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

[Sithara007]

Unfortunately, as an Italian, i also agree with Ale88, the times when Italy could play good football are really over due to many factors, i see kids who play more with their cell phones than with the ball
in this context we will always get worse

These are just poor excuses. Addiction to the mobile phones (especially among the teenagers and pre-teens) have reduced physical activity all around the world. But in Europe, the education system is still putting a lot of focus on physical activity, unlike some of the East Asian nations such as South Korea or Taiwan. I would say that population ageing is the main reason, and that is why the European teams are going down, and countries with a very youthful population such as Uzbekistan and Jordan are entering the world cup for the first time ever.

[retreat]

Italian couples needs to start to pumping out more babies NOW, they need them and the world need them, i dont like to see Italy full of inmigrants which are not italian, that pyramid seem very troublesome for the pension system, so all the pèople who can have a babie please start to have.

And so also italian football can have new footballers.

This is a problem not only in Italy but also in most European countries, where they are currently facing a demographic crisis caused by low birth rates and aging populations, which in turn affects many sectors. This trend is largely driven by the high cost of living and governments that seem to de-prioritize policies aimed at encouraging young couples to have children. As a result, population pyramids in these countries are becoming increasingly problematic.

Meanwhile, immigrants are less affected by this issue and continue to grow in number. Since many of them come from lower-middle-class backgrounds, they are more motivated to advance and succeed. This has led many to represent national teams, not only out of a desire for a better life but also because of their strong motivation to prove themselves. That drive is what pushes them to progress. So it is not surprising that the current trend is for many national teams to be filled with players of immigrant descent, because they are capable and competitive.

[banana33]

As Italian I am extremely pissed off with the current situation but every big team had its bad periods in history, there is not a single team that has been getting results for 50-60 years in a row, it's simply not possible, things change, just like there are golden generations there also are bad generations, it's like a wheel. National teams, clubs, it doesn't matter, it's like that for everyone.

Yes, it's true, it's useless, even I, as an Italian, am a bit pissed off and I'm sorry for the current situation, but things change and we are no longer the strongest national team of all, surely something needs to change at the level of the Italian football system where physique is privileged over technique

[bitcoin_mining]

Italian couples needs to start to pumping out more babies NOW, they need them and the world need them, i dont like to see Italy full of inmigrants which are not italian, that pyramid seem very troublesome for the pension system, so all the pèople who can have a babie please start to have.

And so also italian football can have new footballers.

The birth rate is plummeting in the whole westerner world, not only in Italy. Cost of living is becoming too high, salaries are not high enough, many people think 10 times before having kids because they know they can't give a good life. On the other hand the immigrants don't think like that, they simply come, have 3-4-5 children and ask the government for money. I'm generalizing a but the actual situation is not that different, and that is true for Europe, North America, Australia...

You look at Brazil and the footballers who are currently playing for the Brazilian national team, most of these footballers had a very bad childhood. If you look at the past lives of most footballers, you will see that all these footballers played football barefoot, did not get proper food or did not have the money to train at a good club, but these things did not stop them, instead they have now become the best footballers in the world. The love for football that the Brazilian people have and the dream of becoming a footballer from childhood is not the same as the thinking among young Italian boys, which is why we do not see any young footballers playing for Italy. If this continues, then Italian football will definitely be under threat. I think Italy should run a special campaign to protect football and create a new love for football among young people.

[DanWalker]

Italian couples needs to start to pumping out more babies NOW, they need them and the world need them, i dont like to see Italy full of inmigrants which are not italian, that pyramid seem very troublesome for the pension system, so all the pèople who can have a babie please start to have.
And so also italian football can have new footballers.

This is a problem not only in Italy but also in most European countries, where they are currently facing a demographic crisis caused by low birth rates and aging populations, which in turn affects many sectors. This trend is largely driven by the high cost of living and governments that seem to de-prioritize policies aimed at encouraging young couples to have children. As a result, population pyramids in these countries are becoming increasingly problematic.
Meanwhile, immigrants are less affected by this issue and continue to grow in number. Since many of them come from lower-middle-class backgrounds, they are more motivated to advance and succeed. This has led many to represent national teams, not only out of a desire for a better life but also because of their strong motivation to prove themselves. That drive is what pushes them to progress. So it is not surprising that the current trend is for many national teams to be filled with players of immigrant descent, because they are capable and competitive.

