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

[shogun47]

Yes and I know that there are some arguments for enlarging the World Cup and some are against it, but for the sake of equality between nations, enlarging it was a necessity.

The biggest fear so far is that the overall quality of the games might be significantly diluted when there are more starting spots, which also means that more of the weaker teams will get a chance to participate. But I think for the sake of fairness smaller or weaker nations in this sport should also get a fair chance to take part and to grow through those competitions.

I really agree with what you say, the more countries that participate, the more benefits there will automatically be. I also think that by providing opportunities for small and weak countries in the context of football, it will not reduce their competitive tension. Apart from that, the World Cup will be the best forum to accommodate all forms of aspirations in football.

We can see that there are not many players from Asian countries who played in the top five European leagues in the past. After the World Cup performances in the Asian region to be precise in Korea and Japan, now many players from these two countries are playing for elite European clubs.

No, nothing is automatically or guaranteed and democracy also has its flaws, yet it is the best and fairest way to govern a country.

Including more countries has its own set of problems for sure, there is no doubt about that. But the question is whether the positive aspects of including more countries/people to such an event outweigh the negative aspects of not doing so.

This where equality does of course come into play. A country should have a fair chance to participate even if it is tiny or not as well developed as others. That is why I am for a larger World Cup although I know that the quality of some games from a fan's perspective will suffer.

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[Sithara007]

I don't think that would be a greater problem as the number of teams are up from 32 to 48. Even though Canada, Mexico and United states are let in without qualifier, there are 14 more slots available than the last time. Increasing 16 teams at once means there would be 50% more teams than last time competing in this tournament. The tournament would last longer and there would be increased number of matches.
The idea of including larger number of diverse team are inline with creating a global tournament but how the people would react to the longer format is not clear yet. I personally believe 104 matches which are nearly double from last tournament would be fine as it's once in a 4 year event and everyone would attract larger viewership than last tournaments.

I don't agree with this argument. It is good that FIFA has increased the number of participants from 32 to 48. But what this has to do with undeserving teams gaining direct entry? Next time it is going to be even more complicated. There are going to be combined bids from Spain–Portugal–Ukraine–Morocco, as well as from Uruguay–Argentina–Chile–Paraguay. If any of the nations win right to host the tournament, then a number of weaker teams will gain direct entry to the tournament at the cost of more deserving teams. Increasing the number of participants is not going to resolve this issue. 

[LUCKMCFLY]

~snip~
I personally am not a big supporter of the players to travel around during the World Cup. The players should be concentrating on how to play well instead of traveling from one country to another. And we all know that there can be a lot of problems with having multiple hosts of the World Cup. So why even go through that trouble?

Less traveling is going to make sure that the players are not tired and actually are concentrating on playing well in the World Cup matches. And something very famous right now going on in the West is rape allegations against the players. That is definitely going to happen less in my opinion if the players are not travelling from one country to another every other day.

Yeah, I also think it's simpler and better to have a single country hosting the world cup.

But based on the next world cup, and the following bids, we will be looking at multi-country world cups for at least a decade or so.

It's just the new normal. Also, there will be more countries in the competition, whether we like it or not.

I am sure that the South American players would not have any problem traveling from the USA to Canada and from Canada to Mexico, because basically when they are in the world qualifiers, which in fact start tomorrow, as things can be seen, it is always traveling in an ap ´Yes to another, and from a very hot climate to a very cold climate, I think this can really hit European players who basically don't travel as much, only in periods of holidays or when the UCL final is going to be which is in another host country, so on that side I think that the guadores would not be affected, in addition it can cause fatigue because basically when traveling many things become evident, delays in training, arrival, what Sometimes you have to be at the airport at the right time, the stress that it can generate in the players, all these things can have a noticeable effect, it is something that cannot be denied, we could think that things for some may be more useful stronger than others, that is why in these cases the preparations that are made in the World Cup era are very important, it cannot be denied that things can get tough at any time that is necessary or warranted during the mudal, but as in The World Cup has a lot of things like days in which everyone rests, since they have to take advantage of it from the day they leave a game, immediately after making the trip, so that the players can rest and sleep during the trip.

