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

[Sithara007]

I totally agree with you about this topic. Small countries have bigger issues with growing players like Ronaldo. They aren't like Brazil for example which has a population around 217 million and which is a football country also. However I agree on another thing that Portugal still have skilled players. The thing they will only need is to have a strong team effort after Ronaldo retires. 

Portugal or some other national team can't just rely on one player to be carried. This is nonsense if you really want to become successful.

Argentina did this by relying on Messi over the years and barely managed to become a World Cup champion.

Teams that are overly reliant on one player, doesn't perform well historically. There are many examples, such as Belgium (Romelu Lukaku), Macedonia (Goran Pandeev), Wales (Gareth Bale), in addition to Portugal (Ronaldo). Look at Argentina. They have a more balanced situation. In addition to Lionel Messi, they have players such as Ángel Di María, Julián Álvarez and Lautaro Martínez. France have Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann in addition to    Kylian Mbappé. And such teams have performed better than the first category. 

[Y3shot]

But I still think both teams should accept these two players are old and they need to think about the other and younger players.

Players like these are not very common for you to have them, you can get players like these that are extraordinary once in 20 decades that is why it is so difficult for the teams of these players to leat them go or retire them. Their are good players in Portugal and Argentina team but can't be compared like these legends.  Despite they are of age they still make football interesting to fans. If we are been honest the talented players that we have can't be compared to the standard of these legends. Messi and and Ronaldo have created good memories in football that can't be forgotten.

[Rampagoe004]

But I still think both teams should accept these two players are old and they need to think about the other and younger players.

Players like these are not very common for you to have them, you can get players like these that are extraordinary once in 20 decades that is why it is so difficult for the teams of these players to leat them go or retire them. Their are good players in Portugal and Argentina team but can't be compared like these legends.  Despite they are of age they still make football interesting to fans. If we are been honest the talented players that we have can't be compared to the standard of these legends. Messi and and Ronaldo have created good memories in football that can't be forgotten.

I agree with you. Ronaldo and Messi are two football icons who will never be replaced. There are no other players even close to their level in their prime. It is difficult to let them go in the national team because they have an extraordinary influence on the team. I remember the moment when Ronaldo encouraged his teammates in the 2016 Euro final even though at that time France was very favored compared to Portugal. Messi also had a big influence on Argentina's overall game at the 2022 world cup in Qatar. So I think it's difficult to keep them from being called up unless they decide to retire.

[Hirose UK]

It's not that simple, it's like finding another player of the same quality as if by magic... Cristiano Ronaldo is a legend, he's in the select group of the best players of all time, that's a rarity and maybe someone similar will appear again only in a few decades...

They don't replace him because there's no way to replace him... Only if they put an average player in his place... which isn't a good idea.

Portugal is a very small country, with a population of around 8 million. Their national football league is not as popular as the EPL or the Bundesliga. Given this, I am sure that they will face a lot of issues in replacing Ronaldo once he retires. They tried with some of the younger players during the 2022 Qatar World Cup, but it didn't worked that well. Portugal lost to Morocco and was kicked out of the competition. To be fair, they have very good players such as João Félix, Jota Silva and Rafael Leão. But these players are inconsistent.

That true and indeed Portugal football development there has not experienced significant increase like other countries such as England, Spain, Germany and also France or Italy.
If you look at the domestic competitions of each country, you can clearly show that the Portuguese League is still below several European countries, plus Portugal also doesn't produce many great players.
Only player that was truly born best by Portugal was Ronaldo, who has been football star and is able to become the best player, even for the Portuguese national team there is no other player who can surpass Ronaldo record.
Currently, there are several young players who are always relied on by Portugal, as you have mentioned, but they are not great players and contribute greatly to Portugal, after all they only play well for the clubs they follow.

So far, Portugal has never reached the World Cup final even though there is Ronaldo, problem is that Portugal doesn't have enough talented players who can strengthen the team perfectly.
If conditions like this continue then I sure that Portugal will never be team that really has chance to fight for the World Cup title until the final match.

[criptoevangelista]

It's not that simple, it's like finding another player of the same quality as if by magic... Cristiano Ronaldo is a legend, he's in the select group of the best players of all time, that's a rarity and maybe someone similar will appear again only in a few decades...

