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

[Zlantann]

Do you think Ronaldo will really play in the upcoming World Cup? I don't mean the qualifiers because it is already going to start for Portugal in a couple of months. I mean the main tournament as they would qualify for it easily considering their current group.

He is really getting very old. I know his physical condition is still at an unbelievably good rate for his age. But one year is quite a long time. Maybe he might change his mind. To be honest I don't think Portugal can achieve any trophy in his presence anymore. Because they are playing around him but he wouldn't be as consistent as his prime obviously.

The Al-Nassr striker has been in great form this season which makes him qualified to play in the national team. But the truth is that other younger players can perform more than him in the national team. But from all indications, he would continue playing for the national team since there is no formal announcement that he would be retiring anytime soon. Portugal national team coach Roberto Martínez might not have the courage to stop Cristiano Ronaldo from participating in the national team games. I am predicting that Lionel Messi and Ronaldo will be retiring after the next World Cup. It would be a blunder for a coach to build a team around a player who will be above forty during the World Cup. Portugal has other key players that can be instrumental to the success of the team.

[snipie]

I dont know what happens with China main idea for developing the football, when 10 years ago they start putting serious money i think to myself "well this time they come serious and in a few years we are gonna see a China being a power in football", but as we can see neither of this ended up happening and sudenly they stop putting money on football.

With have happened china, I think the same fate will also happen to the Saudi Arabia approach because I feel building a football power and mentality in football isn't that easy although it looks kinda different because the Saudi National team aren't that bad when it comes to football and the football mentality is kinda changing over there but overall asian countries are that into football if you ask me and the same china is a typical example as they are good in other areas of sport.

Saudi Arabia seems more serious when deciding to invest in football, their financial strength is much stronger compared to China. Saudi Arabia started better, when they managed to get Ronaldo, a megastar who made the Saudi Pro League popularity increase drastically. Saudi clubs also do not continue to try to tempt top European players, and offer contracts with sometimes unreasonable values. This will automatically make them continue to be talked about, and indicate that they have not stopped investing. Saudi appointment as the host of the 2034 World Cup can also be considered a form of their seriousness, China has never gone as far as Saudi.

When we look at the biggest teams in football, we find mostly players not originated from the country that were wearing their shirts. The famous example is France and they criticised that in their media, without discussing a lot this sick point of view. England and many other countries are doing the same, recruiting best players since the young age. The exception might be Brazil and Argentina, yet their players are mostly playing in European top leagues. Few European countries don't rely on that. Returning now to China, the number of non chinese is very limited even in general population and they aren't into football because their physical and natural condition, a limited factor for having a good national team in soccer, and they aren't into buying players to play under their flag like Gulf countries.

[Franctoshi]

Do you think Ronaldo will really play in the upcoming World Cup? I don't mean the qualifiers because it is already going to start for Portugal in a couple of months. I mean the main tournament as they would qualify for it easily considering their current group.

He is really getting very old. I know his physical condition is still at an unbelievably good rate for his age. But one year is quite a long time. Maybe he might change his mind. To be honest I don't think Portugal can achieve any trophy in his presence anymore. Because they are playing around him but he wouldn't be as consistent as his prime obviously.

The Al-Nassr striker has been in great form this season which makes him qualified to play in the national team. But the truth is that other younger players can perform more than him in the national team. But from all indications, he would continue playing for the national team since there is no formal announcement that he would be retiring anytime soon. Portugal national team coach Roberto Martínez might not have the courage to stop Cristiano Ronaldo from participating in the national team games. I am predicting that Lionel Messi and Ronaldo will be retiring after the next World Cup. It would be a blunder for a coach to build a team around a player who will be above forty during the World Cup. Portugal has other key players that can be instrumental to the success of the team.

Ronaldo is still very usefu and energetic and can help deliver his country in the coming world cup  USA/Mexico 2026, especially in the areas of his experiences, it really matters a lot for them to be considering him making the list. Even though his form and age has really dropped they can be using him as a backup striker in that competition.