However, I don't know how they are going to organize the World Cup in this case, host more world teams, where each one of us hopes that we can see our teams there, I want to see Italy, because Italy is a team that has very good football, style and history, as well as my country that has never been there because the emotion would be unique, and as I have said before, I would like to see India in this World Cup.

[synchronym]

Argentina won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, ending a long wait of 36 years. After the race to win the world, Le Albiceleste is entering the field again. World champion Lionel Messira will fight in the World Cup qualifying match of the Latin American continent ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Argentina will play in the World Cup qualifying match against Ecuador on Friday, September 8. Lionel Scaloni, the coach of the team, has arranged a plan to beat Ecuador around Messi, who is in great rhythm. They have already completed the team training ahead of the important match. The three-time world champion Argentina will enter the field with a full strength team in the World Cup qualifying match against Ecuador. In addition to Messi, who won the Ballon d'Or for a record seven times, Emiliano Martinez, Mac Allister, Nicolas Otamendi, Rodrigo de Paul can be seen in the starting eleven.

[Leviathan.007]

~snip~
I personally am not a big supporter of the players to travel around during the World Cup. The players should be concentrating on how to play well instead of traveling from one country to another. And we all know that there can be a lot of problems with having multiple hosts of the World Cup. So why even go through that trouble?

Less traveling is going to make sure that the players are not tired and actually are concentrating on playing well in the World Cup matches. And something very famous right now going on in the West is rape allegations against the players. That is definitely going to happen less in my opinion if the players are not travelling from one country to another every other day.

Yeah, I also think it's simpler and better to have a single country hosting the world cup.

But based on the next world cup, and the following bids, we will be looking at multi-country world cups for at least a decade or so.

It's just the new normal. Also, there will be more countries in the competition, whether we like it or not.

I am sure that the South American players would not have any problem traveling from the USA to Canada and from Canada to Mexico, because basically when they are in the world qualifiers, which in fact start tomorrow, as things can be seen, it is always traveling in an ap ´Yes to another, and from a very hot climate to a very cold climate, I think this can really hit European players who basically don't travel as much, only in periods of holidays or when the UCL final is going to be which is in another host country, so on that side I think that the guadores would not be affected, in addition it can cause fatigue because basically when traveling many things become evident, delays in training, arrival, what Sometimes you have to be at the airport at the right time, the stress that it can generate in the players, all these things can have a noticeable effect, it is something that cannot be denied, we could think that things for some may be more useful stronger than others, that is why in these cases the preparations that are made in the World Cup era are very important, it cannot be denied that things can get tough at any time that is necessary or warranted during the mudal, but as in The World Cup has a lot of things like days in which everyone rests, since they have to take advantage of it from the day they leave a game, immediately after making the trip, so that the players can rest and sleep during the trip.

However, I don't know how they are going to organize the World Cup in this case, host more world teams, where each one of us hopes that we can see our teams there, I want to see Italy, because Italy is a team that has very good football, style and history, as well as my country that has never been there because the emotion would be unique, and as I have said before, I would like to see India in this World Cup.

The moment when they said we were going to have three hosts I was thinking how the palyer and fans were going to travel between these countries because even if we consider these countries are close together there is some paper for the people who want to travel between these countries and this can be annoying for people.   
I think the best they can do is to make some special rules during the World Cup regarding this. 
 

[alegotardo]

The moment when they said we were going to have three hosts I was thinking how the palyer and fans were going to travel between these countries because even if we consider these countries are close together there is some paper for the people who want to travel between these countries and this can be annoying for people.   
I think the best they can do is to make some special rules during the World Cup regarding this.

Certainly the most complicated visa to opt for will be the American one, the others are easier.
I can't say how it is in other countries, but in my case, as a Brazilian, I've been verifying that fortunately 85% of people managed to obtain a tourist visa last year.
With the American visa in hand, as a Brazilian, I manage to obtain authorizations to enter Mexico and Canada with much less effort....
Authorization for Canada consists of applying for the etA, an electronic authorization for travel to the USA, which can be easily obtained on the Canadian government website.
To enter Mexico, you don't even need authorization, just present the American visa upon arrival in the country.