They don't replace him because there's no way to replace him... Only if they put an average player in his place... which isn't a good idea.

Portugal is a very small country, with a population of around 8 million. Their national football league is not as popular as the EPL or the Bundesliga. Given this, I am sure that they will face a lot of issues in replacing Ronaldo once he retires. They tried with some of the younger players during the 2022 Qatar World Cup, but it didn't worked that well. Portugal lost to Morocco and was kicked out of the competition. To be fair, they have very good players such as João Félix, Jota Silva and Rafael Leão. But these players are inconsistent.

That true and indeed Portugal football development there has not experienced significant increase like other countries such as England, Spain, Germany and also France or Italy.
If you look at the domestic competitions of each country, you can clearly show that the Portuguese League is still below several European countries, plus Portugal also doesn't produce many great players.
Only player that was truly born best by Portugal was Ronaldo, who has been football star and is able to become the best player, even for the Portuguese national team there is no other player who can surpass Ronaldo record.
Currently, there are several young players who are always relied on by Portugal, as you have mentioned, but they are not great players and contribute greatly to Portugal, after all they only play well for the clubs they follow.

So far, Portugal has never reached the World Cup final even though there is Ronaldo, problem is that Portugal doesn't have enough talented players who can strengthen the team perfectly.
If conditions like this continue then I sure that Portugal will never be team that really has chance to fight for the World Cup title until the final match.

It will be very difficult for Portugal to be among the first in this cup, if they didn't achieve anything with the legendary team from the beginning of 2000, this won't be the one that will reach... I was remembering that team, it was incredible, for me it was the best Portuguese team of all time... There were several great players: Rui Costa, Deco, Figo, Fernando Couto and also Cristiano Ronaldo himself.

[el kaka22]

I feel like Portugal is still doing fine though, not like they are terrible. I get that they may not be as good to win the cup, but they are good enough to be there. Considering how many teams fail to join, being consistently in euro and world cups do mean a lot better and we should consider it to be as good as it gets. I believe that we are seeing a good improvement on the league system as well, they are still below a few leagues that's true but they are growing and getting better anyway.

I feel like the modern social media is getting their hands on it, they are sharing it all over internet, and getting interest from people. I think they are decent, and with a good golden generation one day, they may win it all as well.

[Rampagoe004]

I feel like Portugal is still doing fine though, not like they are terrible. I get that they may not be as good to win the cup, but they are good enough to be there. Considering how many teams fail to join, being consistently in euro and world cups do mean a lot better and we should consider it to be as good as it gets. I believe that we are seeing a good improvement on the league system as well, they are still below a few leagues that's true but they are growing and getting better anyway.

But so far I see no other player who can replace Ronaldo. In fact, I never thought we would find a player like CR7 even in the next few years. For the Portuguese national team, of course they are a solid team and they almost never miss playing in the World Cup and Euro Cup. I just hope they can build a solid squad without Ronaldo. Yes, currently Portugal has improved with their better league system. But I think we will be able to see how they perform at Euro 2024 and the 2026 World Cup.

[Bobrox]

I feel like Portugal is still doing fine though, not like they are terrible. I get that they may not be as good to win the cup, but they are good enough to be there. Considering how many teams fail to join, being consistently in euro and world cups do mean a lot better and we should consider it to be as good as it gets. I believe that we are seeing a good improvement on the league system as well, they are still below a few leagues that's true but they are growing and getting better anyway.

I feel like the modern social media is getting their hands on it, they are sharing it all over internet, and getting interest from people. I think they are decent, and with a good golden generation one day, they may win it all as well.

Portugal teams on the winning trend by doing fine in EURO 2024 qualifier round and I think their journey to reach FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier round not get difficult yet. Portugal unbeaten in last qualifier round matches and become one favorite team for winning Euro 2024 in Germany, with good performance in qualifier of Euro seems Portugal will keep improved their performance for World Cup qualifier with European zone not drawing yet.

Portugal still most interested team with many fans expected they can see Cristiano Ronaldo keep playing in last edition of World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo fans expected with their idol would be the winner for the last edition participating because Ronaldo never success yet winning the most higher level tittle in his career although most ever playing in World Cup.