[criptoevangelista]

Do you think Ronaldo will really play in the upcoming World Cup? I don't mean the qualifiers because it is already going to start for Portugal in a couple of months. I mean the main tournament as they would qualify for it easily considering their current group.

He is really getting very old. I know his physical condition is still at an unbelievably good rate for his age. But one year is quite a long time. Maybe he might change his mind. To be honest I don't think Portugal can achieve any trophy in his presence anymore. Because they are playing around him but he wouldn't be as consistent as his prime obviously.

Maybe Cristiano Ronaldo will play in the Club World Cup this year for a Brazilian team. I read in the news here that a club is keeping an eye on him and plans to make an offer... he probably won't renew his contract. I think the possibility is real, giving him the chance to play in two World Cups at the final stage of his career, the Club World Cup and the national team World Cup.

[LUCKMCFLY]

And now it seems like the Saudi Arabian government's plan to promote football as one of their country's attractions has succeeded. Now almost everyone in the world knows the Saudi Pro League. Saudi Arabia has succeeded when they managed to bring Ronaldo to Al Nassr. Now people even know some of the Arab league teams such as Al Nassr, Al Ittihad, and Al Hilal. And with the many star players in the clubs in the SPL, local players can learn many techniques and how to train from them which I think will help improve the skills of Saudi Arabian players in the future. And I think in the future Saudi Arabia will also develop a European-standard academy to help develop their young players in the future.

You are right, and now things are very different Because the Saudi League has become so important with the big teams in Europe, Unfortunately those in Charge at UEFA have not allowed it, which seems to me to be an obstacle for the best sport in the world, but this does not prevent nor can the sun be hidden with a finger, that there must be a substantial improvement in Arab football, there is and in the end that is what is sought, and with that and the competition it increases greatly , so if everything goes as they are planning we could see a Saudi Arabia that will reach the stages of the World Cup.

[dezoel]

Ronaldo is still very usefu and energetic and can help deliver his country in the coming world cup  USA/Mexico 2026, especially in the areas of his experiences, it really matters a lot for them to be considering him making the list. Even though his form and age has really dropped they can be using him as a backup striker in that competition.

No doubt Ronaldo is still key player for Al Nassr, and he is doing this job for his country because he is having good motivation to play in this event which is going to be played at Canada/USA/Mexico in 2026 even his role could be player/mentor, but he is going to be part of Portugal soccer squad.

He played 39 games for Al Nassr in this season and scored total 33 goals with 23 in Saudi Pro League which is clearly indicating how competitive he is at the age of 40, and he is doing his best for keeping himself fit until 2026 FIFA World Cup because he is also having target of completing milestone of 1000 goals in his career. Even he is going to end his career without having big mega event World Cup for his country but still due to his contribution in soccer he is going to be remembered as GOAT in this game.

[retreat]

Do you think Ronaldo will really play in the upcoming World Cup? I don't mean the qualifiers because it is already going to start for Portugal in a couple of months. I mean the main tournament as they would qualify for it easily considering their current group.

He is really getting very old. I know his physical condition is still at an unbelievably good rate for his age. But one year is quite a long time. Maybe he might change his mind. To be honest I don't think Portugal can achieve any trophy in his presence anymore. Because they are playing around him but he wouldn't be as consistent as his prime obviously.

I am sure that Ronaldo will still be played in the world cup. Even though he is getting older now, he is still very worthy to be able to play in the world cup. Martínez also said that he has no problem playing in the world cup, so it is certain that he will remain in the Portuguese national team squad. However, we can't expect much from his performance. He is getting older, and not as sharp as he used to be. All that can be expected from him is to be a motivation for the team to be able to unite and play better.

[Hanadawa]

He played 39 games for Al Nassr in this season and scored total 33 goals with 23 in Saudi Pro League which is clearly indicating how competitive he is at the age of 40, and he is doing his best for keeping himself fit until 2026 FIFA World Cup because he is also having target of completing milestone of 1000 goals in his career. Even he is going to end his career without having big mega event World Cup for his country but still due to his contribution in soccer he is going to be remembered as GOAT in this game.

