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

[Frankolala]

Previously it was 16 teams, which got expanded to 24 in 1982, and then again to 32 in 1998. And from 2026, they are going to expand it again to 48 teams. I have seen a lot of opposition from some people, who claim that the quality will go down. I disagree with them. Previously that was the case. The gap between top teams and the smaller teams was huge. The situation has changed, and this in turn has made it possible to include more teams in the tournament without impacting the quality of matches.

I also disagree that the quality of the World Cup will be reduced. More countries are improving in football, and these nations deserve to be allowed to feature in the global competition. We have seen more teams in Africa and Asia showing more quality in their games so they deserve to have more slots in the competition.

Some people also accused FIFA President Gianni Infantino of using this expansion to increase his chances of winning his re-election. Thereby insinuating that the increase of the World Cup participants was not for the good of the game but for political reasons. I don't care what they think, but I see the FIFA president as a reformist who has brought so many new ideas to the organization.

It is good to see more countries join the world cup to carry everyone ong. Who knows if we will see good players that will become professionals and play in big European clubs in future from these new countries joining the world cup, because if they are not given any opportunity to participate how will you see the best in them.

I want to watch more matches and see these new countries performance before I will know if it was a good one or not. Football is what unites the world together because most people loves football and it is used as a game to bring people from different countries and regions together in love.

[indah rezqi]

Previously it was 16 teams, which got expanded to 24 in 1982, and then again to 32 in 1998. And from 2026, they are going to expand it again to 48 teams. I have seen a lot of opposition from some people, who claim that the quality will go down. I disagree with them. Previously that was the case. The gap between top teams and the smaller teams was huge. The situation has changed, and this in turn has made it possible to include more teams in the tournament without impacting the quality of matches.

I also disagree that the quality of the World Cup will be reduced. More countries are improving in football, and these nations deserve to be allowed to feature in the global competition. We have seen more teams in Africa and Asia showing more quality in their games so they deserve to have more slots in the competition.

Some people also accused FIFA President Gianni Infantino of using this expansion to increase his chances of winning his re-election. Thereby insinuating that the increase of the World Cup participants was not for the good of the game but for political reasons. I don't care what they think, but I see the FIFA president as a reformist who has brought so many new ideas to the organization.

It is good to see more countries join the world cup to carry everyone ong. Who knows if we will see good players that will become professionals and play in big European clubs in future from these new countries joining the world cup, because if they are not given any opportunity to participate how will you see the best in them.

I want to watch more matches and see these new countries performance before I will know if it was a good one or not. Football is what unites the world together because most people loves football and it is used as a game to bring people from different countries and regions together in love.

I think that despite the criticism from various circles, FIFA breakthrough in increasing the number of participants in the 2026 World Cup has provided a fair opportunity for every participating country. Although in addition, FIFA will gain a lot of financial benefits with more matches played, I think that is a fact that cannot be ignored. FIFA must have studied it first before implementing the new rules, and overall the format change can attract more fans in the future.

On the other hand, the format change certainly adds to the complexity of the competition, not the opposite. Countries that previously had difficulty getting the opportunity to participate are quite happy with FIFA idea, they feel they have a greater chance of being part of the World Cup event. We hope that this can be successful and will not reduce the quality of the World Cup. Apart from all that, every change to the rules is certainly not free from pros and cons, and everyone is free to assume.

[Leviathan.007]

Asian Zone World Cup Qualifiers for the third round will begin early next month and we will see quite lot of matches categorized into 3 group, each group filled by 6 countries.
In this third round, it can also be said to be determinant for which countries are able to qualify to enter and participate in the real competition later in 2026, besides that in the third round we can see meeting between the team that are indeed the strongest for the Asian zone.
Here, what is quite easy to compete is group C, we can see that group C is filled by team that can be said to be not strong teams for Asia overall, maybe only Japan is the strongest team here and they are the favorites for group C.