Yeah, Italy is going through some serious demographic crisis currently. In 2024, there were only 370,000 births in Italy with the birth rate hitting a record low of 1.18, which is the lowest since 1861. At the same time, immigration is also rising as more than 5 million foreigners are residing in Italy. However, the immigrants are contributing positively towards the Italian football as they bring some fresh energy and ambitions with them. Thus, as the birth rate is dropping down, the gap is being filled by the huge inflow of hardworking and ambitious immigrants. It is a complicated problem, and one of the solutions can be promoting the acceptance in diversity of culture.

[Ale88]

Italian couples needs to start to pumping out more babies NOW, they need them and the world need them, i dont like to see Italy full of inmigrants which are not italian, that pyramid seem very troublesome for the pension system, so all the pèople who can have a babie please start to have.

And so also italian football can have new footballers.

The birth rate is plummeting in the whole westerner world, not only in Italy. Cost of living is becoming too high, salaries are not high enough, many people think 10 times before having kids because they know they can't give a good life. On the other hand the immigrants don't think like that, they simply come, have 3-4-5 children and ask the government for money. I'm generalizing a but the actual situation is not that different, and that is true for Europe, North America, Australia...

You look at Brazil and the footballers who are currently playing for the Brazilian national team, most of these footballers had a very bad childhood. If you look at the past lives of most footballers, you will see that all these footballers played football barefoot, did not get proper food or did not have the money to train at a good club, but these things did not stop them, instead they have now become the best footballers in the world. The love for football that the Brazilian people have and the dream of becoming a footballer from childhood is not the same as the thinking among young Italian boys, which is why we do not see any young footballers playing for Italy. If this continues, then Italian football will definitely be under threat. I think Italy should run a special campaign to protect football and create a new love for football among young people.

Brazil, and South America in general, always had players coming from a poor childhood, it's no news. What is news is the level of the Brazilian team now is probably at an all time low (like Italy). I don't know if you are one of those Vinicius or Rodrygo fans but, for me, players like them are just very average for Brazil. It has nothing to do with the love for football because I guess Brazilian people still love football and yet their national team is very bad. Right now the star is supposed to be Vinicius, a player that is not even worth Ronaldo's or Ronaldinho's arm (a foot would be too much).

[Sithara007]

Yeah, Italy is going through some serious demographic crisis currently. In 2024, there were only 370,000 births in Italy with the birth rate hitting a record low of 1.18, which is the lowest since 1861. At the same time, immigration is also rising as more than 5 million foreigners are residing in Italy. However, the immigrants are contributing positively towards the Italian football as they bring some fresh energy and ambitions with them. Thus, as the birth rate is dropping down, the gap is being filled by the huge inflow of hardworking and ambitious immigrants. It is a complicated problem, and one of the solutions can be promoting the acceptance in diversity of culture.

There are millions of immigrants in Italy, but the impact on sports is quite limited. Actually they should do more to attract ethnic Italians from Latin America and other regions. There are 25 to 30 million ethnic Italians (including Lionel Messi) in Argentina. There are another 32 million in Brazil. Remember that the total population of Italy is just 59 million. An influx of these Italians can go a long way in alleviating the demographic troubles, as well as to boost the performance of the national team in sports.

[Ale88]

Yeah, Italy is going through some serious demographic crisis currently. In 2024, there were only 370,000 births in Italy with the birth rate hitting a record low of 1.18, which is the lowest since 1861. At the same time, immigration is also rising as more than 5 million foreigners are residing in Italy. However, the immigrants are contributing positively towards the Italian football as they bring some fresh energy and ambitions with them. Thus, as the birth rate is dropping down, the gap is being filled by the huge inflow of hardworking and ambitious immigrants. It is a complicated problem, and one of the solutions can be promoting the acceptance in diversity of culture.

There are millions of immigrants in Italy, but the impact on sports is quite limited. Actually they should do more to attract ethnic Italians from Latin America and other regions. There are 25 to 30 million ethnic Italians (including Lionel Messi) in Argentina. There are another 32 million in Brazil. Remember that the total population of Italy is just 59 million. An influx of these Italians can go a long way in alleviating the demographic troubles, as well as to boost the performance of the national team in sports.