[Leviathan.007]

But I still think both teams should accept these two players are old and they need to think about the other and younger players.

Players like these are not very common for you to have them, you can get players like these that are extraordinary once in 20 decades that is why it is so difficult for the teams of these players to leat them go or retire them. Their are good players in Portugal and Argentina team but can't be compared like these legends.  Despite they are of age they still make football interesting to fans. If we are been honest the talented players that we have can't be compared to the standard of these legends. Messi and and Ronaldo have created good memories in football that can't be forgotten.

I agree with you. Ronaldo and Messi are two football icons who will never be replaced. There are no other players even close to their level in their prime. It is difficult to let them go in the national team because they have an extraordinary influence on the team. I remember the moment when Ronaldo encouraged his teammates in the 2016 Euro final even though at that time France was very favored compared to Portugal. Messi also had a big influence on Argentina's overall game at the 2022 world cup in Qatar. So I think it's difficult to keep them from being called up unless they decide to retire.

We never saw a player like Figo in Portugal but after a year they had a player like Ronaldo and he had a better performance than Figo in their team. In fact, they never had a player like Deco or Figo but instead, they got something better than these players.
Sometimes all you should do is to give some more chance to the younger players and they can see the reward. We can't expect to see a player like Ronaldo in Portugal anymore but the younger talents can take their place and help the team to get improve for the next World Cup.

[Sithara007]

We never saw a player like Figo in Portugal but after a year they had a player like Ronaldo and he had a better performance than Figo in their team. In fact, they never had a player like Deco or Figo but instead, they got something better than these players.
Sometimes all you should do is to give some more chance to the younger players and they can see the reward. We can't expect to see a player like Ronaldo in Portugal anymore but the younger talents can take their place and help the team to get improve for the next World Cup.

Portugal is facing the same problem as Brazil is facing. Despite having a lot of talent at home, many of the emerging players leave for other countries due to the lack of a proper national football league. And those who play in EPL, La Liga or Serie A prioritizes their club instead of the national team. And as far as Portugal is concerned, this country underwent economic upheaval a few years ago, and that time a lot of younger citizens emigrated to greener pastures. This impacted their player pool, without any doubt.

[Distraction]

Teams that are overly reliant on one player, doesn't perform well historically. There are many examples, such as Belgium (Romelu Lukaku), Macedonia (Goran Pandeev), Wales (Gareth Bale), in addition to Portugal (Ronaldo). Look at Argentina. They have a more balanced situation. In addition to Lionel Messi, they have players such as Ángel Di María, Julián Álvarez and Lautaro Martínez. France have Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann in addition to    Kylian Mbappé. And such teams have performed better than the first category. 

Belgium and Portugal are also good examples from today. Belgium wasted their best generation over the years. They could have been way better as a team like winning at least one championship. However nowadays they are mostly relying on Lukaku's extra contribution. He isn't performing like this at Roma now in fact but he has a lot of goals scored for Belgium lately. 

Ronaldo is still at the centre of Portugal squad. Portugal still have really skilled other players also but Ronaldo's number of goals in the Euro qualifiers was just a lot. He is also carrying his national team like Lukaku does for Belgium.

[Rockstarguy]

We never saw a player like Figo in Portugal but after a year they had a player like Ronaldo and he had a better performance than Figo in their team. In fact, they never had a player like Deco or Figo but instead, they got something better than these players.
Sometimes all you should do is to give some more chance to the younger players and they can see the reward. We can't expect to see a player like Ronaldo in Portugal anymore but the younger talents can take their place and help the team to get improve for the next World Cup.

Portugal is facing the same problem as Brazil is facing. Despite having a lot of talent at home, many of the emerging players leave for other countries due to the lack of a proper national football league. And those who play in EPL, La Liga or Serie A prioritizes their club instead of the national team. And as far as Portugal is concerned, this country underwent economic upheaval a few years ago, and that time a lot of younger citizens emigrated to greener pastures. This impacted their player pool, without any doubt.

I could see the struggling in Portugal in the last world cup, they didn't really perform well despite they have good players in the team. I feel these players does not have good connections with the coach , the team needs a coach that can carry the players along and bond very well with them. Portugal is a team that always makes world cup and other competitions very interesting because of their good performance which makes them to always be one of the leading teams. Just hope Portugal gets better like the way they used to be to make the next World Cup competition to be interesting.