Because FIFA has decided to added more participant on world cup 2026 from 32 to 48 countries then the effect is Asia Zone will gets more ticket than the previous world cup and for the current world cup Asia will gets total 8 tickets and 1 ticket from play off stages so this makes some of teams on the 3rd round will have more opportunities to advances to the group stages of world cup or at least will qualified to the 4th round

And for group C i have to says this is hell group because in this group there are some of strong teams who always be regularly to participant to world cup such as Saudi Arabia ,Japan and Australia and these teams will fight to gets top 2 position on round 3 because if i am not mistaken the teams who finish on that position will be automatically advances to the world cup

The group C fight will be very interesting to see. I think the ones qualifying from this group will be Japan and Saudi Arabia. Australia did not qualify for the previous world cup, so I think they will be very hungry to get their tickets as early as possible. It will be very hard to predict between Australia and Saudi Arabia but I believe Saudi Arabia will go through.

On the other hand group A looks a little interesting. Iran, Qatar, and UAE are some of the teams to look out for. And also no one knows how North Korea might play so it would be interesting to see their performance.

Making the prediction of Group B seems rather easy, South Korea and Iraq are the clear favorites. But in international games, upsets are seen quite often. So it would be quite interesting to see how they turn out.

Duke Khan

Saudi Arabia is the country they just spent money to have better performance and better teas for the world cups and they even hired some expensive coaches for their teams too but this won't be enough because they still can't have the good performance like Japan and the other developed terms by just spending more money.
I still think in this group Japan will get a better place than Saudi Arabia and maybe after two first teams, Saudi Arabia can be the third team of this group.

[Sithara007]

Saudi Arabia is the country they just spent money to have better performance and better teas for the world cups and they even hired some expensive coaches for their teams too but this won't be enough because they still can't have the good performance like Japan and the other developed terms by just spending more money.
I still think in this group Japan will get a better place than Saudi Arabia and maybe after two first teams, Saudi Arabia can be the third team of this group.

Don't write off the Saudis yet. Two years ago, they started investing in sports, and they have poured billions of $$$ into different disciplines. The best footballers in the world are taking part in the Saudi Professional League, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mané and Aleksandar Mitrović. The impact of this investment will not be visible immediately. It may take anywhere from 5 years to 10 years, to become fully noticeable. And Japan is a laughing stock now. They are a dying nation and doesn't have any future.

[virasog]

Saudi Arabia is the country they just spent money to have better performance and better teas for the world cups and they even hired some expensive coaches for their teams too but this won't be enough because they still can't have the good performance like Japan and the other developed terms by just spending more money.
I still think in this group Japan will get a better place than Saudi Arabia and maybe after two first teams, Saudi Arabia can be the third team of this group.

Don't write off the Saudis yet. Two years ago, they started investing in sports, and they have poured billions of $$$ into different disciplines. The best footballers in the world are taking part in the Saudi Professional League, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mané and Aleksandar Mitrović. The impact of this investment will not be visible immediately. It may take anywhere from 5 years to 10 years, to become fully noticeable. And Japan is a laughing stock now. They are a dying nation and doesn't have any future.

When it comes to the World Cup, these big names like Ronaldo etc won't be playing from the Saudi Arab, therefore they need to develop their local players who are capable of playing and competing with the world's greatest teams. However, local players playing with them will surely increase their confidence and help them improve their game.

Looking at their history, out of the 7 World Cups they played, they reached to the round of 16 in the 1994 World Cup and that was their best performance in the WCs.  Also Saudi Arab is classified as host for the 2034 World Cup.

I hope you remember the 2018 FIFA World Cup match between Russia and Saudi Arab where they lost badly.

[bering]

Saudi Arabia is the country they just spent money to have better performance and better teas for the world cups and they even hired some expensive coaches for their teams too but this won't be enough because they still can't have the good performance like Japan and the other developed terms by just spending more money.
I still think in this group Japan will get a better place than Saudi Arabia and maybe after two first teams, Saudi Arabia can be the third team of this group.

Don't write off the Saudis yet. Two years ago, they started investing in sports, and they have poured billions of $$$ into different disciplines. The best footballers in the world are taking part in the Saudi Professional League, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mané and Aleksandar Mitrović. The impact of this investment will not be visible immediately. It may take anywhere from 5 years to 10 years, to become fully noticeable. And Japan is a laughing stock now. They are a dying nation and doesn't have any future.

Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante and Neymar as part of ambitious project of Saudi Arabia because they have a target that their league which is Saudi Pro League will be included in the top 10 leagues in the world so that's why Public Investment Fund (PIF) dare to pay these players with huge amount of money because Saudi Arabia want to prove to the world that their league is very famous and some of big names on Europa are willing to playing at this league

About their participant on World cup so far Saudi Arabia has 8 appearance in this tournament and on world cup 2022 they surprising many people with beat Argentina at group phase and about their chances on 3rd round this is a bit hard for them because their opponents is Japan and Australia which these teams is strong contender for them and for the first match of 3rd round Saudi Arabia will fight against Indonesia which probably this is easy match for them

[Hanadawa]

-snip-

I agree with you. In my opinion, increasing the quota of participants in the 2026 World Cup will provide a new opportunity for several countries that failed to play in the World Cup. Currently, the losing team and failed to get a slot still have a chance to play in the qualifying round 1, round 2 or even compete with countries from other continents. I agree with increasing the number of teams to 48 teams. But if it is 64 teams, I think the World Cup will be boring and not prestigious because there will be many countries participating. I think FIFA has been doing research for years.

[Rampagoe004]

About their participant on World cup so far Saudi Arabia has 8 appearance in this tournament and on world cup 2022 they surprising many people with beat Argentina at group phase and about their chances on 3rd round this is a bit hard for them because their opponents is Japan and Australia which these teams is strong contender for them and for the first match of 3rd round Saudi Arabia will fight against Indonesia which probably this is easy match for them

If we look at the third round of the World Cup qualifying round for the Asian zone, Saudi Arabia is in Group C. And I think the teams with the biggest chance of qualifying are Japan and Australia. They are strong teams in Asia. Saudi Arabia can qualify if they manage to get a win over one of those teams. I am not underestimating the other 3 countries but that is a realistic result based on FIFA rankings and other factors. But anything can happen in football. I am from Indonesia and I am sure that I want to see my country play in the World Cup. I see that the chance will still be there even though it is very small.

[Blitzboy]

`

Saudi Arabia is the country they just spent money to have better performance and better teas for the world cups and they even hired some expensive coaches for their teams too but this won't be enough because they still can't have the good performance like Japan and the other developed terms by just spending more money.
I still think in this group Japan will get a better place than Saudi Arabia and maybe after two first teams, Saudi Arabia can be the third team of this group.

The Saudi Pro League is improving rapidly. Top talent attracts fans, enhances the league's standing, and most importantly, provides local players the chance to learn from the greatest. Its invaluable. They're holding 2034 World Cup. Thats the goal, and these star-studded seasons are building a world-class national team.

They have a long way to go to catch up to Japan, but dont underestimate them. Remember their 1994 Round of 16 run. With the appropriate plan, they can unlock and maybe exceed that potential. This goes beyond showy signings. Football culture, youth development, and legacy are key. The Saudis accomplish what they set their minds to.

[criptoevangelista]

`

Saudi Arabia is the country they just spent money to have better performance and better teas for the world cups and they even hired some expensive coaches for their teams too but this won't be enough because they still can't have the good performance like Japan and the other developed terms by just spending more money.
I still think in this group Japan will get a better place than Saudi Arabia and maybe after two first teams, Saudi Arabia can be the third team of this group.

The Saudi Pro League is improving rapidly. Top talent attracts fans, enhances the league's standing, and most importantly, provides local players the chance to learn from the greatest. Its invaluable. They're holding 2034 World Cup. Thats the goal, and these star-studded seasons are building a world-class national team.

They have a long way to go to catch up to Japan, but dont underestimate them. Remember their 1994 Round of 16 run. With the appropriate plan, they can unlock and maybe exceed that potential. This goes beyond showy signings. Football culture, youth development, and legacy are key. The Saudis accomplish what they set their minds to.