I really don't understand why you guys think that Italy has a problem with the number of people: between 1982 and 2006 Italy have always been one of the best teams in the world, during those 24 years we won 2 World Cup and we lost the final against Brazil in 1994 and the Italian population was more or less the same. Do we have a demographic decline? Yes, but it doesn't happen overnight. In football, just like in life, there are cycles, for years we had many incredible players and now we don't, hopefully in the future things will change but the solution for sure is not bringing foreign people with the hope that someone will be a great football player, it doesn't make sense.

[Sithara007]

I really don't understand why you guys think that Italy has a problem with the number of people: between 1982 and 2006 Italy have always been one of the best teams in the world, during those 24 years we won 2 World Cup and we lost the final against Brazil in 1994 and the Italian population was more or less the same. Do we have a demographic decline? Yes, but it doesn't happen overnight. In football, just like in life, there are cycles, for years we had many incredible players and now we don't, hopefully in the future things will change but the solution for sure is not bringing foreign people with the hope that someone will be a great football player, it doesn't make sense.

I wasn't saying that Italy need more migration. I was saying that rather than taking migrants from the Maghreb and Sub-Saharan Africa, they can prioritize the ones from Argentina and Brazil. Also, total population might have remained the same between 1980 and 2025, but the population by different age groups have changed drastically. Now those in the 50-60 age group constitute the most populous group. Younger generations are getting smaller with each passing year.

[Ale88]

I really don't understand why you guys think that Italy has a problem with the number of people: between 1982 and 2006 Italy have always been one of the best teams in the world, during those 24 years we won 2 World Cup and we lost the final against Brazil in 1994 and the Italian population was more or less the same. Do we have a demographic decline? Yes, but it doesn't happen overnight. In football, just like in life, there are cycles, for years we had many incredible players and now we don't, hopefully in the future things will change but the solution for sure is not bringing foreign people with the hope that someone will be a great football player, it doesn't make sense.

I wasn't saying that Italy need more migration. I was saying that rather than taking migrants from the Maghreb and Sub-Saharan Africa, they can prioritize the ones from Argentina and Brazil. Also, total population might have remained the same between 1980 and 2025, but the population by different age groups have changed drastically. Now those in the 50-60 age group constitute the most populous group. Younger generations are getting smaller with each passing year.

I'm sorry but what do you mean by "taking migrants"? Usually a country accepts migrants from all over the world, if you migrate legally and you meet the requirements you can go wherever you want, I don't recall countries that refuse people from a specific country. In Italy there are more migrants from Northern Africa because they are closer. Many Brazilians and Argentinians have Italian passport, that's true, but not everybody is willing to emigrate on the other side of the world in a country that has never seen before, without speaking the language, and where the jobs are not paid very well. If they want to emigrate they can, if they don't do it is because they don't want to, that's why I was saying that you don't really get to choose from where you get the people, you can just decide whether they meet the requirements or not.

[Lidger]

As Italian I am extremely pissed off with the current situation but every big team had its bad periods in history, there is not a single team that has been getting results for 50-60 years in a row, it's simply not possible, things change, just like there are golden generations there also are bad generations, it's like a wheel. National teams, clubs, it doesn't matter, it's like that for everyone.

Yes, every team has its ups and downs, but I think Italy is a completely different story. Other teams have good players and sometimes they perform poorly, but I don't see any good players in Italy at the moment, and I don't see any talent in any of the players who will lead or represent the Italian team in the future. This is certainly a concern for Italian fans. A team never wants to perform badly, so there is no doubt that Italy is not trying to make their team the best again. We all hope that the former four-time World Cup winner Italy will return to good form, but for some reason it seems like it will take them a long time to do so.

[Ale88]

As Italian I am extremely pissed off with the current situation but every big team had its bad periods in history, there is not a single team that has been getting results for 50-60 years in a row, it's simply not possible, things change, just like there are golden generations there also are bad generations, it's like a wheel. National teams, clubs, it doesn't matter, it's like that for everyone.

Yes, every team has its ups and downs, but I think Italy is a completely different story. Other teams have good players and sometimes they perform poorly, but I don't see any good players in Italy at the moment, and I don't see any talent in any of the players who will lead or represent the Italian team in the future. This is certainly a concern for Italian fans. A team never wants to perform badly, so there is no doubt that Italy is not trying to make their team the best again. We all hope that the former four-time World Cup winner Italy will return to good form, but for some reason it seems like it will take them a long time to do so.