[Leviathan.007]

Teams that are overly reliant on one player, doesn't perform well historically. There are many examples, such as Belgium (Romelu Lukaku), Macedonia (Goran Pandeev), Wales (Gareth Bale), in addition to Portugal (Ronaldo). Look at Argentina. They have a more balanced situation. In addition to Lionel Messi, they have players such as Ángel Di María, Julián Álvarez and Lautaro Martínez. France have Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann in addition to    Kylian Mbappé. And such teams have performed better than the first category. 

Belgium and Portugal are also good examples from today. Belgium wasted their best generation over the years. They could have been way better as a team like winning at least one championship. However nowadays they are mostly relying on Lukaku's extra contribution. He isn't performing like this at Roma now in fact but he has a lot of goals scored for Belgium lately. 

Ronaldo is still at the centre of Portugal squad. Portugal still have really skilled other players also but Ronaldo's number of goals in the Euro qualifiers was just a lot. He is also carrying his national team like Lukaku does for Belgium.

We can't just blame the team because of not using the younger players because that's also up tp the player and if they don't get themselves to retire at older ages the teams should not use these players and that's disrespectful to some players like Messi and Ronaldo if the national team doesn't use these players.
I think Ronaldo should make the decision and get retire however he still wants to be at the top level and he still wants to achieve a great title like the World Cup with history but we all know that's something impossible for him at this age.
 

[Patrol69]

But I still think both teams should accept these two players are old and they need to think about the other and younger players.

Players like these are not very common for you to have them, you can get players like these that are extraordinary once in 20 decades that is why it is so difficult for the teams of these players to leat them go or retire them. Their are good players in Portugal and Argentina team but can't be compared like these legends.  Despite they are of age they still make football interesting to fans. If we are been honest the talented players that we have can't be compared to the standard of these legends. Messi and and Ronaldo have created good memories in football that can't be forgotten.

I agree with you. Ronaldo and Messi are two football icons who will never be replaced. There are no other players even close to their level in their prime. It is difficult to let them go in the national team because they have an extraordinary influence on the team. I remember the moment when Ronaldo encouraged his teammates in the 2016 Euro final even though at that time France was very favored compared to Portugal. Messi also had a big influence on Argentina's overall game at the 2022 world cup in Qatar. So I think it's difficult to keep them from being called up unless they decide to retire.

Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are two of the most iconic stars in the world of football today. To some people, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are a name of passion. I know about Messi before I know about Argentina. If Messi was not an Argentinian footballer, maybe Argentina would not be known. Football has made Argentina known to the world and all Argentines know Messi. In the last World Cup, Messi fulfilled their 30-year regret and after 30 long years, Leo Messi managed to win the World Cup trophy, which was the first World Cup for Lionel Messi. Cristiano Ronaldo has contributed a lot for his country alone but he has not won any major titles so I hope that the star will win the World Cup trophy next season.

[criptoevangelista]

But I still think both teams should accept these two players are old and they need to think about the other and younger players.

Players like these are not very common for you to have them, you can get players like these that are extraordinary once in 20 decades that is why it is so difficult for the teams of these players to leat them go or retire them. Their are good players in Portugal and Argentina team but can't be compared like these legends.  Despite they are of age they still make football interesting to fans. If we are been honest the talented players that we have can't be compared to the standard of these legends. Messi and and Ronaldo have created good memories in football that can't be forgotten.

I agree with you. Ronaldo and Messi are two football icons who will never be replaced. There are no other players even close to their level in their prime. It is difficult to let them go in the national team because they have an extraordinary influence on the team. I remember the moment when Ronaldo encouraged his teammates in the 2016 Euro final even though at that time France was very favored compared to Portugal. Messi also had a big influence on Argentina's overall game at the 2022 world cup in Qatar. So I think it's difficult to keep them from being called up unless they decide to retire.

Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are two of the most iconic stars in the world of football today. To some people, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are a name of passion. I know about Messi before I know about Argentina. If Messi was not an Argentinian footballer, maybe Argentina would not be known. Football has made Argentina known to the world and all Argentines know Messi. In the last World Cup, Messi fulfilled their 30-year regret and after 30 long years, Leo Messi managed to win the World Cup trophy, which was the first World Cup for Lionel Messi. Cristiano Ronaldo has contributed a lot for his country alone but he has not won any major titles so I hope that the star will win the World Cup trophy next season.

This is quite common, people know Messi before Argentina, Messi spent his entire career in Europe, he started playing at Barcelona together with Ronaldinho Gaúcho. If I'm not mistaken, it was Ronaldinho Gaucho himself who provided the pass for Messi's first goal in Barcelona's first team.

[Rampagoe004]

We never saw a player like Figo in Portugal but after a year they had a player like Ronaldo and he had a better performance than Figo in their team. In fact, they never had a player like Deco or Figo but instead, they got something better than these players.
Sometimes all you should do is to give some more chance to the younger players and they can see the reward. We can't expect to see a player like Ronaldo in Portugal anymore but the younger talents can take their place and help the team to get improve for the next World Cup.

I agree with you. But even a player like Luis Figo is not a player who is included in the GOAT ranks. I know he is a great player and a legend. He was one of the world's best players in his prime. But Ronaldo was born different. He's better than Figo. But to say that we will find another player like Ronaldo, like when Ronaldo appeared after Figo, I think that is very impossible. Ronaldo has many great records that most other players in the world don't even have. That's why I said it would be very difficult to find another player like Ronaldo. Without wanting to offend, I think it's easy to find a player who is greater than Figo but can you find a player who is greater than Ronaldo? Maybe we have to wait a few decades.

[LUCKMCFLY]

I could see the struggling in Portugal in the last world cup, they didn't really perform well despite they have good players in the team. I feel these players does not have good connections with the coach , the team needs a coach that can carry the players along and bond very well with them. Portugal is a team that always makes world cup and other competitions very interesting because of their good performance which makes them to always be one of the leading teams. Just hope Portugal gets better like the way they used to be to make the next World Cup competition to be interesting.

What I think about this is that in Portugal there are players like Bruno and Cancelo who do not accept the leadership of a legend like CR7, they want to lead, and the truth is they don't have it because their football history is not as good or outstanding as that of CR7, So these types of "piques" are what lead a team on the wrong path, this is not good or healthy for any team, therefore the coach here has to put those who really do it well, Bruno is good, but if there is another player better than him, he must accept that he can be replaced, in this case things can happen like this, except that the focus of the mute is on CR7, because he is the one who receives the most news, I think the last World Cup They did nothing because of the coach by not including CR7, this World Cup I don't think they will make the same mistake.

[hyudien]

I could see the struggling in Portugal in the last world cup, they didn't really perform well despite they have good players in the team. I feel these players does not have good connections with the coach , the team needs a coach that can carry the players along and bond very well with them. Portugal is a team that always makes world cup and other competitions very interesting because of their good performance which makes them to always be one of the leading teams. Just hope Portugal gets better like the way they used to be to make the next World Cup competition to be interesting.

What I think about this is that in Portugal there are players like Bruno and Cancelo who do not accept the leadership of a legend like CR7, they want to lead, and the truth is they don't have it because their football history is not as good or outstanding as that of CR7, So these types of "piques" are what lead a team on the wrong path, this is not good or healthy for any team, therefore the coach here has to put those who really do it well, Bruno is good, but if there is another player better than him, he must accept that he can be replaced, in this case things can happen like this, except that the focus of the mute is on CR7, because he is the one who receives the most news, I think the last World Cup They did nothing because of the coach by not including CR7, this World Cup I don't think they will make the same mistake.

All eyes were on Cristiano Ronaldo at the Qatar World Cup, as if he was competing instead of Portugal, but it is natural that he gets a lot of attention, because he is one of the best players in the world and maybe many people think it is the last World Cup that will be held. played by Ronaldo.
In fact, Bruno's problems with Ronaldo were discovered not only in Portugal, but when Ronaldo was part of Manchester United, they were said to have had a bad relationship. However, Bruno himself denied what was rumored, but we also don't know whether this problem really happened or not and maybe they don't want the public to know.
In my opinion, Ronaldo's leadership in Portugal is still needed, because until now I have not seen any figure who can replace Ronaldo's role in providing motivation to his colleagues. I don't know whether they will be fine after Ronaldo leaves or not, but I hope they can be better even without Ronaldo.

