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

[imamusma]

Lionel Messi has stated that his participation in the World Cup in two years will depend on his feelings and physical condition. He is quite different from Ronaldo, who is more ambitious, while Messi is more calm in managing his career. He even previously decided to withdraw from his international career with Argentina, but his country is back. called him and it was the right choice because his return made Argentina win a prestigious title, Messi even said that age would also be a consideration because he is no longer young and no matter how hard an athlete maintains fitness, age will still make him start to decline, even though Messi's typical game is not that draining energy because he is not the type of player who always runs after the ball.
https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1799024676402041084

Yes it's true. That is why without such hard workers as Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, etc. at his best, Messi was an ordinary player.
As for 2026, I am sure that he will take part if his health allows; according to rumors, he even plans to participate in the Olympics in Paris (lol, why?), which means he will definitely not refuse to participate in the World Cup.

Argentia fans certainly hope that the superstar can be part of Argentina journey in the 2026 edition of the World Cup, even though he is no longer young, his leadership spirit is still very much needed. Sure enough, that is a sincere and realistic statement, it is impossible for Messi to force something when his physique no longer supports it. Every player certainly wants to give the best for his country, regardless of personal ambitions and so on. Nearby, Messi will focus on bringing Argentina to fight for the Copa America trophy, it is possible that this will be Messi last competition at national team level. What is clear is that everyone will really miss him at the 2026 World Cup, as will Portuguese star Ronaldo, these two players have quite a large fan base. Without us realizing it, these two superstars are now at the end of their careers, but the achievements they have achieved at club and national team level will always be an example for other young players.

[FanEagle]

I do not care who says what, Ronaldo will not be able to play at this one. Dude is already 40, he would be like 42 or something by that time, not sure if he will be still playing football at that age but even if we assume that he still plays, he will not be playing at national team when world cup comes.

There are already quite limited number of players that teams can send, so that means they are not going to spend one of the slots to a 42 year old Ronaldo, he is already not doing that great, even in 2022 world cup he was benched after a while, and now we are seeing him getting to something four years later? Of course not, he will not have a place. Maybe if they do that like emotionally, like so he would be a leader, but I doubt they would, he doesn't look like a leader at all.

[Hirose UK]

Asian zone World Cup qualifiers for group F will have two deciding matches for today and tomorrow because those who remain at the top and can become 2nd place holders in the group will enter the third round.

Indonesia vs Philippines will take place today and it is certain that Indonesia will be the favorite team to achieve victory and be able to maintain its position as the team right below Iraq.
Match will take place at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, which is also stadium for Indonesia, it is clear that Indonesia have big advantage in being able to achieve victory in this final match.
For Iraq itself, it will fight Vietnam and of course it will be difficult for Vietnam to defeat Iraq, it is very likely that Iraq will win and indirectly also save Indonesia from entering the third round.

[snipie]

Asian zone World Cup qualifiers for group F will have two deciding matches for today and tomorrow because those who remain at the top and can become 2nd place holders in the group will enter the third round.

Indonesia vs Philippines will take place today and it is certain that Indonesia will be the favorite team to achieve victory and be able to maintain its position as the team right below Iraq.
Match will take place at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, which is also stadium for Indonesia, it is clear that Indonesia have big advantage in being able to achieve victory in this final match.
For Iraq itself, it will fight Vietnam and of course it will be difficult for Vietnam to defeat Iraq, it is very likely that Iraq will win and indirectly also save Indonesia from entering the third round.

The game between Indonesia and Philippines finished with a clear victory for Indonesia by two goals to zero scored in both halves and Indonesia will remain second.
Iraq will stay in the first position and Vietnam third regardless of today's game result. This match is not that important for Iraq when I see how good they did previously in the group.

I do not care who says what, Ronaldo will not be able to play at this one. Dude is already 40, he would be like 42 or something by that time, not sure if he will be still playing football at that age but even if we assume that he still plays, he will not be playing at national team when world cup comes.