I totally agree that we don't have a great team compared to what we used to have, the biggest problem is that we have some very good players in certain roles and we totally lack good players in others. We have Donnarumma which is currently the best goalkeeper in the world (or at least top 3), as central defenders there are Bastoni and Calafiori, as left back Dimarco; as midfielders Barella and Tonali. These are the first ones that came to my mind. Are they as good as Buffon, Maldini, Cannavaro, Pirlo, etc? Of course not, but still they are above average. The biggest problem is the striker, which is not a news.

[DaNNy001]

I totally agree that we don't have a great team compared to what we used to have, the biggest problem is that we have some very good players in certain roles and we totally lack good players in others. We have Donnarumma which is currently the best goalkeeper in the world (or at least top 3), as central defenders there are Bastoni and Calafiori, as left back Dimarco; as midfielders Barella and Tonali. These are the first ones that came to my mind. Are they as good as Buffon, Maldini, Cannavaro, Pirlo, etc? Of course not, but still they are above average. The biggest problem is the striker, which is not a news.

Sometimes when I see the Italian team line up for their games it makes me wonder what really happened, the thing is that even all these players you mentioned for me apart from the likes of Donnarumma and barella who still isn't up the class of being in the old Italian team I don't think I can pick out any other player that's world class standard and as for the strikers that's just a different case entirely, I mean Italy use to be the core heart of strike with the likes of players like Totti, ballotelli, del piero and so many deadly striker even immobile who was looking like a prospect couldn't live up to expectations.

[pewboy]

Unfortunately, as an Italian, i also agree with Ale88, the times when Italy could play good football are really over due to many factors, i see kids who play more with their cell phones than with the ball
in this context we will always get worse

These are just poor excuses. Addiction to the mobile phones (especially among the teenagers and pre-teens) have reduced physical activity all around the world. But in Europe, the education system is still putting a lot of focus on physical activity, unlike some of the East Asian nations such as South Korea or Taiwan. I would say that population ageing is the main reason, and that is why the European teams are going down, and countries with a very youthful population such as Uzbekistan and Jordan are entering the world cup for the first time ever.

We have to be patient, another generation will return. In Italy, football can be felt at all ages. It's normal that there will be a rebirth of Italian football, and when it returns, it will be devastating. We just have to wait for the new generations to come up and explode.

[Ale88]

I totally agree that we don't have a great team compared to what we used to have, the biggest problem is that we have some very good players in certain roles and we totally lack good players in others. We have Donnarumma which is currently the best goalkeeper in the world (or at least top 3), as central defenders there are Bastoni and Calafiori, as left back Dimarco; as midfielders Barella and Tonali. These are the first ones that came to my mind. Are they as good as Buffon, Maldini, Cannavaro, Pirlo, etc? Of course not, but still they are above average. The biggest problem is the striker, which is not a news.

Sometimes when I see the Italian team line up for their games it makes me wonder what really happened, the thing is that even all these players you mentioned for me apart from the likes of Donnarumma and barella who still isn't up the class of being in the old Italian team I don't think I can pick out any other player that's world class standard and as for the strikers that's just a different case entirely, I mean Italy use to be the core heart of strike with the likes of players like Totti, ballotelli, del piero and so many deadly striker even immobile who was looking like a prospect couldn't live up to expectations.

Which today's players can be really considered world class compared to 20 years ago? Very few. Just take a look at the Golden Ball list from the '90s and '00s and compare it with today's list: 20 years ago you had at least 10 different players who could win the throphy, now is difficult to find one. Ousmane Dembelé is the main candidate. Ousmane Dembelé. 20 years ago a player like him would maybe play the last 10 minutes of a game the team was already winning, today he is seen as one of the best players in the world. The general level dropped for everyone, for some teams more than others.

What do you think about Brazil? Do you think they have world class players? Would you pick Vinicius Jr over Ronaldo? Rodrygo over Rivaldo? Raphinha over Ronaldinho?

[Sithara007]

We have to be patient, another generation will return. In Italy, football can be felt at all ages. It's normal that there will be a rebirth of Italian football, and when it returns, it will be devastating. We just have to wait for the new generations to come up and explode.

Well.. I seriously doubt that. Physical activity is not very popular with the young generation, and that is the case all over the world. Here in India, there are two main reasons why this happens. First of all, the cost for mobile data has come down sharply, making social media more accessible to everyone. And the second reason is that it is quite hard nowadays to find open areas where kids can play football or cricket. Most of the open areas have been converted to concrete jungle during the last two decades.