Yes, the government is investing heavily to try to make it one of the best leagues on the planet, Cristiano Ronaldo bought into this idea and so did Neymar. Although Neymar went there due to a lack of options in Europe. Now it remains to be seen whether they will be able to sign Vinicius Junior. If they do, it will completely change the game, and it will no longer be a market for veterans at the end of their careers and will become a competitive market bringing in the best young players in the world.

[Leviathan.007]

Saudi Arabia is the country they just spent money to have better performance and better teas for the world cups and they even hired some expensive coaches for their teams too but this won't be enough because they still can't have the good performance like Japan and the other developed terms by just spending more money.
I still think in this group Japan will get a better place than Saudi Arabia and maybe after two first teams, Saudi Arabia can be the third team of this group.

Don't write off the Saudis yet. Two years ago, they started investing in sports, and they have poured billions of $$$ into different disciplines. The best footballers in the world are taking part in the Saudi Professional League, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mané and Aleksandar Mitrović. The impact of this investment will not be visible immediately. It may take anywhere from 5 years to 10 years, to become fully noticeable. And Japan is a laughing stock now. They are a dying nation and doesn't have any future.

Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante and Neymar as part of ambitious project of Saudi Arabia because they have a target that their league which is Saudi Pro League will be included in the top 10 leagues in the world so that's why Public Investment Fund (PIF) dare to pay these players with huge amount of money because Saudi Arabia want to prove to the world that their league is very famous and some of big names on Europa are willing to playing at this league

About their participant on World cup so far Saudi Arabia has 8 appearance in this tournament and on world cup 2022 they surprising many people with beat Argentina at group phase and about their chances on 3rd round this is a bit hard for them because their opponents is Japan and Australia which these teams is strong contender for them and for the first match of 3rd round Saudi Arabia will fight against Indonesia which probably this is easy match for them

One good reason for Saudi Arabia to hire these players was because of having more attention for eir country and now thanks to these players and the superstars they bought, Saudi Arabia is going to hist the World Cup soon while a year ago they couldn't even think about a hosting the great tournament like this one. Regardless of what we are going see in the 2026 World Cup in the USA, I hope we don't see another mistake in Saudi Arabia's World Cup like we saw during the last World Cup in Qatar because of many workers died of hard work to build stadiums.  

[Lillominato89]

-snip-

I agree with you. In my opinion, increasing the quota of participants in the 2026 World Cup will provide a new opportunity for several countries that failed to play in the World Cup. Currently, the losing team and failed to get a slot still have a chance to play in the qualifying round 1, round 2 or even compete with countries from other continents. I agree with increasing the number of teams to 48 teams. But if it is 64 teams, I think the World Cup will be boring and not prestigious because there will be many countries participating. I think FIFA has been doing research for years.

I think they have increased the number of participants in the next World Cup just to make us Italians happy, otherwise we would be out of the World Cup again for the third time in a row. Joking aside, I think the increase in nations will only serve to increase the spectacle and get a lot more revenue. As always the game of football is a game of money, everything revolves around them

[cryptoWODL]

About their participant on World cup so far Saudi Arabia has 8 appearance in this tournament and on world cup 2022 they surprising many people with beat Argentina at group phase and about their chances on 3rd round this is a bit hard for them because their opponents is Japan and Australia which these teams is strong contender for them and for the first match of 3rd round Saudi Arabia will fight against Indonesia which probably this is easy match for them

If we look at the third round of the World Cup qualifying round for the Asian zone, Saudi Arabia is in Group C. And I think the teams with the biggest chance of qualifying are Japan and Australia. They are strong teams in Asia. Saudi Arabia can qualify if they manage to get a win over one of those teams. I am not underestimating the other 3 countries but that is a realistic result based on FIFA rankings and other factors. But anything can happen in football. I am from Indonesia and I am sure that I want to see my country play in the World Cup. I see that the chance will still be there even though it is very small.