In any case, I hope that these countries make it more flexible for tourists to enter other parts of the world during the World Cup.

[Bd officer]

FIFA 2026 World Cup Qualifying Match Argentina vs Ecuador. At the end of the first half the game is tied 0-0. Argentina is stronger team than Ecuador. Argentina has shown surprise in the World Cup. Argentina almost won the match against Ecuador. The final result of today's match will either be a draw or Argentina will win. I think Argentina have more chances to win today's match. What do you think, which team can win in the end?

[Sexylizzy2813]

FIFA 2026 World Cup Qualifying Match Argentina vs Ecuador. At the end of the first half the game is tied 0-0. Argentina is stronger team than Ecuador. Argentina has shown surprise in the World Cup. Argentina almost won the match against Ecuador. The final result of today's match will either be a draw or Argentina will win. I think Argentina have more chances to win today's match. What do you think, which team can win in the end?

I don't know why the first leg in the qualifiers for Argentina or any team who's facing Argentina has to always end in a draw or the world cup winners has to struggle to get a 1 nil win.
Is it that they're being too soft at first and on the second game they (Argentina) will become strong and demolish their opponent?
Is so funny to see Messi and his teammates play so  dull (in getting goals I mean) at first and one would think they're going to lose after being the ones dominating the game from the beginning.
Ecuador are also good but they can't withstand the champions, is best they get a draw because from what I'm seeing the away team(Ecuador) want to get a point in this encounter since they can't get in the skin of the Argentines.
But I'm not sure that would last till FT.

[Sithara007]

FIFA 2026 World Cup Qualifying Match Argentina vs Ecuador. At the end of the first half the game is tied 0-0. Argentina is stronger team than Ecuador. Argentina has shown surprise in the World Cup. Argentina almost won the match against Ecuador. The final result of today's match will either be a draw or Argentina will win. I think Argentina have more chances to win today's match. What do you think, which team can win in the end?

In the end, the defending champions won by a margin of 1-0, thanks to the goal from Lionel Messi. Once again, this shows the quality of CONMEBOL qualifiers. All the 10 teams that are participating in this tournament are capable of beating each other, unlike the case with UEFA, CAF or AFC qualifiers. This time the number of teams that will qualify for the world cup from CONMEBOL has been increased to 6. But even then, four high quality teams would lose out. BTW, tomorrow we have the Brazil vs Bolivia match scheduled. The match will take place at Belém, Brazil.

[synchronym]

FIFA 2026 World Cup Qualifying Match Argentina vs Ecuador. At the end of the first half the game is tied 0-0. Argentina is stronger team than Ecuador. Argentina has shown surprise in the World Cup. Argentina almost won the match against Ecuador. The final result of today's match will either be a draw or Argentina will win. I think Argentina have more chances to win today's match. What do you think, which team can win in the end?

I don't know why the first leg in the qualifiers for Argentina or any team who's facing Argentina has to always end in a draw or the world cup winners has to struggle to get a 1 nil win.
Is it that they're being too soft at first and on the second game they (Argentina) will become strong and demolish their opponent?
Is so funny to see Messi and his teammates play so  dull (in getting goals I mean) at first and one would think they're going to lose after being the ones dominating the game from the beginning.
Ecuador are also good but they can't withstand the champions, is best they get a draw because from what I'm seeing the away team(Ecuador) want to get a point in this encounter since they can't get in the skin of the Argentines.
But I'm not sure that would last till FT.

Argentina started to play against Ecuador with an injury-plagued team. Lionel Messi-Lautaro Martinez-Nicolas Gonzales couldn't score a goal even though they played with control throughout the match. Despite holding the ball for 71 percent of the match, the World Cup winners were unable to crack Ecuador's defense in any way. After one attack after another, there was no goal. In the 62nd minute of the second half, Lionel Scaloni removed Gonzales from the field and replaced Di Maria. Then in the 77th minute, Martinez was brought down to Julian Alvarez. After that, Argentina found the attack. In the 78th minute, Argentina captain Messi broke the deadlock and gave the team the lead. And with that goal, the World Cup winners left the field with a relief victory.

