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

[giorgione]

Brazil's defeat to Bolivia suggests that Brazil's current form is no longer the dominant one of previous years, characterized by high creativity and exceptional player skill. They now appear too rigid and tend to resemble the playing style of European teams. Coupled with Ancelotti's ineffective strategy, Brazil's performance has fallen short of expectations. This is quite disappointing, especially for those accustomed to watching the Brazilian national team perform brilliantly, and now they appear to have lost their style and are playing without a soul.

I don't think that if they had called up the other players who were discarded the result would have been so different, let's remember that the game that Ancelotti is proposing is the best in the world today, it's the same one with which he won many Champions Leagues, then I won't have a say in the technical choices

[cande86]

Did you watch yesterday's match between Norway and Moldova? In my opinion, it was a very exciting match because Norway scored a lot of goals. Norway won against Moldova with a score of 11-1. We saw that the Norwegian players played really well, which ultimately made it difficult for Moldova to break through Norway's defense. Of course, the player who scored the most goals against Moldova was Haaland, who netted 5 goals and provided 2 assists. He performed exceptionally well and consistently capitalized on opportunities, which ultimately enabled Norway to score numerous goals against Moldova.

Erling Haaland is a beast in front of the goal post he makes efficient use of his size to intimidate defenders at every goal given opportunity he has.

Contributing five goals in Norway 11-1 victory on Moldova Haaland now has scored a total of 310 goals in 378 games in all competitions, and 48 goals in 45 games for his own country. No way this isn't amazing goal ratio.

With Haaland performance in this Norwegian team they will be a squad to watch in the world cup tournament cause they proving to be a strong team that can play against any opponent  and overshadow them.

That's an interesting performance goal scored in a single match, Erling Haaland is indeed a good striker and a goal scoring machine both for his country and the club side, even when during his stay at Borussia Dortmund to current stay at Manchester city, Haaland has never slept in the front of the goal, his a very active striker when it comes to scoring goals, and always in a hungry for goals.

I'm always amazed by this guy, every time he amazes me, he's truly a goal machine, he's scored so many, and it seemed like he didn't want to stop, impressive.
I read an interview where they said he apologized to the goalkeeper but he was asked to score so much because of the goal difference with Italy.

[KTChampions]

Magnificent Erling Holland score 9 goals as Norway is having 24 goals in 5 games with 15 points clearly indicating their spot into FIFA World Cup 2026 their next game is against Israel at home with this having game against Italy is also challenging but most chances they will be gone directly into main round.

Italy is also doing good under new coach Gattuso they score 10 goals in 2 games, but their consistency is till questionable with their defense also needed to be had something proven they conceded 4 goals against Israel which is surely problem for them against big teams. After losing last 2 Word Cups again they are hanging into balance but if they are able to keep this momentum surely they will be able to have spot into main round of FIFA World Cup but currently stopping Norway is looking not possible for any team.

The Modova goalkeeper said that after each goal Haaland apologised and said that they just needed a good goal difference 
Considering that Norway already has a 3-0 win over Italy in the first game, and overall goal difference for Norway is +21, for Italy +5 it is difficult to imagine that Italy, even if they win the return match, will be able to take first place. I wonder who they'll play in the losers' playoff. It would be inexplicable if Italy missed a third World Cup in a row.

[bitgolden]

Brazil's defeat to Bolivia suggests that Brazil's current form is no longer the dominant one of previous years, characterized by high creativity and exceptional player skill. They now appear too rigid and tend to resemble the playing style of European teams. Coupled with Ancelotti's ineffective strategy, Brazil's performance has fallen short of expectations. This is quite disappointing, especially for those accustomed to watching the Brazilian national team perform brilliantly, and now they appear to have lost their style and are playing without a soul.

The players do not care about winning, they do not care about their national team anymore, that is their problem. They are making huge sums of money from their clubs, and they do not want to get injured in the national team like Neymar did and then cause their career spiral downwards so they do not care, specially in games that do not matter.

It is obvious that Brazil has enough points to go to World Cup and we know that already, and there will be a few more games which they will win and do fine, but the points gap to downwards is huge so they do not really need to have anything that is crazy, like they would need to lose all their games and Bolivia would need to win all, that's not going to happen. Long story short, players just let the game be, and not care.