Saudi Arabia is undoubtedly one of the best and strongest football teams in Asia. We got the proof of that in the last World Cup i.e. 2022 FIFA World Cup. Saudi Arabia football team has many talented players who are playing in different clubs of Saudi League especially Salem Mohammad Shafi Al-Dawsari of Ali Helal Club is one of the best players. He plays as a winger in the Saudi club Al Helal and we saw a great performance against Argentina. Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina 2–1 in that match, which was Argentina's first defeat against an Asian team.

Also I am optimistic about my country like you but maybe my country still has no chance that they will qualify for FIFA world cup in football. Because according to FIFA ranking, their current position is below 150.

[Webetcoins]

One good reason for Saudi Arabia to hire these players was because of having more attention for eir country and now thanks to these players and the superstars they bought, Saudi Arabia is going to hist the World Cup soon while a year ago they couldn't even think about a hosting the great tournament like this one. Regardless of what we are going see in the 2026 World Cup in the USA, I hope we don't see another mistake in Saudi Arabia's World Cup like we saw during the last World Cup in Qatar because of many workers died of hard work to build stadiums. 

Saudi Arab is on change as new generation is having hold in government they are doing good work for having intention from the world for positive things even this is not easy for them but still they are doing good job as having world's best soccer players into their league is bringing good results for them now they are having rights of hosting world cup in 2034 with this success now they are more motivated for many other sports as well.

Even many secular countries and their fans are not happy with things are going in the Middle East but still we can't stop them from having these events with their influence and money which they are spending for years in different countries for having their own worth and now it's working.

I think they have increased the number of participants in the next World Cup just to make us Italians happy, otherwise we would be out of the World Cup again for the third time in a row. Joking aside, I think the increase in nations will only serve to increase the spectacle and get a lot more revenue. As always the game of football is a game of money, everything revolves around them

Main reason for having increase in teams are revenue because this will bring more fans intention and money for the FIFA even things are not going as fair in this organization but still they are doing good work for the development of the game which is bringing good results as we are having improvement in quality with many countries are now also spending into their domestic leagues which will bring good results and improvement in many countries national teams quality.

[Rabata]

About their participant on World cup so far Saudi Arabia has 8 appearance in this tournament and on world cup 2022 they surprising many people with beat Argentina at group phase and about their chances on 3rd round this is a bit hard for them because their opponents is Japan and Australia which these teams is strong contender for them and for the first match of 3rd round Saudi Arabia will fight against Indonesia which probably this is easy match for them

If we look at the third round of the World Cup qualifying round for the Asian zone, Saudi Arabia is in Group C. And I think the teams with the biggest chance of qualifying are Japan and Australia. They are strong teams in Asia. Saudi Arabia can qualify if they manage to get a win over one of those teams. I am not underestimating the other 3 countries but that is a realistic result based on FIFA rankings and other factors. But anything can happen in football. I am from Indonesia and I am sure that I want to see my country play in the World Cup. I see that the chance will still be there even though it is very small.

Saudi Arabia is undoubtedly one of the best and strongest football teams in Asia. We got the proof of that in the last World Cup i.e. 2022 FIFA World Cup. Saudi Arabia football team has many talented players who are playing in different clubs of Saudi League especially Salem Mohammad Shafi Al-Dawsari of Ali Helal Club is one of the best players. He plays as a winger in the Saudi club Al Helal and we saw a great performance against Argentina. Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina 2–1 in that match, which was Argentina's first defeat against an Asian team.

The whole world was surprised by the performance that Saudi Arabia showed against Argentina in the last World Cup. Many could not believe that Saudi football had suddenly improved so much. The special attention on football is now lo longer secret to anyone. They are managing the league football with the best players in Europe in their own field. With national team players playing there and exposure to renowned players, Saudi players will gain better skills and experience which will improve their standard of league football as well as make them better in the World Cup football. From 2022 World Cup onwards, every country will consider Saudi Arabia as their biggest rival. The Saudi government is also ready to take any measures to improve football in their country.