[Sithara007]

Argentina started to play against Ecuador with an injury-plagued team. Lionel Messi-Lautaro Martinez-Nicolas Gonzales couldn't score a goal even though they played with control throughout the match. Despite holding the ball for 71 percent of the match, the World Cup winners were unable to crack Ecuador's defense in any way. After one attack after another, there was no goal. In the 62nd minute of the second half, Lionel Scaloni removed Gonzales from the field and replaced Di Maria. Then in the 77th minute, Martinez was brought down to Julian Alvarez. After that, Argentina found the attack. In the 78th minute, Argentina captain Messi broke the deadlock and gave the team the lead. And with that goal, the World Cup winners left the field with a relief victory.

They got 3 points from the match and that is important. Anyway, this is a good start to their campaign to defend the world cup trophy in 2026. I don't think that Argentina need to worry too much about the results. Ecuador, afterall is a quality team. They managed to qualify for Qatar 2022 and put up a good performance there. Another team that won their match yesterday is Colombia, who had an easy win over Venezuela. They failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup and will be hoping to avoid that fate this time.

[Litzki1990]

FIFA 2026 World Cup Qualifying Match Argentina vs Ecuador. At the end of the first half the game is tied 0-0. Argentina is stronger team than Ecuador. Argentina has shown surprise in the World Cup. Argentina almost won the match against Ecuador. The final result of today's match will either be a draw or Argentina will win. I think Argentina have more chances to win today's match. What do you think, which team can win in the end?

Former World Cup winning team Argentina beat Ecuador 1-0 thanks to another great goal from Lionel Messi. Lionel Messi made a great free kick from the front of the box in the 78th minute of the game. The free kick scored by Lionel Messi was amazing to watch. His free kick looked like the kind of free kick only Lionel Messi can do. When the Ecuadorian goalkeeper took this great free kick, he might as well have been enjoying Lionel Messi's free kick because he had nothing to do but enjoy the free kick. For Argentina, the match against Ecuador was the first match of the World Cup qualifiers in which Argentina earned full points, in this match Argentina secured the top position of the points table with one match to play.

[Strongkored]

FIFA 2026 World Cup Qualifying Match Argentina vs Ecuador. At the end of the first half the game is tied 0-0. Argentina is stronger team than Ecuador. Argentina has shown surprise in the World Cup. Argentina almost won the match against Ecuador. The final result of today's match will either be a draw or Argentina will win. I think Argentina have more chances to win today's match. What do you think, which team can win in the end?

Former World Cup winning team Argentina beat Ecuador 1-0 thanks to another great goal from Lionel Messi. Lionel Messi made a great free kick from the front of the box in the 78th minute of the game. The free kick scored by Lionel Messi was amazing to watch. His free kick looked like the kind of free kick only Lionel Messi can do. When the Ecuadorian goalkeeper took this great free kick, he might as well have been enjoying Lionel Messi's free kick because he had nothing to do but enjoy the free kick. For Argentina, the match against Ecuador was the first match of the World Cup qualifiers in which Argentina earned full points, in this match Argentina secured the top position of the points table with one match to play.

Argentina played completely to press Ecuador, but Ecuador's defense was very difficult for Argentina to penetrate, so the free kick was enough to save Argentina from a draw because Ecuador's net would be difficult to penetrate from normal attacks. The whole match was completely controlled by the Argentine players, there was not much that Ecuador could do but at least they had a chance but failed to penetrate the Argentine goal.
Apart from the Argentina vs Ecuador match, there were also two other matches, Colombia which managed to beat Venezuela with a narrow score of 1-0. Colombia, like Argentina, faced a team that had a strong enough defense so they could only score one goal in this match.
However, Paraguay only drew with Peru, who were playing with only 10 players after one of their players received a red card.

[onecall123]

FIFA 2026 World Cup Qualifying Match Argentina vs Ecuador. At the end of the first half the game is tied 0-0. Argentina is stronger team than Ecuador. Argentina has shown surprise in the World Cup. Argentina almost won the match against Ecuador. The final result of today's match will either be a draw or Argentina will win. I think Argentina have more chances to win today's match. What do you think, which team can win in the end?