[hosemary]

It is obvious that Brazil has enough points to go to World Cup and we know that already, and there will be a few more games which they will win and do fine, but the points gap to downwards is huge so they do not really need to have anything that is crazy, like they would need to lose all their games and Bolivia would need to win all, that's not going to happen.

Brazil losing all their matches and Bolivia winning all? What matches are you talking about?

CONMEBOL qualification matches for 2026 FIFA world cup has ended and there will be no more matches.
Brazil qualified for the 2026 world cup as the 5th placed team and Bolivia will play the inter-confederation play-offs.

[retreat]

Brazil losing all their matches and Bolivia winning all? What matches are you talking about?

CONMEBOL qualification matches for 2026 FIFA world cup has ended and there will be no more matches.
Brazil qualified for the 2026 world cup as the 5th placed team and Bolivia will play the inter-confederation play-offs.

Brazil has indeed been confirmed as having qualified for the 2026 World Cup, but this is their lowest qualifying position due to their inconsistent performance. But at least they still have a chance to compete in the next World Cup. Although we can't be entirely sure whether they will perform as well as they did in the next World Cup, at least they still have time to improve their shortcomings, so there's still hope that they can advance to the next round, although I'm not so sure they can reach the higher rounds.

[Hispo]

I don't know if I am the only one, but it seems quite surreal to me Venezuela was not even able to get a seat for the next world cup, having so many chances and the COMEBOL getting even more slots for teams for this world cup cycle. It almost seems as of Venezuela and it's team had some curse upon them, which won't allow them to get closer to the world cup or something.

I don't know, perhaps I am just over-thingking it too much or I am being superstitious about it, but at this point of history it seems odd our team has not been able to quality for so much time and after so many opportunities.

What do you guys think?

[hyudien]

Brazil has indeed been confirmed as having qualified for the 2026 World Cup, but this is their lowest qualifying position due to their inconsistent performance. But at least they still have a chance to compete in the next World Cup. Although we can't be entirely sure whether they will perform as well as they did in the next World Cup, at least they still have time to improve their shortcomings, so there's still hope that they can advance to the next round, although I'm not so sure they can reach the higher rounds.

I personally believe that Brazil can perform well in the upcoming World Cup. I have my reasons, because since Ancelotti took over, their game has improved compared to before. I saw this in the match against Chile and their defeat against Bolivia. It was completely a clever tactic from Bolivia because they chose a high-altitude stadium to tire the Brazilian players due to the lack of oxygen. I think Brazil lost because of the air conditions there.

[$weetne$$]

Brazil has indeed been confirmed as having qualified for the 2026 World Cup, but this is their lowest qualifying position due to their inconsistent performance. But at least they still have a chance to compete in the next World Cup. Although we can't be entirely sure whether they will perform as well as they did in the next World Cup, at least they still have time to improve their shortcomings, so there's still hope that they can advance to the next round, although I'm not so sure they can reach the higher rounds.

Their qualifications may have come in narrowly due to their few inconsistencies and their small drifts around while playing  for the qualification but most importantly they will be at the world cup which automatically avails then the chances to probably make up for all of the other they did during  the qualifications, but we cannot say we are only  hope and they have mostly found talents in their squad so the least we expect of them is somewhere past the knockout in the world cup.

[KTChampions]

How did Italy get to this point:

Norway - 1.39

Italy - 2.67

These are the bookmakers' opinions on who will win Group I. Theoretically, Italy could win all their remaining games (including the return game against Norway) and equal the points tally of first place (Norway). But according to the regulations, the first additional indicator taken into account is the difference between goals scored and goals conceded. Now Norway has +21 and Italy has +5... apparently in the next games against Israel and Modova Italy will try very hard to score as many as possible.

[Ruttoshi]

How did Italy get to this point:

Norway - 1.39

Italy - 2.67

These are the bookmakers' opinions on who will win Group I. Theoretically, Italy could win all their remaining games (including the return game against Norway) and equal the points tally of first place (Norway). But according to the regulations, the first additional indicator taken into account is the difference between goals scored and goals conceded. Now Norway has +21 and Italy has +5... apparently in the next games against Israel and Modova Italy will try very hard to score as many as possible.

It will be impossible for Italy to score many goals to the point that their goals will be the same with that of Norway because +21 goals difference is a big number. This is the main reason why Norway is put as the country to finish on the first position in Group I.