There are already quite limited number of players that teams can send, so that means they are not going to spend one of the slots to a 42 year old Ronaldo, he is already not doing that great, even in 2022 world cup he was benched after a while, and now we are seeing him getting to something four years later? Of course not, he will not have a place. Maybe if they do that like emotionally, like so he would be a leader, but I doubt they would, he doesn't look like a leader at all.

For Cristiano Ronaldo, I believe he will remain in the national team until he retires or until Portugal has a coach that doesn't care about names but about performance and attitudes. Psychologically Portugal needs him right now and we will see in EURO 2024 how much he can contribute to the team.

[buwaytress]

CAF qualifications going as expected -- Cape Verde and Comoros are showing us that their AFCON performances (hey, don't knock it!) weren't a fluke.

So very tempted to take a double chance on Congo and Seychelles today -- both at over 20/1! The latter especially, if their island neighbours are now showing they can do something, why not them?

Someone convince me I'm right so I can throw a few sats their way.

[KTChampions]

CAF qualifications going as expected -- Cape Verde and Comoros are showing us that their AFCON performances (hey, don't knock it!) weren't a fluke.

So very tempted to take a double chance on Congo and Seychelles today -- both at over 20/1! The latter especially, if their island neighbours are now showing they can do something, why not them?

Someone convince me I'm right so I can throw a few sats their way.

The Seychelles look extremely doubtful against the backdrop of three defeats and a goal difference of 1-19 
If I were to bet, I would bet on Congo, even though they are playing against a clear leader, a random victory here looks more realistic.
I like the bet on the Bahamas (11.0 but you'll find better odds I'm sure) vs St Keys and Nevis. For me these are teams of the same level 

[buwaytress]

Someone convince me I'm right so I can throw a few sats their way.

The Seychelles look extremely doubtful against the backdrop of three defeats and a goal difference of 1-19 
If I were to bet, I would bet on Congo, even though they are playing against a clear leader, a random victory here looks more realistic.
I like the bet on the Bahamas (11.0 but you'll find better odds I'm sure) vs St Keys and Nevis. For me these are teams of the same level 

Thank you for your rational thinking, friend. You probably saved me from idiotic bets, I sometimes just need to hear one actual expert point things out like this to me for me to not be an idiot. Congo down 4 goals and Seychelles 1. What was I thinking? Haha

Bahamas 12.4 on Fairlay but I don't have a balance there now, won't make it in time as market closing. And only 10.6 on Sportsbet... I missed out on good odds, but I think some pizza money's good for your tip!

[Leviathan.007]

Asian zone World Cup qualifiers for group F will have two deciding matches for today and tomorrow because those who remain at the top and can become 2nd place holders in the group will enter the third round.

Indonesia vs Philippines will take place today and it is certain that Indonesia will be the favorite team to achieve victory and be able to maintain its position as the team right below Iraq.
Match will take place at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, which is also stadium for Indonesia, it is clear that Indonesia have big advantage in being able to achieve victory in this final match.
For Iraq itself, it will fight Vietnam and of course it will be difficult for Vietnam to defeat Iraq, it is very likely that Iraq will win and indirectly also save Indonesia from entering the third round.

Talking about World Cup qualifiers in Asia and predicting the teams there won't be hard at all because World Cup qualifiers will not allow many countries to be in the World Cup comparing the team they have there.
I think teams like the Philippines or Indonesia will have not chance to be in the World Cup even if they get into this tournament, still, they will lose all the three games.

 

[masulum]

The game between Indonesia and Philippines finished with a clear victory for Indonesia by two goals to zero scored in both halves and Indonesia will remain second.
Iraq will stay in the first position and Vietnam third regardless of today's game result. This match is not that important for Iraq when I see how good they did previously in the group.

Round 3 will be a tough phase for Indonesia. Maybe maintaining the opportunity to be in 4th place will be difficult for Indonesia to achieve. I'm still waiting for the drawing for who will be in the same group with Indonesia. Seeing that the teams that qualify are the teams that have qualified for the previous world cup.

[joniboini]

Round 3 will be a tough phase for Indonesia. Maybe maintaining the opportunity to be in 4th place will be difficult for Indonesia to achieve. I'm still waiting for the drawing for who will be in the same group with Indonesia. Seeing that the teams that qualify are the teams that have qualified for the previous world cup.