Ronaldo has become the GOAT even when he was still playing in Europe. We cannot deny that the Ronaldo-Messi rivalry is the best rivalry in football history. They play in the same league at clubs that also have high-intensity rivalries. Both of them have also always been winners and finalists of the Ballon d'Or every year. So before going to Al Nassr I had made sure that Ronaldo is one of the GOATs that will not come twice. The record of 1000 goals will be a milestone for world football history. Currently, no player has been able to score 1000 goals in official competitions and all goals have records and videos. I think it will be a motivation for CR7 to keep playing football and will play in the 2026 World Cup.

[rdluffy]

Do you think Ronaldo will really play in the upcoming World Cup? I don't mean the qualifiers because it is already going to start for Portugal in a couple of months. I mean the main tournament as they would qualify for it easily considering their current group.

He is really getting very old. I know his physical condition is still at an unbelievably good rate for his age. But one year is quite a long time. Maybe he might change his mind. To be honest I don't think Portugal can achieve any trophy in his presence anymore. Because they are playing around him but he wouldn't be as consistent as his prime obviously.

I remember this thread started a few months after the 2022 World Cup and one of the biggest discussions was whether Ronaldo and Messi would play in the next World Cup or not

With each passing day, it seems that the two of them have a good chance of continuing to play until 2026 so that they can finally retire (or not hehehe)

It's perhaps one of the best bets we can make today, I wonder if there are any bookmakers already making this bet?
If I had to bet, I'd say they'll both take part in the 2026 World Cup, but not as absolute starters

[ShowOff]

Do you think Ronaldo will really play in the upcoming World Cup? I don't mean the qualifiers because it is already going to start for Portugal in a couple of months. I mean the main tournament as they would qualify for it easily considering their current group.

He is really getting very old. I know his physical condition is still at an unbelievably good rate for his age. But one year is quite a long time. Maybe he might change his mind. To be honest I don't think Portugal can achieve any trophy in his presence anymore. Because they are playing around him but he wouldn't be as consistent as his prime obviously.

I remember this thread started a few months after the 2022 World Cup and one of the biggest discussions was whether Ronaldo and Messi would play in the next World Cup or not

With each passing day, it seems that the two of them have a good chance of continuing to play until 2026 so that they can finally retire (or not hehehe)

It's perhaps one of the best bets we can make today, I wonder if there are any bookmakers already making this bet?
If I had to bet, I'd say they'll both take part in the 2026 World Cup, but not as absolute starters

The chances of Messi and Ronaldo to take part in the 2026 World Cup are actually very open, what can limit both of them in my opinion is only their own fitness. Of course, they will no longer be able to play fully due to age factors, especially for Ronaldo who will be over 40 years old. But ff we look further, the Argentine National Team and the Portuguese National Team have a generation of potential young players, who can replace their roles in the team, in this case Messi and Ronaldo chances seem a little slim.

The presence of Messi and Ronaldo in the 2026 World Cup will be very profitable financially, where both will attract many fans around the world. If calculated, the 2026 World Cup is still one year away from now, at the club level Messi and Ronaldo are still the mainstays so far, but it cannot be guaranteed whether both of them will take part in the upcoming World Cup.

[Forsyth Jones]

My friends, with Ancelotti's arrival at the CBF, will the brazilian national team improve its performance in time to become as competitive as Argentina, which won the previous World Cup? Even with Neymar not being called up (at least for now)?

What are your expectations with Ancelotti as CBF coach, given one of the most delicate moments of all time for the brazilian national team?

I honestly think it's difficult.

[retreat]

My friends, with Ancelotti's arrival at the CBF, will the brazilian national team improve its performance in time to become as competitive as Argentina, which won the previous World Cup? Even with Neymar not being called up (at least for now)?

What are your expectations with Ancelotti as CBF coach, given one of the most delicate moments of all time for the brazilian national team?

I honestly think it's difficult.

