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

[Sithara007]

Is anyone following the AFC qualifiers? Schedule for the fourth round is out, with matches to be played in October. Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman are placed in Group A, while in Group B we have Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Indonesia. Saudis and Qataris will be the favorites to qualify from this round, but as we have seen Indonesia has a lots of fans here in this forum. Those who can't get the qualification in the fourth round has one more opportunity, in the form of inter-confederation play-offs. 

[tbterryboy]

I think that Norway will not even get through to the next round, and I hope so, as an Italian I am convinced that the national team can go to the World Cup to do well and win it, why not?
However, there are many teams that can do very well, who knows if Morocco will be like the one in the last World Cup

Norway has several good players such as Haaland, Odegaard or Alexander Sorloth i think this team has a potention to playing on world cup moreover for qualification stages Norway has starting with very well because they can gets 4 winning streak recently and on their group only Italy is the strongest opponent for them which i think with their composition of squad i am sure Norway can beat Italy and this time i am quite confident they will be qualified and i wanted to see Haaland playing on world cup for the first time

With the current situation and performance of Norway I am having strong feeling they could be into world cup because now they have 4 matches remaining, and their chances are high for staying at the top of their group.

Next round is going to be interesting because three countries have easy games and all will be able to stay on their spots which will give good chance to Norway for having top spot while Israel is also going to keep pressure on Italy which is going to host Estonia.

Italy can over through Israel for their chance to have second spot because their humiliating defeat against Norway give them setback but home game could be good for Italy even their chances are not high for having top spot in group.

[retreat]

Is anyone following the AFC qualifiers? Schedule for the fourth round is out, with matches to be played in October. Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman are placed in Group A, while in Group B we have Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Indonesia. Saudis and Qataris will be the favorites to qualify from this round, but as we have seen Indonesia has a lots of fans here in this forum. Those who can't get the qualification in the fourth round has one more opportunity, in the form of inter-confederation play-offs. 

It will be difficult for Indonesia to qualify for this World Cup, as they will face Saudi Arabia on their home turf. Even with a capable coach and a solid squad, facing a team of Saudi Arabia’s stature in their own stadium is no easy feat. Indonesia's best hope may lie in the inter-confederation playoffs, where qualification is still possible. However, if Indonesia can manage to top Group B, it would be a historic moment for the nation, and many would celebrate that achievement.

[hyudien]

Is anyone following the AFC qualifiers? Schedule for the fourth round is out, with matches to be played in October. Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman are placed in Group A, while in Group B we have Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Indonesia. Saudis and Qataris will be the favorites to qualify from this round, but as we have seen Indonesia has a lots of fans here in this forum. Those who can't get the qualification in the fourth round has one more opportunity, in the form of inter-confederation play-offs. 

It will be difficult for Indonesia to qualify for this World Cup, as they will face Saudi Arabia on their home turf. Even with a capable coach and a solid squad, facing a team of Saudi Arabia’s stature in their own stadium is no easy feat. Indonesia's best hope may lie in the inter-confederation playoffs, where qualification is still possible. However, if Indonesia can manage to top Group B, it would be a historic moment for the nation, and many would celebrate that achievement.

If still handled by Shin Tae Yong I am still optimistic that the Indonesian national team can beat Arabia or the worst result is a draw because in the previous two meetings the Arab national team has never been given a win, but because currently Indonesia is managed by a new coach (Kluivert) then there is a little doubt in my heart especially when seeing their previous performance, But what is clear is that the one that Indonesia must be most wary of is Iraq, they are much stronger than Saudi Arabia. In terms of realistic opportunities for Indonesia, it is indeed the play-off round but it would be much better for them to take advantage of the opportunity in this 4th round and qualify automatically.

[barbara44]

Saudi Arabia knows how to play politics with FIFA. Just look at how they were able to lobby the AFC to have the Round 4 match held in their country, which gives them a significant advantage. Although the decision was protested by other teams because the match was supposed to be held at a neutral venue, the AFC still selected Saudi Arabia and Qatar to host the fourth round and ignored the protests from other teams. Because of this, I am even more confident that Saudi Arabia will qualify for the World Cup.

Arabs are always good at using their influence which is working for them even their human rights record is not good but still they are getting good support from western countries and USA for having big events and as they want to do in many other things related to sports.

In last 2 decades, Gulf is completely changing as sports and culture events hub for world due to their money and approach which are they using after having good influence in world sports in Asian sports no country can challenge them even their system and structure is not helping their own youths to develop their skills in sports. Saudi Arab and Qatar are having good advantage in coming fourth round which is now going to be played into these countries due to their influence which is supporting them in AFC.