Former World Cup winning team Argentina beat Ecuador 1-0 thanks to another great goal from Lionel Messi. Lionel Messi made a great free kick from the front of the box in the 78th minute of the game. The free kick scored by Lionel Messi was amazing to watch. His free kick looked like the kind of free kick only Lionel Messi can do. When the Ecuadorian goalkeeper took this great free kick, he might as well have been enjoying Lionel Messi's free kick because he had nothing to do but enjoy the free kick. For Argentina, the match against Ecuador was the first match of the World Cup qualifiers in which Argentina earned full points, in this match Argentina secured the top position of the points table with one match to play.

Well, it's what it's. Simple Lionel Messi thing. Messi scored the winning goal, giving the reigning world champs Argentina a 1-0 win over Ecuador in the 2026 World Cup qualifying match. Ecuador played an intelligent and tactical game, showing a lot of determination and skill, except for that one mistake  (the free kick). And it was an absolute masterpiece. The goalkeeper didn't even dive towards the ball; he seemed to be enjoying Lionel Messi's free kick as much as the rest of us.

[Kasabus]

I don't think that would be a greater problem as the number of teams are up from 32 to 48. Even though Canada, Mexico and United states are let in without qualifier, there are 14 more slots available than the last time. Increasing 16 teams at once means there would be 50% more teams than last time competing in this tournament. The tournament would last longer and there would be increased number of matches.
The idea of including larger number of diverse team are inline with creating a global tournament but how the people would react to the longer format is not clear yet. I personally believe 104 matches which are nearly double from last tournament would be fine as it's once in a 4 year event and everyone would attract larger viewership than last tournaments.

I don't agree with this argument. It is good that FIFA has increased the number of participants from 32 to 48. But what this has to do with undeserving teams gaining direct entry? Next time it is going to be even more complicated. There are going to be combined bids from Spain–Portugal–Ukraine–Morocco, as well as from Uruguay–Argentina–Chile–Paraguay. If any of the nations win right to host the tournament, then a number of weaker teams will gain direct entry to the tournament at the cost of more deserving teams. Increasing the number of participants is not going to resolve this issue. 

The industry will always grow bigger as they move closer to its projected goal but just like what you've said, what they are doing now will not resolve the problem because lots of countries will now try to move forward while combining their bids to other neighboring countries. 4 hosts in one event might be a good idea because the benefit will be shared thoroughly and equally but for the event, it will not resolve anything specially if the teams of these four countries will be granted an automatic qualification which is quite unfair already.

[Rampagoe004]

Well, it's what it's. Simple Lionel Messi thing. Messi scored the winning goal, giving the reigning world champs Argentina a 1-0 win over Ecuador in the 2026 World Cup qualifying match. Ecuador played an intelligent and tactical game, showing a lot of determination and skill, except for that one mistake  (the free kick). And it was an absolute masterpiece. The goalkeeper didn't even dive towards the ball; he seemed to be enjoying Lionel Messi's free kick as much as the rest of us.

So I thought what about the 2026 World Cup later? Will Messi still be at his best? Currently I see that Messi plays a very important role in the entire Argentine national team. Even though someone will replace him in skill or dribbling, what makes Messi special is his winning mentality. It will greatly affect the performance of the team as a whole.
I remember in the Euro 2020 Final when Cristiano's winning mentality was able to bring Portugal to victory when they beat the French national team. The winning mentality of a CR7 has a big impact on the entire Portuguese national team.

[Docnaster]

Well, it's what it's. Simple Lionel Messi thing. Messi scored the winning goal, giving the reigning world champs Argentina a 1-0 win over Ecuador in the 2026 World Cup qualifying match. Ecuador played an intelligent and tactical game, showing a lot of determination and skill, except for that one mistake  (the free kick). And it was an absolute masterpiece. The goalkeeper didn't even dive towards the ball; he seemed to be enjoying Lionel Messi's free kick as much as the rest of us.