I think that Ancelotti is a good coach, he's an experienced coach and has proven his quality as one of the best coaches in the world. But the problems of Brazilian football are complex and cannot be solved by just having Ancelotti as coach. Brazil still lacks leadership in their team, and the funny thing is that Ancelotti doesn't play Neymar who should be able to unite the team and provide motivation. Not to mention the President of Brazil is not very optimistic about Ancelotti and sees that he does not know the identity of Brazilian football. So there are many problems that Ancelotti will face when he coaches this Brazilian national team and this will be one of his most difficult times to coach a team.

[Plaguedeath]

Bump.

In the next 5 days, the World Cup qualification for Asian will begin.

Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Bahrain and China are still have a chance to qualify for the next round. Both Kyrgyzstan and Palestine will meet weakest teams in their own group, while Bahrain will meet Saudi Arabia, this gonna be hard, at least they have to get 1 point. China will meet Indonesia, in the previous match China won, so this match they also have a chance too.

[Arenga pinnata]

Bump.

In the next 5 days, the World Cup qualification for Asian will begin.

Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Bahrain and China are still have a chance to qualify for the next round. Both Kyrgyzstan and Palestine will meet weakest teams in their own group, while Bahrain will meet Saudi Arabia, this gonna be hard, at least they have to get 1 point. China will meet Indonesia, in the previous match China won, so this match they also have a chance too.

Well, in a few days the Asian zone World Cup qualifying matches will start again. However, I see that the Australia vs Japan match is the match that will get the most attention from the audience in the Asian zone. because two clubs that are quite strong and have been in the World Cup quite often will face each other.

However, because Japan is already in a safe position. So I doubt Japan will play at its full strength. It could be that they will only make full strength plays at the beginning and then they will start playing the second layer of players. And this will give an advantage to Australia who really need points to qualify. Even though Australia is almost certain to qualify for the World Cup.

For the Indonesia vs China match, I'm not really sure which one to favourite. But maybe I will choose Indonesia.

[Jatiluhung]

Bump.

In the next 5 days, the World Cup qualification for Asian will begin.

Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Bahrain and China are still have a chance to qualify for the next round. Both Kyrgyzstan and Palestine will meet weakest teams in their own group, while Bahrain will meet Saudi Arabia, this gonna be hard, at least they have to get 1 point. China will meet Indonesia, in the previous match China won, so this match they also have a chance too.

Bahrain happened to get a strong opponent. We know that the quality of the Saudi Arabian national team has now improved quite rapidly. So I doubt Bahrain will be able to win this match. Maybe a draw is still possible. But I predict Saudi Arabia will win the match with a score of 1-2. It's just that Bahrain as the host might have a slight advantage.

For the Indonesia vs China match, I think the home team deserves to be the favorite. And the host of the match is Indonesia. We know how it is when Indonesia is the host. The strength of the Indonesian national team supporters is one of the best in the world. This sometimes makes the opposing team nervous and unable to play optimally in front of the Indonesian national team supporters. At that time, Saudi Arabia even lost to Indonesia when Indonesia was the host. And I think China also has to be prepared for that.

[Ale88]

For the Indonesia vs China match, I'm not really sure which one to favourite. But maybe I will choose Indonesia.

I would go with Indonesia for sure: it's football, so everything could happen, but until now China have always been a huge deception, the players are simply bad, and we've never seen any improvement during all these years, not even when they were actually investing in football's develop. On the other hand there isa movement that is growing a lot, and lately Indonesia have been calling up a lot of dual-citizen players, mainly from The Netherlands but, for example, I also remember Emil Audero, who played with Italian youth teams.

[Slow death]

Bump.

In the next 5 days, the World Cup qualification for Asian will begin.

Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Bahrain and China are still have a chance to qualify for the next round. Both Kyrgyzstan and Palestine will meet weakest teams in their own group, while Bahrain will meet Saudi Arabia, this gonna be hard, at least they have to get 1 point. China will meet Indonesia, in the previous match China won, so this match they also have a chance too.