[Lidger]

One of the most popular tournaments in the world is the football world cup in which the best teams participate.  Two hundred plus countries play qualifying matches before the start of every football tournament from which only a few teams qualify for the main stage. But after finishing the 2022 World Cup, FIFA has taken a new initiative where they will increase the number of teams in the next World Cup tournament, which means we will see new teams in the next World Cup tournament. As FIFA organizes the World Cup tournament with more teams I think the excitement of the World Cup will increase as well as we will see better performances from each team. If the World Cup tournament is organized with 40 or more teams in the next season, then we expect to host the World Cup tournament with more teams in the 2030 World Cup.

They are not going to increase it any further. I believe that 48 is the absolute maximum that world cup can afford. And it gives enough representation to all the regions. But then the current qualification system is a bit unfair to the two strongest confederations (CONMEBOL and UEFA). Even with 48 participants, we will still see some of the deserving teams missing out (say Venezuela from CONMEBOL, or Norway from UEFA). But then, what can be done for this?

If FIFA regularly organizes the World Cup with 48 teams, we will still see many new teams in the World Cup tournament, but when FIFA plans to have more teams than this, it will be difficult to manage the tournament, but even if it is difficult, the expansion of football in other countries will increase. Those who are close to qualifying will try harder to do well and they will spend more money behind the football federation so that those countries can participate in the football world cup tournament. When the world cup tournament is organized with 32 teams, only a few countries of the world get a chance to play there, then the known teams are there for sure, we don't see much new teams. So if FIFA thinks they can organize a World Cup tournament with more teams then they should do it.

[Lillominato89]

I think they have increased the number of participants in the next World Cup just to make us Italians happy, otherwise we would be out of the World Cup again for the third time in a row. Joking aside, I think the increase in nations will only serve to increase the spectacle and get a lot more revenue. As always the game of football is a game of money, everything revolves around them

Main reason for having increase in teams are revenue because this will bring more fans intention and money for the FIFA even things are not going as fair in this organization but still they are doing good work for the development of the game which is bringing good results as we are having improvement in quality with many countries are now also spending into their domestic leagues which will bring good results and improvement in many countries national teams quality.

Exactly, the more national teams at the next World Cup, the more revenue FIFA will get. But we will see if the spectacle will be better or not, it all depends also on the organisation of the host country, Qatar for example has not left a good memory, especially on the exploitation of workers. Because we will only see the show on TV, but behind the scenes there are people who will put in the effort and effort to bring some money home

[baeva]

Previously it was 16 teams, which got expanded to 24 in 1982, and then again to 32 in 1998. And from 2026, they are going to expand it again to 48 teams. I have seen a lot of opposition from some people, who claim that the quality will go down. I disagree with them. Previously that was the case. The gap between top teams and the smaller teams was huge. The situation has changed, and this in turn has made it possible to include more teams in the tournament without impacting the quality of matches.

I also disagree that the quality of the World Cup will be reduced. More countries are improving in football, and these nations deserve to be allowed to feature in the global competition. We have seen more teams in Africa and Asia showing more quality in their games so they deserve to have more slots in the competition.

Some people also accused FIFA President Gianni Infantino of using this expansion to increase his chances of winning his re-election. Thereby insinuating that the increase of the World Cup participants was not for the good of the game but for political reasons. I don't care what they think, but I see the FIFA president as a reformist who has brought so many new ideas to the organization.

It is good to see more countries join the world cup to carry everyone ong. Who knows if we will see good players that will become professionals and play in big European clubs in future from these new countries joining the world cup, because if they are not given any opportunity to participate how will you see the best in them.

I want to watch more matches and see these new countries performance before I will know if it was a good one or not. Football is what unites the world together because most people loves football and it is used as a game to bring people from different countries and regions together in love.

I think that despite the criticism from various circles, FIFA breakthrough in increasing the number of participants in the 2026 World Cup has provided a fair opportunity for every participating country. Although in addition, FIFA will gain a lot of financial benefits with more matches played, I think that is a fact that cannot be ignored. FIFA must have studied it first before implementing the new rules, and overall the format change can attract more fans in the future.