The only way for Italy to take over the first position from Norway is if they win all the rest of their matches and that's not possible because they will clash with Norway who looks stronger than them on the pitch. Italy have really lost their pace in the world cup in recent of times. Something needs to be done in order to improve the team performance.

[imamusma]

~~

It will be impossible for Italy to score many goals to the point that their goals will be the same with that of Norway because +21 goals difference is a big number. This is the main reason why Norway is put as the country to finish on the first position in Group I.

The only way for Italy to take over the first position from Norway is if they win all the rest of their matches and that's not possible because they will clash with Norway who looks stronger than them on the pitch. Italy have really lost their pace in the world cup in recent of times. Something needs to be done in order to improve the team performance.

In any case, Italy should at least be able to finish as the runner up in Group I and continue their journey through the playoffs to secure a spot in the upcoming 2026 World Cup. Most likely, Norway will successfully finish as group winners, they have been impressive and are undefeated so far.
Overall, Italy chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup are still open, even though they have to go through a tough path to achieve it. Despite being underestimated by many, Gattuso is slowly leading the Italian national team revival.

[Fuso.hp]

Brazil's defeat to Bolivia suggests that Brazil's current form is no longer the dominant one of previous years, characterized by high creativity and exceptional player skill. They now appear too rigid and tend to resemble the playing style of European teams. Coupled with Ancelotti's ineffective strategy, Brazil's performance has fallen short of expectations. This is quite disappointing, especially for those accustomed to watching the Brazilian national team perform brilliantly, and now they appear to have lost their style and are playing without a soul.

I don't consider Brazil losing this match a big deal. The players are used to playing in European conditions but the Bolivian field is located at a high altitude where it is very difficult for any country other than the locals to breathe normally. It is difficult for any team to beat Bolivia on that field, even after adapting to the climate of that country and having difficulty breathing. If the match between Bolivia and Brazil had been played on any other field than the Bolivian field, Brazil would have definitely beaten Bolivia. After the performance of this match, the manager will not want to select any player but rather Carlo Ancelotti will rely on the players based on how they perform on the natural field.

[DaNNy001]

Brazil's defeat to Bolivia suggests that Brazil's current form is no longer the dominant one of previous years, characterized by high creativity and exceptional player skill. They now appear too rigid and tend to resemble the playing style of European teams. Coupled with Ancelotti's ineffective strategy, Brazil's performance has fallen short of expectations. This is quite disappointing, especially for those accustomed to watching the Brazilian national team perform brilliantly, and now they appear to have lost their style and are playing without a soul.

I don't think that if they had called up the other players who were discarded the result would have been so different, let's remember that the game that Ancelotti is proposing is the best in the world today, it's the same one with which he won many Champions Leagues, then I won't have a say in the technical choices

The results is given so I think anceloti actually made the right decision and I don't get should have made other wise.  There are some players that would have been added to team that would have made everything different and just like you said ancelloti is a well experienced coach and all the choices he made can definitely make that team a whole lot better than the disgrace they pull off as Brazil team.

[AmoreJaz]

Brazil has indeed been confirmed as having qualified for the 2026 World Cup, but this is their lowest qualifying position due to their inconsistent performance. But at least they still have a chance to compete in the next World Cup. Although we can't be entirely sure whether they will perform as well as they did in the next World Cup, at least they still have time to improve their shortcomings, so there's still hope that they can advance to the next round, although I'm not so sure they can reach the higher rounds.

Their qualifications may have come in narrowly due to their few inconsistencies and their small drifts around while playing  for the qualification but most importantly they will be at the world cup which automatically avails then the chances to probably make up for all of the other they did during  the qualifications, but we cannot say we are only  hope and they have mostly found talents in their squad so the least we expect of them is somewhere past the knockout in the world cup.

That's their chance to prepare and aim for the much coveted trophy. They still have time to practice and train for their athletes. Being qualified is already a big feat for most, but for Brazil, it is like their starting point. So hopefully, they won't waste their chances on this upcoming World Cup. They need to revisit the recent performances and see where they can rectify and improve. This will give them a very good advantage in their upcoming matches. If they will work together and show their harmonious relationship with each other, I would say, they have very good chance to get that trophy.