Honestly, I don't want to be too pessimistic, but any of these national teams ( Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Bahrain and China ) that qualify will only be able to celebrate for qualifying and will not win the World Cup, that is, they are only dreaming of guaranteeing participation in the World Cup, unfortunately the national teams from Asia have no chance of winning the World Cup, in America there is only Brazil and Argentina, while in Europe there are many national teams such as France, Italy, Spain and Germany.

https://www.marca.com/en/world-cup/winners.html

There is no national team in Asia and we in Africa have no chance of winning the World Cup. So they can only dream of qualifying and then they will lose in the World Cup games.

[Ale88]

Honestly, I don't want to be too pessimistic, but any of these national teams ( Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Bahrain and China ) that qualify will only be able to celebrate for qualifying and will not win the World Cup, that is, they are only dreaming of guaranteeing participation in the World Cup, unfortunately the national teams from Asia have no chance of winning the World Cup, in America there is only Brazil and Argentina, while in Europe there are many national teams such as France, Italy, Spain and Germany.

https://www.marca.com/en/world-cup/winners.html

There is no national team in Asia and we in Africa have no chance of winning the World Cup. So they can only dream of qualifying and then they will lose in the World Cup games.

Japanese football has been growing a lot in the last 30 years. I remember that back in 1998, during the World Cup hosted in France, Japan lost all three games of the group stage (they even lost against Jamaica); four years later they won their group and they lost against a great Turkey team. And since that won they also won a bunch of Asian Cups and they always qualified for the World Cup and now the majority of the national team players play abroad, mainly in Europe. Japan has a plan to increase their level, and they are following it.

[Lillominato89]

Bump.

In the next 5 days, the World Cup qualification for Asian will begin.

Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Bahrain and China are still have a chance to qualify for the next round. Both Kyrgyzstan and Palestine will meet weakest teams in their own group, while Bahrain will meet Saudi Arabia, this gonna be hard, at least they have to get 1 point. China will meet Indonesia, in the previous match China won, so this match they also have a chance too.

Honestly, I don't want to be too pessimistic, but any of these national teams ( Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Bahrain and China ) that qualify will only be able to celebrate for qualifying and will not win the World Cup, that is, they are only dreaming of guaranteeing participation in the World Cup, unfortunately the national teams from Asia have no chance of winning the World Cup, in America there is only Brazil and Argentina, while in Europe there are many national teams such as France, Italy, Spain and Germany.

https://www.marca.com/en/world-cup/winners.html

There is no national team in Asia and we in Africa have no chance of winning the World Cup. So they can only dream of qualifying and then they will lose in the World Cup games.

These are countries where football is not the most popular sport and therefore they have never tried to reverse the trend and train stronger players.
On the other hand, in America, especially in South America, football is seen as an opportunity to escape poverty. If you think about it, I have no memories of Brazilian or Argentinean players who were from wealthy families, but only of boys from the favelas who escaped misery and hunger in this way.
In Italy France Spain Germany and England, football is tradition and culture, it moves big and huge money, besides being economically a big business there are many people in love with the sport.
These are the main differences between Asian American and European football.
Most probably if they try to raise their competitive level in Asia, they might succeed. In Africa many nations have raised the level. Like Morocco or Egypt, in the past Cameroon and Nigeria broke through strong players like Eto'o, Babangida, Kanu, Martins etc etc. You just have to pursue a dream and you succeed

[Ahli38]

I would go with Indonesia for sure: it's football, so everything could happen, but until now China have always been a huge deception, the players are simply bad, and we've never seen any improvement during all these years, not even when they were actually investing in football's develop. On the other hand there isa movement that is growing a lot, and lately Indonesia have been calling up a lot of dual-citizen players, mainly from The Netherlands but, for example, I also remember Emil Audero, who played with Italian youth teams.

The Indonesian national team continuously strives to improve the quality of their national team's play. So the process of naturalizing mixed players who have Indonesian blood has begun. And the results are actually quite good. Although the Indonesian national team still needs a lot more time to build chemistry between the players. But I will also choose Indonesia for the match against China. Not because I feel China is weaker than Indonesia. It's just that Indonesia is the team that plays better when they host it. When they were hosts, Indonesia managed to beat the Saudi Arabian and Bahraini teams. Even holding Australia to a draw at that time. So the biggest possibility is that the Indonesian national team will really be the favorite in the match against China.