On the other hand, the format change certainly adds to the complexity of the competition, not the opposite. Countries that previously had difficulty getting the opportunity to participate are quite happy with FIFA idea, they feel they have a greater chance of being part of the World Cup event. We hope that this can be successful and will not reduce the quality of the World Cup. Apart from all that, every change to the rules is certainly not free from pros and cons, and everyone is free to assume.

Sooner or later it would have happened anyway. Tournaments are getting bigger all the time regardless of time, tournaments are getting more complicated, so it was a matter of time to add the number of participants, and it's good to add it now and not in the next tournament, because now we have the opportunity to see more matches. But it will be harder to keep track of everything

[Hirose UK]

Asian Zone World Cup Qualifiers for the third round will begin early next month and we will see quite lot of matches categorized into 3 group, each group filled by 6 countries.
In this third round, it can also be said to be determinant for which countries are able to qualify to enter and participate in the real competition later in 2026, besides that in the third round we can see meeting between the team that are indeed the strongest for the Asian zone.
Here, what is quite easy to compete is group C, we can see that group C is filled by team that can be said to be not strong teams for Asia overall, maybe only Japan is the strongest team here and they are the favorites for group C.

In Asia, usually, we have some teams that will always get themself to the World Cup while some other items never saw themselves playing in this tournament this can make the Asian Zone World Cup Qualifiers a little bit predictable for everyone. For example, some teams like Australia, Japan, and South Korea or other teams like Iran are usually in the World Cup however they usually cannot have good performance in the World Cup because of the much stronger teas in this tournament. That's why I think this group Japan and Australia are going to be the first two teams in this group.

Yes, that what happened so far, but honestly for all the teams in Group C I believe there will be big surprise presented, the only strongest in my opinion is Japan which is also the leader of the 1st rank for the Asian ranking.
It just that in phase like this maybe we can see more decisive matches later to see who is worthy of being able to enter the real competition.
There is one team in this group that I want to be able to show big surprise and that is Indonesia, they now have more naturalized players and that can help significantly.

Here, what is quite easy to compete is group C, we can see that group C is filled by team that can be said to be not strong teams for Asia overall, maybe only Japan is the strongest team here and they are the favorites for group C.

Group C is the most difficult group.
Half of the teams that qualified for the 2022 world cup from Asia will compete in group C.

You can't underestimate Australia and Saudi Arabia.
In 2022 world cup, Australia defeated Tunisia and Denmark and qulified for the round of 16. In round of 16, they lost to Argentina (the winner of the tournament) 2-1.
And Saudi Arabia was the only team that could defeat Argentina.

For the 2022 World Cup, what you said is absolutely right, but there will always be unexpected surprises that can happen in the future so being too sure of the assessment based on the previous edition is also not right.
I know that Saudi Arabia is also strong team, but look at it now and try to judge from the performance of each team then you will find difference in the competition for the group phase later.

[hyudien]

I agree with you. In my opinion, increasing the quota of participants in the 2026 World Cup will provide a new opportunity for several countries that failed to play in the World Cup. Currently, the losing team and failed to get a slot still have a chance to play in the qualifying round 1, round 2 or even compete with countries from other continents. I agree with increasing the number of teams to 48 teams. But if it is 64 teams, I think the World Cup will be boring and not prestigious because there will be many countries participating. I think FIFA has been doing research for years.

I think they have increased the number of participants in the next World Cup just to make us Italians happy, otherwise we would be out of the World Cup again for the third time in a row. Joking aside, I think the increase in nations will only serve to increase the spectacle and get a lot more revenue. As always the game of football is a game of money, everything revolves around them

I don't know if it was a joke or you said it seriously about Italy  . But it's quite unfortunate that they had to fail to be in the World Cup because they had to fail in the qualifying round. Now the number of World Cup participants is more than before and it is true that it will open up opportunities for countries that have always failed to reach the World Cup, at least their chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup finals will increase. But there is a side where I see whether countries that usually have difficulty qualifying and now qualify can provide a more interesting spectacle, or they will just be complementary countries. Of course I don't want to see that, because I think it will slightly reduce the competitive level that we usually see in previous World Cups. But I hope that's just my fear of this.