[Hvdv]

We have to be patient, another generation will return. In Italy, football can be felt at all ages. It's normal that there will be a rebirth of Italian football, and when it returns, it will be devastating. We just have to wait for the new generations to come up and explode.

Well.. I seriously doubt that. Physical activity is not very popular with the young generation, and that is the case all over the world. Here in India, there are two main reasons why this happens. First of all, the cost for mobile data has come down sharply, making social media more accessible to everyone. And the second reason is that it is quite hard nowadays to find open areas where kids can play football or cricket. Most of the open areas have been converted to concrete jungle during the last two decades.

I don't know the situation in India, but we can say the same for Turkey. Children are given too much latitude, and social media has made them unable to leave their computers or tablets behind. We really need to encourage children to engage in physical sports like we used to. When we were kids, we used to play football in the streets. Now, we don't see children playing football in the streets anymore; we see them playing. Football will always have a future because there are private schools for it, but to create a better future for children, we need to provide them with these freedoms.

[retreat]

I really don't understand why you guys think that Italy has a problem with the number of people: between 1982 and 2006 Italy have always been one of the best teams in the world, during those 24 years we won 2 World Cup and we lost the final against Brazil in 1994 and the Italian population was more or less the same. Do we have a demographic decline? Yes, but it doesn't happen overnight. In football, just like in life, there are cycles, for years we had many incredible players and now we don't, hopefully in the future things will change but the solution for sure is not bringing foreign people with the hope that someone will be a great football player, it doesn't make sense.

Yes, the main problem lies in the football ecosystem, which has not been managed well from the start. During Italy's prime, they had a strong foundation, such as academies, state-of-the-art stadiums, and a domestic league that was among the best in the world. However, over time, the Italian football ecosystem has failed to develop. Many stadiums are old and outdated, while many clubs struggle financially and cannot produce talented young players. Furthermore, a problematic federation has not created a positive environment for Italian football. All of these issues have accumulated and directly impacted the performance of Italian clubs at the european level and the Italian national team itself. If only the Italian federation and clubs had done a better job of maintaining the foundations they built during their glory days, perhaps the problems would not be as complex as they are now.

[GigaBit]

As Italian I am extremely pissed off with the current situation but every big team had its bad periods in history, there is not a single team that has been getting results for 50-60 years in a row, it's simply not possible, things change, just like there are golden generations there also are bad generations, it's like a wheel. National teams, clubs, it doesn't matter, it's like that for everyone.

Yes, every team has its ups and downs, but I think Italy is a completely different story. Other teams have good players and sometimes they perform poorly, but I don't see any good players in Italy at the moment, and I don't see any talent in any of the players who will lead or represent the Italian team in the future. This is certainly a concern for Italian fans. A team never wants to perform badly, so there is no doubt that Italy is not trying to make their team the best again. We all hope that the former four-time World Cup winner Italy will return to good form, but for some reason it seems like it will take them a long time to do so.

Italy has a good history in football, so I hope the team will definitely rise again. Looking at the recent performance, it may not be what the fans had expected from this team. Generally, people around the world know that Italy plays well in defense, but if they are only defensive, it is difficult to compete in football. If the defense and attack cannot be properly coordinated, then the game will never be won. There is no great hope for Italy at the moment, but in the long run, I believe that the team will be able to turn again.

[pewboy]

Yes, the main problem lies in the football ecosystem, which has not been managed well from the start. During Italy's prime, they had a strong foundation, such as academies, state-of-the-art stadiums, and a domestic league that was among the best in the world. However, over time, the Italian football ecosystem has failed to develop. Many stadiums are old and outdated, while many clubs struggle financially and cannot produce talented young players. Furthermore, a problematic federation has not created a positive environment for Italian football. All of these issues have accumulated and directly impacted the performance of Italian clubs at the european level and the Italian national team itself. If only the Italian federation and clubs had done a better job of maintaining the foundations they built during their glory days, perhaps the problems would not be as complex as they are now.

I actually think there are other problems in competing to create an ecosystem that doesn't reward talent, i don't think its just due to the population
I also think that there are fewer young people who throw themselves into sport
I also think that in other countries hunger and poverty make people dream of football because of the big money, so they put more effort into it.