[Volgastallion]

Saudi Arabia knows how to play politics with FIFA. Just look at how they were able to lobby the AFC to have the Round 4 match held in their country, which gives them a significant advantage. Although the decision was protested by other teams because the match was supposed to be held at a neutral venue, the AFC still selected Saudi Arabia and Qatar to host the fourth round and ignored the protests from other teams. Because of this, I am even more confident that Saudi Arabia will qualify for the World Cup.

Arabs are always good at using their influence which is working for them even their human rights record is not good but still they are getting good support from western countries and USA for having big events and as they want to do in many other things related to sports.

In last 2 decades, Gulf is completely changing as sports and culture events hub for world due to their money and approach which are they using after having good influence in world sports in Asian sports no country can challenge them even their system and structure is not helping their own youths to develop their skills in sports. Saudi Arab and Qatar are having good advantage in coming fourth round which is now going to be played into these countries due to their influence which is supporting them in AFC.

Arabs are using his influence in every matter of the world, most people are super blind and only see the so called "sionist" propaganda but the HUGE propaganda comes from the arabian "salafist" they spend thousand of dolars on mass media and financing everything they can to clean their image and make good  news about them, no matter if this implies sports events, mass media, new mosques in europe or all across the world and a lot of more things behind the curtain.

[banana33]

Is very hard someone to predict the world Cup that is coming up next years. Because any country will do all there best to achieve the trophy, so even you choose your favourite team to win the title, you can't predict that they will definitely win. because football is always unpredictable and we can't predict the winner. Argentina win the last time World Cup by a penalty shootout against France. And many people didn't believe that Argentina we win the trophy because with how France performed in the  pitch, and Mbappe start shocking the fans. you will know that know one is ready to lose. Argentina as get there third world Cup and I think he will be very difficult for them to get the chance to win it again, because world Cup always rotate is only Brazil that get the opportunity to win it back to back. so I think next season world Cup is another country will achieve it he can be Spain, France or probably Brazil but we can't predict let see how the competition will be and see who will be the favorite to achieve the trophy.

Yes, predicting the winner of such a complicated competition is sometimes really difficult, considering that they can overturn the teams, certainly one that you mentioned is interesting because there is a very strong coach and it is Brazil who is not bad

[Ale88]

There is still a month to go for the next qualification matches in UEFA and CONMEBOL. I'm especially wondering what Brazil will do in the future. Ancelotti's arrival has raised the expectations naturally. What do you think?

For all the people in this thread, which team do you think is gonna be the surprise in this world cup? I know we are still far from the start of the competition but we can have some teams in head.

Between the already qualified or the teams who are obvius contenders which team do you believe is gonna ahve a good run. I feel like Norway can be one.

Norway have 66.00 odds for the World Cup winner. What a tempting one! 

But I'm not feeling like we'll have that big of a surprise. I see Germany being given quite higher odds than I expected - 11.00. I guess I'd give them a chance. I really like their game in Nagelsmann's control.

Norway could be a surprise just like Morocco was a surprise but I really don't see how they could win the World Cup. If we look at all the World Cup winners we see big names, I don't think there is any surprise. It would have been nice to see Sweden win back in 1958 or Czechoslovakia in 1962 but that Brazil was just too good. And more recently we had Croatia losing to France in 2018. Norway may reach the quarter finals, that's my idea.

[DanWalker]

The World Cup is coming up next year, so the World Cup madness has already started. In the World Cup, everyone supports their own team and every supporter wants their favorite team to do well in the World Cup, but even though there is always hope, the team they support cannot do well. It is natural to discuss which team can actually do well in the upcoming World Cup tournament, although there is still enough time for this tournament to start. Last season, we saw Argentina win the World Cup title from Latin America and France was Argentina's opponent in the final. Like the last tournament, I will consider France as the favorite in the upcoming tournament and Argentina as the favorite from Latin America. However, apart from these two teams, Spain and Germany have enough chances to do well.

It is difficult to predict how a team will perform in the World Cup. Sometimes, teams come into form and their performances surprise the football world. That is why sometimes, even if you underestimate a small team on the World Cup stage, something different can happen there. All the countries that did not do well last time will try to improve themselves in this upcoming tournament. I believe that Belgium will fight on the field as a stronger team next time, along with Germany, I also think that Saudi Arabia will become more stronger than before, who defeated Argentina in the group stage.