[KTChampions]

How did Italy get to this point:

Norway - 1.39

Italy - 2.67

These are the bookmakers' opinions on who will win Group I. Theoretically, Italy could win all their remaining games (including the return game against Norway) and equal the points tally of first place (Norway). But according to the regulations, the first additional indicator taken into account is the difference between goals scored and goals conceded. Now Norway has +21 and Italy has +5... apparently in the next games against Israel and Modova Italy will try very hard to score as many as possible.

It will be impossible for Italy to score many goals to the point that their goals will be the same with that of Norway because +21 goals difference is a big number. This is the main reason why Norway is put as the country to finish on the first position in Group I.

The only way for Italy to take over the first position from Norway is if they win all the rest of their matches and that's not possible because they will clash with Norway who looks stronger than them on the pitch. Italy have really lost their pace in the world cup in recent of times. Something needs to be done in order to improve the team performance.

There are theoretical chances. Norway scored 11 goals in the game with Moldova. If Italy repeats their result, Italy will have +16. This is still much less than Norway, but a personal meeting is good because by winning you worsen the statistics of the opponent and improve yours at the same time. This is probably why bookmakers still leave quite tangible chances for Italy, around 30%. The problem for Italy is that Norway has prepared in advance (as we saw in the game with Moldova) and is taking into account all options.

[Adbitco]

FIFA is set to scrap the October international break as from next year according to the news. It's said that FIFA will have to blend the September and October breaks together, this will mean a 3 weeks break from club football as players will be on duty for their various countries and play 4 different matches in this 3 weeks. I think I prefer this even, instead of going on break in September and October as they have been doing. Now it's going to be just one break for a period of 3 weeks.

[coinlocket$]

One more reason to dislike the worl cup even more.
From the next season for atleast 4 years they will change the breaks from the national leagues.
At the moment we have 2 weeks break between september to December.

From the next season the breaks will be of 3 weeks.

 

[verdinio]

Brazil's defeat to Bolivia suggests that Brazil's current form is no longer the dominant one of previous years, characterized by high creativity and exceptional player skill. They now appear too rigid and tend to resemble the playing style of European teams. Coupled with Ancelotti's ineffective strategy, Brazil's performance has fallen short of expectations. This is quite disappointing, especially for those accustomed to watching the Brazilian national team perform brilliantly, and now they appear to have lost their style and are playing without a soul.

I don't think that if they had called up the other players who were discarded the result would have been so different, let's remember that the game that Ancelotti is proposing is the best in the world today, it's the same one with which he won many Champions Leagues, then I won't have a say in the technical choices

The results is given so I think anceloti actually made the right decision and I don't get should have made other wise.  There are some players that would have been added to team that would have made everything different and just like you said ancelloti is a well experienced coach and all the choices he made can definitely make that team a whole lot better than the disgrace they pull off as Brazil team.

Yes, that's true, I agree with you. I also think that Ancelotti is doing his best to bring Brazil back to a very high level and he can easily succeed. I understand that many fans are used to seeing the same players but they have to accept the fact that there are players who deserve the national team more than Neymar or others.

[ShowOff]

-

Their qualifications may have come in narrowly due to their few inconsistencies and their small drifts around while playing  for the qualification but most importantly they will be at the world cup which automatically avails then the chances to probably make up for all of the other they did during  the qualifications, but we cannot say we are only  hope and they have mostly found talents in their squad so the least we expect of them is somewhere past the knockout in the world cup.

That's their chance to prepare and aim for the much coveted trophy. They still have time to practice and train for their athletes. Being qualified is already a big feat for most, but for Brazil, it is like their starting point. So hopefully, they won't waste their chances on this upcoming World Cup. They need to revisit the recent performances and see where they can rectify and improve. This will give them a very good advantage in their upcoming matches. If they will work together and show their harmonious relationship with each other, I would say, they have very good chance to get that trophy.

In my opinion, Ancelotti has the ability to restore Brazil to its true form, a team that is always a favorite at every World Cup event. However, Brazil playing style might change slightly to fit Ancelotti preferences. Meanwhile, the loss to Bolivia is understandable, as Ancelotti appeared to rotate most of his key players and give a chance to the second string players.

I am confident that over time, Ancelotti will succeed in improving the quality of the Brazilian national team in various aspects. With the squad depth he has, Ancelotti will eventually be able to do his job well. I hope that in the future, players like Neymar will get a chance to return to the squad, and it seems that Ancelotti will call him back.