[Docnaster]

We never saw a player like Figo in Portugal but after a year they had a player like Ronaldo and he had a better performance than Figo in their team. In fact, they never had a player like Deco or Figo but instead, they got something better than these players.
Sometimes all you should do is to give some more chance to the younger players and they can see the reward. We can't expect to see a player like Ronaldo in Portugal anymore but the younger talents can take their place and help the team to get improve for the next World Cup.

I agree with you. But even a player like Luis Figo is not a player who is included in the GOAT ranks. I know he is a great player and a legend. He was one of the world's best players in his prime. But Ronaldo was born different. He's better than Figo. But to say that we will find another player like Ronaldo, like when Ronaldo appeared after Figo, I think that is very impossible. Ronaldo has many great records that most other players in the world don't even have. That's why I said it would be very difficult to find another player like Ronaldo. Without wanting to offend, I think it's easy to find a player who is greater than Figo but can you find a player who is greater than Ronaldo? Maybe we have to wait a few decades.

When Luis Figo was in his prime as a professional footballer, many people had believed that no other future player in the Portugal national will be able to as great as he was as well as achieve everything he did achieve with the team but to the surprise of many, Cristiano Ronaldo who would go on to become the greatest Portuguese player ever emerged even before Luis Figo left the national team. Now, just as you rightly said, almost everyone believes that Portugal will not be able to produce another player that'll match the records of Cristiano Ronaldo. In football, we can never say never but in my own opinion, I don't think it'll be possible for us to see any player of Portuguese decent that'll ever give us what Cristiano Ronaldo gave us. Ronaldo's numbers are too intimidating for anyone to match it now or in the future

[Leviathan.007]

I could see the struggling in Portugal in the last world cup, they didn't really perform well despite they have good players in the team. I feel these players does not have good connections with the coach , the team needs a coach that can carry the players along and bond very well with them. Portugal is a team that always makes world cup and other competitions very interesting because of their good performance which makes them to always be one of the leading teams. Just hope Portugal gets better like the way they used to be to make the next World Cup competition to be interesting.

What I think about this is that in Portugal there are players like Bruno and Cancelo who do not accept the leadership of a legend like CR7, they want to lead, and the truth is they don't have it because their football history is not as good or outstanding as that of CR7, So these types of "piques" are what lead a team on the wrong path, this is not good or healthy for any team, therefore the coach here has to put those who really do it well, Bruno is good, but if there is another player better than him, he must accept that he can be replaced, in this case things can happen like this, except that the focus of the mute is on CR7, because he is the one who receives the most news, I think the last World Cup They did nothing because of the coach by not including CR7, this World Cup I don't think they will make the same mistake.

All eyes were on Cristiano Ronaldo at the Qatar World Cup, as if he was competing instead of Portugal, but it is natural that he gets a lot of attention, because he is one of the best players in the world and maybe many people think it is the last World Cup that will be held. played by Ronaldo.
In fact, Bruno's problems with Ronaldo were discovered not only in Portugal, but when Ronaldo was part of Manchester United, they were said to have had a bad relationship. However, Bruno himself denied what was rumored, but we also don't know whether this problem really happened or not and maybe they don't want the public to know.
In my opinion, Ronaldo's leadership in Portugal is still needed, because until now I have not seen any figure who can replace Ronaldo's role in providing motivation to his colleagues. I don't know whether they will be fine after Ronaldo leaves or not, but I hope they can be better even without Ronaldo.

Well, let's say the eyes were all wrong because we didn't see anything special from Ronaldo during the Qatar World Cup. Regardless of the popularity of Ronaldo, it seems he was never a good player for his national team when they needed it. Ronaldo is a player who achieved many titles in the team he played for them but when we talk about the World Cup and national teams, we know Ronaldo got nothing there, in fact, Ronaldo couldn't have a good performance in the World Cup when he was a young player with better performed and now when he is older and out of his good form we can't expect anything from Ronaldo in the 2026 world cup even if he plays there,