Spain is currently the betting top dog after winning the Euro 2024 & is on a 23 unbeaten streak. their odds have since plummeted to an ongoing figure of about +500, wow. Argentina, being the current champions also poses a big threat for real. France, Brazil, England, & even Germany are usually held back one step in the majority of betting and even expert lists.

Saudi Arabia played in the last World Cup on their home soil and the support of the fans and the conditions were all in their favor, due to which they defeated a big team like Argentina in the group stage match and also performed well in the group stage matches, but the 2022 World Cup and the 2026 World Cup will definitely not be the same. The next World Cup will be held by three countries, America, Mexico and Canada, so it will be very difficult to do well against a team like Saudi Arabia in such conditions. Belgium could not perform significantly well in the last World Cup tournament, so considering that aspect, I am not putting Belgium in the list of favorite teams. I am only thinking about which teams can qualify for the semi-finals or finals in the next World Cup season and I believe that any of the teams I have mentioned can qualify for the semi-finals or finals in the next World Cup.

The 48 team model of 2026 brings in kinda unpredictability & with more playoffs, countries beyond the normally ruling powers, such as Mexico, Morocco, Japan, & so forth could leave mark. Even SPL, which has just now put HARD CASH into overmuch in football & is getting all set to host their World Cup in 2034, might become a dark horse athlete over time. Whatever no one should rest on underdogs , you know they have been given a extensive playing field, so it is going to be epic.

[Volgastallion]

The 48 team model of 2026 brings in kinda unpredictability & with more playoffs, countries beyond the normally ruling powers, such as Mexico, Morocco, Japan, & so forth could leave mark. Even SPL, which has just now put HARD CASH into overmuch in football & is getting all set to host their World Cup in 2034, might become a dark horse athlete over time. Whatever no one should rest on underdogs , you know they have been given a extensive playing field, so it is going to be epic.

Im not fully sure if that is gonna be unpredictable like you said, but i feel more like is full on marketing view. We all know more games are more hours of television to be displayed and more minutes to show commercial and so on, so the business is growing bigger.

About the actual football.... well i just dont think this is gonna improve anything, never a league it was good for having more teams.

[Mr Reporter]

Saudi Arabia knows how to play politics with FIFA. Just look at how they were able to lobby the AFC to have the Round 4 match held in their country, which gives them a significant advantage. Although the decision was protested by other teams because the match was supposed to be held at a neutral venue, the AFC still selected Saudi Arabia and Qatar to host the fourth round and ignored the protests from other teams. Because of this, I am even more confident that Saudi Arabia will qualify for the World Cup.

Arabs are always good at using their influence which is working for them even their human rights record is not good but still they are getting good support from western countries and USA for having big events and as they want to do in many other things related to sports.

In last 2 decades, Gulf is completely changing as sports and culture events hub for world due to their money and approach which are they using after having good influence in world sports in Asian sports no country can challenge them even their system and structure is not helping their own youths to develop their skills in sports. Saudi Arab and Qatar are having good advantage in coming fourth round which is now going to be played into these countries due to their influence which is supporting them in AFC.

Arabs are using his influence in every matter of the world, most people are super blind and only see the so called "sionist" propaganda but the HUGE propaganda comes from the arabian "salafist" they spend thousand of dolars on mass media and financing everything they can to clean their image and make good  news about them, no matter if this implies sports events, mass media, new mosques in europe or all across the world and a lot of more things behind the curtain.

The complex dynamics of global influence is more propaganda, some various group and nation employ different strategies to shape public opinion and still promote thier interests. It essential to consider multiple source perspective and source when evaluating information to gain a more comprehensive understanding of global events.

There is still a month to go for the next qualification matches in UEFA and CONMEBOL. I'm especially wondering what Brazil will do in the future. Ancelotti's arrival has raised the expectations naturally. What do you think?

For all the people in this thread, which team do you think is gonna be the surprise in this world cup? I know we are still far from the start of the competition but we can have some teams in head.

Between the already qualified or the teams who are obvius contenders which team do you believe is gonna ahve a good run. I feel like Norway can be one.

Norway have 66.00 odds for the World Cup winner. What a tempting one! 

But I'm not feeling like we'll have that big of a surprise. I see Germany being given quite higher odds than I expected - 11.00. I guess I'd give them a chance. I really like their game in Nagelsmann's control.

Norway could be a surprise just like Morocco was a surprise but I really don't see how they could win the World Cup. If we look at all the World Cup winners we see big names, I don't think there is any surprise. It would have been nice to see Sweden win back in 1958 or Czechoslovakia in 1962 but that Brazil was just too good. And more recently we had Croatia losing to France in 2018. Norway may reach the quarter finals, that's my idea.