I don't think the goal is to quality for the World Cup to begin with. We can be optimistic but realistically our run ends in the 3rd round anyway. Still good progress though, especially because we get a spot at the Asian Cup with this. I remember STY said that their target is realistically qualifying for the third round, which has been achieved already, CMIIW. Anyone who claims it is a failure should take a look in the mirror and see how horrendous our last few years in international competition are. A good league is required for sustainable development if we want a good shot at participating in the World Cup, whether in 2026 or not.

[wiss19]

I do not care who says what, Ronaldo will not be able to play at this one. Dude is already 40, he would be like 42 or something by that time, not sure if he will be still playing football at that age but even if we assume that he still plays, he will not be playing at national team when world cup comes.

There are already quite limited number of players that teams can send, so that means they are not going to spend one of the slots to a 42 year old Ronaldo, he is already not doing that great, even in 2022 world cup he was benched after a while, and now we are seeing him getting to something four years later? Of course not, he will not have a place. Maybe if they do that like emotionally, like so he would be a leader, but I doubt they would, he doesn't look like a leader at all.

I do agree with this, but in a different approach. I do agree with the part that he could still be called up as a "leader", like a veteran presence, like someone who would be there not to play but to motivate the players and to be fair liked or not Ronaldo is still Ronaldo and I think people would listen to him when he suggests something. When he is a player, if he says something then other players may think that he is just out for himself, but when he is not playing at all, then we are talking about someone who is doing something that will be just for the good of the team.

So, I think if he is playing and he desires to play at that one, then they could still call him up, but I agree that not for playing because he is already not good even now.

[armanda90]

We have few days left in last round games with most chances Indonesia will be able to have spot for the next round because they are going to host Philippines at home and Vietnam is going to visit Basra Iraq where most chances home team will be defeat them and this could be good opportunity for them to have qualification in next round even they need to improve their performance but still things are good for them in this qualifying round.

In Asian region, we are having good gape in quality of soccer with just four teams are able to won their all five games and few are having 1 draw but still need to improve quality and having good development for the game if they want to have better results in World Cup with things are never been ideal for them to have this title here in Asian region.

Finally, Indonesian is the only one of ASEAN national teams qualified to the third round after success winning over Philippines on last match adn secured 2nd place under Iraq as first standings position in Group F. I am so happy because my national teams success qualified to third round and waiting the drawing teams will get difficult opponent teams or not.

Currently, the remaining 18 national teams will be divided into three groups, the group winners and runners up will automatically qualify for the world cup and positions 3 and 4 will face the playoff round to compete for the two remaining tickets. Not close opportunities for my national team make dreaming for the first time participants in FIFA World Cup 2026 if can finish on 2nd place position, but the third round has many difficult opponent teams and Indonesian team must improving their performance for getting good result in third round qualifier. Has ten match with 5 home and 5 away must be secure all points as home if want get chance for the second place finish standings.

[iBaba]

I do not care who says what, Ronaldo will not be able to play at this one. Dude is already 40, he would be like 42 or something by that time, not sure if he will be still playing football at that age but even if we assume that he still plays, he will not be playing at national team when world cup comes.

Ronaldo is already old and I personally don't think he will welcome the idea of playing at the world cup of 2026 which is upcoming. It will equally be surprising if the National team bring him to the fore of the National team. I know quite alright that he has not been able to fulfill his lifetime dream of taking the world cup trophy for the national team but I do not think that will ever happen because he does not have the squad to assist him achieve such milestone. If I was Ronaldo, I will do more of coordinating the team from the bench than playing with them like found in the case of Ahmed Musa of the Super Eagle players of Nigeria in the past AFCON competition which took the team to the finals.

[Webetcoins]

Asian zone World Cup qualifiers for group F will have two deciding matches for today and tomorrow because those who remain at the top and can become 2nd place holders in the group will enter the third round.

