politics suck and it creeped its way into global sports at a scale that for a long time has been overlooked too much or not realized by the masses. Now that we have all the media at hand where we can inform ourselves from all kinds of sources, it is obvious that sports is not primarily about sports, it is primarily about politics I am referring to the big events here like the World Cup or the European Cup. In national sports there is also politics involved, but by far not as much as it is internationally.

There has to be a fine line between judging the host for political circumstances and the ability to actually host an event of that magnitude. But to be serious here, the hope that a host could change their political approach or put tensions with their enemies to rest because sports is supposed to help pacify conflicts, that is a myth. We have seen that with Russia when they hosted the World Cup in 2018 and four years later it rained bombs on Ukraine's civilization.

I have always been disgusted by politics, because for me everyone is the same , thanks to politics we have wars and all the things that bring us harm, it is logical , we as Citizens sometimes do not even know what kind of deals we they have, in FIFA, in everything that has to do with it, everything collapses, it is not a lie that when we see some things that are done with the politicians in these events they are quite strong , and that they Damage everything , in the name of The most corrupt businesses of all make fútbol , so the further away politicians are , the better.

I was checking the article from 2020 and they're studying Messi's performance in different seasons however during all these seasons he was playing for Barcelona but this shows us how stable was Messi's performance in the different seasons. But he had this situation until 2020 and now is in 2023 when even Messi's performance is not the same unstable anymore. It will be even worst in the next years.




https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/37583978/ronaldinho-barcelona-understudy-goat-candidate

Freaky statistic in my opinion. If a player made 5 successful dribbles, but it was 5 successful attempts out of 100, then all these actions were at a loss for the team. Miracles of univariate analysis when, with the right approach, you can achieve any result you want and pass off bad indicators as good ones. I'm not saying that Messi was consistently bad, but such statistics are only annoying.

Well, we all know that Messi does not want to continue at PSG, obviously PSG has a lot of power worldwide, a lot of money, any article that they can filter in the news to justify a possible PSG departure is possible (this is also mere speculation ) now if they say it as a measure to discredit the Argentine national soccer team a bit, it is something else, it is known that in Europe it hurts a lot that France has not won, things can go in that direction, although it is not something very nice, but It is quite possible, players like Messi, CR7 make enemies out of nowhere, just for playing well, sometimes it is to cause more shock or it can be mere envy.