So I thought what about the 2026 World Cup later? Will Messi still be at his best? Currently I see that Messi plays a very important role in the entire Argentine national team. Even though someone will replace him in skill or dribbling, what makes Messi special is his winning mentality. It will greatly affect the performance of the team as a whole.
I remember in the Euro 2020 Final when Cristiano's winning mentality was able to bring Portugal to victory when they beat the French national team. The winning mentality of a CR7 has a big impact on the entire Portuguese national team.

Despite their current age Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are still very important members of their respective national teams and doesn't look like they'll be quiting from international duties this year but since the next edition of the FIFA World Cup tournament is 3 years from now, I don't think we'll see any of them in the finals of the competition. Cristiano Ronaldo will be 41 years in 2026 while Lionel Messi will be 39.
Ronaldo I think might retire from international football after next summer's European championship with the Portuguese national team while his Argentine counterparts might as well retire after the next edition of the Copa America but we still might be lucky again to see the two football greats in the biggest football competition in 2026

[Strongkored]

Despite their current age Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are still very important members of their respective national teams and doesn't look like they'll be quiting from international duties this year but since the next edition of the FIFA World Cup tournament is 3 years from now, I don't think we'll see any of them in the finals of the competition. Cristiano Ronaldo will be 41 years in 2026 while Lionel Messi will be 39.
Ronaldo I think might retire from international football after next summer's European championship with the Portuguese national team while his Argentine counterparts might as well retire after the next edition of the Copa America but we still might be lucky again to see the two football greats in the biggest football competition in 2026

Maybe we will continue to see both of them playing in their respective countries' national teams as long as the national team coach calls them.
In Portugal, there are players who are quite old but still in the Portugal national team squad, Pepe was almost 40 years old when the World Cup last year though he is reportedly still injured and Portugal is not short of young defenders who are just as good but he is in the Portugal squad list in this big tournament, especially for Ronaldo who is quite respected by many Portuguese players and is a role model for them.
Meanwhile, Messi, who is said to be younger than Ronaldo, will really depend on whether he is still willing to play for Argentina or not because he has stated several times that he will retire as an Argentine national team player.
However, without their presence, the World Cup will still be interesting because there will be other young players who can attract our attention.

[Sithara007]

The industry will always grow bigger as they move closer to its projected goal but just like what you've said, what they are doing now will not resolve the problem because lots of countries will now try to move forward while combining their bids to other neighboring countries. 4 hosts in one event might be a good idea because the benefit will be shared thoroughly and equally but for the event, it will not resolve anything specially if the teams of these four countries will be granted an automatic qualification which is quite unfair already.

There should be a limit at some point. Back in 2002, when the co-host system was first implemented, there were two hosts for the first time - Japan and South Korea. 2026 will be the first time that there will be more than 2 hosts (USA, Canada and Mexico). And in all probability there will be 4 hosts in 2030 and all of them will be given direct entry. But this has to stop at some point. What if EU wins the hosting rights for 2034, and then ask for automatic qualification for all the 27 member nations? In that case only 21 nations will enter the world cup through qualifier tournament.

[wiss19]

~snip~
I personally am not a big supporter of the players to travel around during the World Cup. The players should be concentrating on how to play well instead of traveling from one country to another. And we all know that there can be a lot of problems with having multiple hosts of the World Cup. So why even go through that trouble?

Less traveling is going to make sure that the players are not tired and actually are concentrating on playing well in the World Cup matches. And something very famous right now going on in the West is rape allegations against the players. That is definitely going to happen less in my opinion if the players are not travelling from one country to another every other day.

Yeah, I also think it's simpler and better to have a single country hosting the world cup.

But based on the next world cup, and the following bids, we will be looking at multi-country world cups for at least a decade or so.

It's just the new normal. Also, there will be more countries in the competition, whether we like it or not.

I think the idea is that one nation may have certain amount of stadiums, and that's fine and dandy without a problem, but multiple nations could bring in all their best stadiums, so that would be great. Like one nation may have one huge stadium like wembley, but not every stadium will be like that, it will get worse, instead pick 3 and you have 3 wembley level stadiums and others are not that terrible neither.

Obviously England could host it all by itself but it is not really the candidate, but when you are talking about a nation like USA, there are stadiums with 15k seaters, that's not going to be enough. So, instead of that they go with the three nation thing which benefits the whole world cup to be a lot better.