Indonesia vs Philippines will take place today and it is certain that Indonesia will be the favorite team to achieve victory and be able to maintain its position as the team right below Iraq.
Match will take place at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, which is also stadium for Indonesia, it is clear that Indonesia have big advantage in being able to achieve victory in this final match.
For Iraq itself, it will fight Vietnam and of course it will be difficult for Vietnam to defeat Iraq, it is very likely that Iraq will win and indirectly also save Indonesia from entering the third round.

Talking about World Cup qualifiers in Asia and predicting the teams there won't be hard at all because World Cup qualifiers will not allow many countries to be in the World Cup comparing the team they have there.
I think teams like the Philippines or Indonesia will have not chance to be in the World Cup even if they get into this tournament, still, they will lose all the three games.

In last few years we are having no positive development into Asian soccer with few countries which need to be had better results and improved quality are stuck with their performance and fail to bring better results which is surely problematic time for them specially few teams like China, Indonesia and India needs to have better results and better performance, but sadly things are not going as needed specially India is having worst even things around them Saudi Arab, Iran, Japan and South Korea are dominating with their quality and performance, and we have some challenge from the Qatar and few countries but here we need some revolutionary changes from the AFC if they want to have better results and quality which will surely increase fans interest in this game.

We are having no Jr level competitions in this region which can bring good development and players also can bring good improvement into their games like we have in UEFA and now African Union is also following team which is helping them for having good results and better teams.

[bering]

The game between Indonesia and Philippines finished with a clear victory for Indonesia by two goals to zero scored in both halves and Indonesia will remain second.
Iraq will stay in the first position and Vietnam third regardless of today's game result. This match is not that important for Iraq when I see how good they did previously in the group.

Round 3 will be a tough phase for Indonesia. Maybe maintaining the opportunity to be in 4th place will be difficult for Indonesia to achieve. I'm still waiting for the drawing for who will be in the same group with Indonesia. Seeing that the teams that qualify are the teams that have qualified for the previous world cup.

Indonesia has rapid progress recently because last month their junior team can make a history with advances to the semifinal of Asian Cup U23 for the first time and now their senior team also has just make a history too with can able to reach 3rd round of World Cup Qualification and every Indonesian people has selebrate this achievement because they didn't think their country could go this far but round 3rd will be very hard for them because there will be many strong teams that they will face in that round such as Japan, Australia or Saudi Arabia which in the term of quality squad these teams is above to Indonesia and if i am not mistaken drawing round will be helded at June 17

According to the drawing pot Indonesia will be into pot 6 with North Korea and Kuwait so after seeing this situation just like i said above Indonesia potentially will be into the same group with strong opponents however according to the history actually before Indonesia there were several teams from Southeast Asia that were able to qualify for Round 3 and they are Vietnam and Thailand but unfortunately on 3rd round these teams cannot do more even they were very often to lost with huge scores against their opponents and finish at the bottom of Group Table and hopefully this won't be happend to Indonesia later

[fullhdpixel]

I do not care who says what, Ronaldo will not be able to play at this one. Dude is already 40, he would be like 42 or something by that time, not sure if he will be still playing football at that age but even if we assume that he still plays, he will not be playing at national team when world cup comes.

Ronaldo is already old and I personally don't think he will welcome the idea of playing at the world cup of 2026 which is upcoming. It will equally be surprising if the National team bring him to the fore of the National team. I know quite alright that he has not been able to fulfill his lifetime dream of taking the world cup trophy for the national team but I do not think that will ever happen because he does not have the squad to assist him achieve such milestone. If I was Ronaldo, I will do more of coordinating the team from the bench than playing with them like found in the case of Ahmed Musa of the Super Eagle players of Nigeria in the past AFCON competition which took the team to the finals.

Keep one thing in mind old is gold as keeping Cristiano Ronaldo for the world cup in their national team is good for the Portugal even he is not giving performance like past but still he is the great player and his presence can make good motivation for the all other players his performance in last season here at the Saudi League is clearly telling all story how competitive and good he is at this age and in next two years things will be surely at the same level because he is doing good and having good chance for keeping himself fit the next few seasons as his club Al Nassr is also ready to give him extension which will keep him good for the all big events.