I think the under dogs teams like Norway to make a significant impact in the world cup, historically top teams often dominated, but still surprises can happen, Morocco runs showed that smaller nations can achieve remarkable results with right mix of talent, strategy, and determination, the Norway can follow suit remains to be seen but reaching the quarter finals would indeed be a notable achievement.

[Donneski]

The 48 team model of 2026 brings in kinda unpredictability & with more playoffs, countries beyond the normally ruling powers, such as Mexico, Morocco, Japan, & so forth could leave mark. Even SPL, which has just now put HARD CASH into overmuch in football & is getting all set to host their World Cup in 2034, might become a dark horse athlete over time. Whatever no one should rest on underdogs , you know they have been given a extensive playing field, so it is going to be epic.

Im not fully sure if that is gonna be unpredictable like you said, but i feel more like is full on marketing view. We all know more games are more hours of television to be displayed and more minutes to show commercial and so on, so the business is growing bigger.

About the actual football.... well i just dont think this is gonna improve anything, never a league it was good for having more teams.

More games in the FIFA World Cup equals to more revenue for the organizers but beyond the commercial gains, the 48-team format surely gives room for more countries to participate in the most prestigious football competition and that I think is the main reason FIFA expanded. I can't wait to watch too many FIFA World Cup games and the excitement that it brings.

Surely, we're gonna see under dogs beat the big teams, the dark horses, the unexpected flops and so many other things that makes the World Cup entertaining, intriguing and exciting. At the end of the competition, one team will leave as world champions but at the moment, we're unaware of which country take take the coveted prize.

[Ale88]

There is still a month to go for the next qualification matches in UEFA and CONMEBOL. I'm especially wondering what Brazil will do in the future. Ancelotti's arrival has raised the expectations naturally. What do you think?

For all the people in this thread, which team do you think is gonna be the surprise in this world cup? I know we are still far from the start of the competition but we can have some teams in head.

Between the already qualified or the teams who are obvius contenders which team do you believe is gonna ahve a good run. I feel like Norway can be one.

Norway have 66.00 odds for the World Cup winner. What a tempting one! 

But I'm not feeling like we'll have that big of a surprise. I see Germany being given quite higher odds than I expected - 11.00. I guess I'd give them a chance. I really like their game in Nagelsmann's control.

Norway could be a surprise just like Morocco was a surprise but I really don't see how they could win the World Cup. If we look at all the World Cup winners we see big names, I don't think there is any surprise. It would have been nice to see Sweden win back in 1958 or Czechoslovakia in 1962 but that Brazil was just too good. And more recently we had Croatia losing to France in 2018. Norway may reach the quarter finals, that's my idea.

I think the under dogs teams like Norway to make a significant impact in the world cup, historically top teams often dominated, but still surprises can happen, Morocco runs showed that smaller nations can achieve remarkable results with right mix of talent, strategy, and determination, the Norway can follow suit remains to be seen but reaching the quarter finals would indeed be a notable achievement.

I really hope to see some underdogs going a long way in the next World Cup, for me that is the most interesting part of the competition! It's always nice to see big teams playing against each other but when we have a team that surprises the whole world is even better.

[Sithara007]

It will be difficult for Indonesia to qualify for this World Cup, as they will face Saudi Arabia on their home turf. Even with a capable coach and a solid squad, facing a team of Saudi Arabia’s stature in their own stadium is no easy feat. Indonesia's best hope may lie in the inter-confederation playoffs, where qualification is still possible. However, if Indonesia can manage to top Group B, it would be a historic moment for the nation, and many would celebrate that achievement.

Fourth round is going to be tough anyway. Out of the 6 countries, only two will get direct qualification. The next two best placed teams will fight among each other for a slot to the inter-confederation playoff. But the chance of qualifying through that route is only 25%. Also, we need to remember that apart from Saudi Arabia, Indonesia also has to face Iraq. They also performed quite well in the third round, and were unfortunate to miss out on direct qualification in that round. Maybe Indonesia can qualify for the next round, who knows?

[retreat]

It will be difficult for Indonesia to qualify for this World Cup, as they will face Saudi Arabia on their home turf. Even with a capable coach and a solid squad, facing a team of Saudi Arabia’s stature in their own stadium is no easy feat. Indonesia's best hope may lie in the inter-confederation playoffs, where qualification is still possible. However, if Indonesia can manage to top Group B, it would be a historic moment for the nation, and many would celebrate that achievement.