Most chances his role could be player with coordinator or assist coach as well because we all know at the age of 41 he can't stay in ground for the 90 minutes with mostly he will go for the one half or 30 minutes playing time.

[Forsyth Jones]

I believe that CR7 will be fully physically capable of competing in the 2026 World Cup, don't forget that he is a player who lives for football, training and strict diets have always been the foundation of his routine, he is aging like wine, the The same goes for E.T (Messi), although I think this one is better.

CR7 and Messi are the best generation I have ever seen in football, they are football geniuses who are born once every 100 years.

Even if the great robot fails to win the cup in 2026 for Portugal, he will not give up and will certainly be coach of the Portuguese national team.

Honestly, I was very happy with Argentina's victory thanks to Messi, I would be happy to see CR7 lift the cup for Portugal too, despite 2026 probably being his last chance as an athlete on the field.

[Sithara007]

A lot of controversy is ongoing after Qatar won the world cup qualifying match against India by a margin of 2-1. India were leading by 1-0, after Lallianzuala Chhangte scored a goal in 37th minute. However Qatar equalized in 73rd minute. As per replays, it was clear that the ball has gone out of play, but the referee awarded the goal to Qatar. And then Ahmed Al-Rawi scored another goal for Qatar to put them ahead by a margin of 2-1. If India had drawn this match, then they could have qualified for the next stage.

[KTChampions]

The Seychelles look extremely doubtful against the backdrop of three defeats and a goal difference of 1-19 
If I were to bet, I would bet on Congo, even though they are playing against a clear leader, a random victory here looks more realistic.
I like the bet on the Bahamas (11.0 but you'll find better odds I'm sure) vs St Keys and Nevis. For me these are teams of the same level 

Thank you for your rational thinking, friend. You probably saved me from idiotic bets, I sometimes just need to hear one actual expert point things out like this to me for me to not be an idiot. Congo down 4 goals and Seychelles 1. What was I thinking? Haha

Bahamas 12.4 on Fairlay but I don't have a balance there now, won't make it in time as market closing. And only 10.6 on Sportsbet... I missed out on good odds, but I think some pizza money's good for your tip!

Eh, all the teams ended up losing, but the Bahamas played half the game shorthanded and the score was only 1-0, which makes me think there was value in this bet.
Personally, I have now reached the state I need and am not at all looking for any game to bet on. It seems to me that the most difficult thing is to just wait for value games and not bet simply because there are some games. I plan to start with the third games of the Euro group stage, I think by this time the value of the games will be clear and it will be possible to predict with greater accuracy.

[Leviathan.007]

I do not care who says what, Ronaldo will not be able to play at this one. Dude is already 40, he would be like 42 or something by that time, not sure if he will be still playing football at that age but even if we assume that he still plays, he will not be playing at national team when world cup comes.

There are already quite limited number of players that teams can send, so that means they are not going to spend one of the slots to a 42 year old Ronaldo, he is already not doing that great, even in 2022 world cup he was benched after a while, and now we are seeing him getting to something four years later? Of course not, he will not have a place. Maybe if they do that like emotionally, like so he would be a leader, but I doubt they would, he doesn't look like a leader at all.

I do agree with this, but in a different approach. I do agree with the part that he could still be called up as a "leader", like a veteran presence, like someone who would be there not to play but to motivate the players and to be fair liked or not Ronaldo is still Ronaldo and I think people would listen to him when he suggests something. When he is a player, if he says something then other players may think that he is just out for himself, but when he is not playing at all, then we are talking about someone who is doing something that will be just for the good of the team.

So, I think if he is playing and he desires to play at that one, then they could still call him up, but I agree that not for playing because he is already not good even now.

Portugal proved once again how hard they need Ronaldo in the team and how they are weak without Ronaldo in the games. Portugal knows Ronaldo is getting old and they should try using options instead of Ronbaldo but it has not worked well so far and they totally failed.
Ronaldo is a true leader no matter if he plays for Portugal or Al Nassr, he tries to do his best for the team regardless of his age.
In the game against Irland, we saw Ronaldo score two goals for Portugal and he had a perfect performance and if he continues this good performance he is going to definitely play in the 2026 World Cup for Portugal.