Fourth round is going to be tough anyway. Out of the 6 countries, only two will get direct qualification. The next two best placed teams will fight among each other for a slot to the inter-confederation playoff. But the chance of qualifying through that route is only 25%. Also, we need to remember that apart from Saudi Arabia, Indonesia also has to face Iraq. They also performed quite well in the third round, and were unfortunate to miss out on direct qualification in that round. Maybe Indonesia can qualify for the next round, who knows?

That’s why I’m slightly pessimistic about Indonesia making it to the World Cup, considering the strength and experience of the teams they’ll encounter in the qualifiers. Moreover, Indonesia’s repeated struggles in away matches remain a critical issue that hinders their chances. This will be an extremely tough challenge, requiring thorough preparation. And even if they ultimately fail to qualify, that’s fine, because so far the Indonesian national team has shown quite positive progress compared to a few years ago, and I think that Indonesian people will understand that.

[m4r1o]

More games in the FIFA World Cup equals to more revenue for the organizers but beyond the commercial gains, the 48-team format surely gives room for more countries to participate in the most prestigious football competition and that I think is the main reason FIFA expanded. I can't wait to watch too many FIFA World Cup games and the excitement that it brings.

Surely, we're gonna see under dogs beat the big teams, the dark horses, the unexpected flops and so many other things that makes the World Cup entertaining, intriguing and exciting. At the end of the competition, one team will leave as world champions but at the moment, we're unaware of which country take take the coveted prize.

exactly, but we can already understand who could have a chance of at least reaching the final stages of the tournament, even if I would soon say that the European teams in these years have made really excellent teams and I think that teams like Soagna have no real rivals at the moment

[pewboy]

It will be difficult for Indonesia to qualify for this World Cup, as they will face Saudi Arabia on their home turf. Even with a capable coach and a solid squad, facing a team of Saudi Arabia?s stature in their own stadium is no easy feat. Indonesia's best hope may lie in the inter-confederation playoffs, where qualification is still possible. However, if Indonesia can manage to top Group B, it would be a historic moment for the nation, and many would celebrate that achievement.

Fourth round is going to be tough anyway. Out of the 6 countries, only two will get direct qualification. The next two best placed teams will fight among each other for a slot to the inter-confederation playoff. But the chance of qualifying through that route is only 25%. Also, we need to remember that apart from Saudi Arabia, Indonesia also has to face Iraq. They also performed quite well in the third round, and were unfortunate to miss out on direct qualification in that round. Maybe Indonesia can qualify for the next round, who knows?

Indonesia is definitely an exotic team that I have never seen before, but they are as good as they say here in this photo, I am happy that there are teams like this that participate in a world cup, it is certainly better than Saudi Arabia that naturalized players just to shine

[Platinumys]

I really hope to see some underdogs going a long way in the next World Cup, for me that is the most interesting part of the competition! It's always nice to see big teams playing against each other but when we have a team that surprises the whole world is even better.

This has happened in the last two World Cups, in the 2022 World Cup we saw Morocco qualify for the semi-finals of the World Cup while big teams like Germany, Belgium, Brazil and Portugal were eliminated. Japan and South Korea performed quite well in the 2018 World Cup. Something similar may happen in the 2026 World Cup, we may put some known teams in the favorite position considering the performance and team strength but even then we will see some teams that we did not consider as favorites but qualified for the quarter-finals or semi-finals. When relatively less strong teams go to a good stage of a big tournament like the Football World Cup, they have to be praised and it is very nice to see them celebrate that achievement.

[m4r1o]

Indonesia is definitely an exotic team that I have never seen before, but they are as good as they say here in this photo, I am happy that there are teams like this that participate in a world cup, it is certainly better than Saudi Arabia that naturalized players just to shine

This is certainly a problem, having so many naturalized players makes the teams much weaker in terms of cohesion, in fact a competitive relationship is created between them and perhaps the players who are truly national players born and raised in their homeland will find themselves in competition with people who could come from other parts of the world.

[Sithara007]

This is certainly a problem, having so many naturalized players makes the teams much weaker in terms of cohesion, in fact a competitive relationship is created between them and perhaps the players who are truly national players born and raised in their homeland will find themselves in competition with people who could come from other parts of the world.

You need to strike a balance somewhere in between. For the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, Indonesia went with a squad that was born and brought up in that country. The result - they failed to qualify. Now the team is performing quite strongly, because they have a lot of naturalized players who play for various clubs in Europe (especially the Dutch clubs). At the moment, I don't think that the Indonesians have any other option, although in the long term they should focus on home grown talent.