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

[Uruhara]

It was a bad day for Portugal but that's football the big teams don't win all the time. Portugal will win Armenia and qualify for the world cup that's for sure. The only thing that got me worried is Cristiano Ronaldo elbowing his opponent. It wasn't necessary it was something that should have been avoided. Ronaldo should have understood that his behaviour was going to put his team mate in danger and should have just tolerated the player than hurting him the way he did. Ronaldo needs to work on his anger issues before the world cup.

Of course, we can't always expect Portugal to win every game. They are bound to suffer a few defeats among their many victories. And well, that's just how soccer is. Even the favorites can sometimes fall in unexpected ways.

Yesterday's match was no exception. Portugal lost in a way I found unexpected. Despite dominating the game, it was Ireland who managed to score the goal. What concerns me is that Cristiano Ronaldo ended up receiving a red card for the foul he committed. And well, that's quite unfortunate, though we're no longer surprised by Cristiano Ronaldo's behavior, which can sometimes be like this.

[*Ace*]

We can already say that Group I is now decided. Even a hypothetical victory for Italy against Norway would not change the order in the standings! Unless Italy wins by at least 9 goals! Highly unlikely, given how easily they beat their opponents! Mamma mia, we are really in a bad way when it comes to the national football team...

The final match, which is very decisive, can be said to be the final match for a direct ticket to the 2026 World Cup between Italy and Norway. To qualify, Italy must win by a margin of more than 3 goals. This is certainly a very difficult task for Italy. If it were the Norway of the past, it might be easy. But Norway is now a strong team with Erling Haaland and players from Arsenal such as Odegaard.

I don't think they will take into account the goal difference between the two matches between Italy and Norway, but the total goal difference counts, and currently Norway has a goal difference of +29 and Italy +12.
So a 3-0 win for Italy would not be much use, as Norway would remain in first place.

[Son Of Blockchain (SOB)]

It was a bad day for Portugal but that's football the big teams don't win all the time. Portugal will win Armenia and qualify for the world cup that's for sure. The only thing that got me worried is Cristiano Ronaldo elbowing his opponent. It wasn't necessary it was something that should have been avoided. Ronaldo should have understood that his behaviour was going to put his team mate in danger and should have just tolerated the player than hurting him the way he did. Ronaldo needs to work on his anger issues before the world cup.

Of course, we can't always expect Portugal to win every game. They are bound to suffer a few defeats among their many victories. And well, that's just how soccer is. Even the favorites can sometimes fall in unexpected ways.

Yesterday's match was no exception. Portugal lost in a way I found unexpected. Despite dominating the game, it was Ireland who managed to score the goal. What concerns me is that Cristiano Ronaldo ended up receiving a red card for the foul he committed. And well, that's quite unfortunate, though we're no longer surprised by Cristiano Ronaldo's behavior, which can sometimes be like this.

I expected someone like Ronaldo to be very professional in handling situations like that, someone of his profile should be able to control his anger and not let it over clout him cause eyes are always on him and anything he does would always be on the media, well I don't know if what he did was an act of revenge or a mistake but he should be careful, he should've learnt from the experience of Zidane.
 Well the lose would definitely be a painful one to the Portuguese team cause they couldn't even score a goal, this should let them know that they're not invincible so they shouldn't underate any country.

[JeffBrad12]

It was a bad day for Portugal but that's football the big teams don't win all the time. Portugal will win Armenia and qualify for the world cup that's for sure. The only thing that got me worried is Cristiano Ronaldo elbowing his opponent. It wasn't necessary it was something that should have been avoided. Ronaldo should have understood that his behaviour was going to put his team mate in danger and should have just tolerated the player than hurting him the way he did. Ronaldo needs to work on his anger issues before the world cup.

Ronaldo was obviously out of control. It's hard to control the emotion when you're seeing your team went down 2-0. Meanwhile, your team only needs one win in order to get direct qualification to the 2026 WC. I'm not trying to justified Ronaldo's arrogant act, but it's a common thing in the humanity.
You have always intention to win when your nation really needs it. So it's common thing when a player like him would be doing everything in order to fulfill the target.

It's a pressure received by him as a football player who played for his nation.

[babo]

I don't think they will take into account the goal difference between the two matches between Italy and Norway, but the total goal difference counts, and currently Norway has a goal difference of +29 and Italy +12.
So a 3-0 win for Italy would not be much use, as Norway would remain in first place.

yes but even if we go through to the next round, using luck, a favorable wind and friendly referees, next time we're out
we are without a team
and we have poor players

Our time is over now, the time of the Italy of the 4 World Cups, they all take foreign players and not Italians, the foreign ones grow in skill and not the Italians
we're screwed, before we start we're already finished

[SuperBitMan]

Nigeria perform very well yesterday I was really impressed by their performance it shows they are determined to be in the 2026 world cup all they need to do is to be more consistent and play with more passion, I was even thinking they will not perform very well because of the issue they were having with their country they were complaining that they have not paid them their allowances and because of that they did not train for a particular day they were suppose to train two times before the match but because of the incident they only trained once and they still delivered very well, victor osimhen is doing very well for Nigeria he has proven himself to Nigeria he is one of the best striker in the world and with him Nigeria will surely qualify for the 2026 world cup.

[Volgastallion]

What a goal missed from Osimeh yesterday if they dont ended up winning that game i dont know what can happen to him or his family in Nigeria, i know this sound weird but we know in third world countries bad things can happens for this kind of things.

Aside of that what a disaster from Cameroon having such a good team and when Africa receive more places than ever for WC. What a failure.

[cande86]

The match result was quite disappointing. From this match, we can see that a defensive and counter-attacking strategy can sometimes be very effective when facing a strong attacking opponent. Waiting for the opponent to be caught off guard in the defensive line and then launching a counter-attack is indeed very effective. In this match, although Portugal controlled more of the ball and had more attacks, they failed to penetrate Ireland's quite solid defense. This was because Ireland focused their strength on defense and launched attacks when they had the opportunity. And that succeeded in leading them to victory against a team that was actually heavily favored in this match. It was unfortunate that Cristiano Ronaldo received a red card. But Portugal will fight better in the next match, even without Cristiano Ronaldo.

Cristiano Ronaldo was completely overwhelmed by all the people's expectations and when you are under too much pressure you risk making mistakes like the ones Cris made.
I think he's still a great player but it's easy for him to lose his head right now

[Franctoshi]

The match result was quite disappointing. From this match, we can see that a defensive and counter-attacking strategy can sometimes be very effective when facing a strong attacking opponent. Waiting for the opponent to be caught off guard in the defensive line and then launching a counter-attack is indeed very effective. In this match, although Portugal controlled more of the ball and had more attacks, they failed to penetrate Ireland's quite solid defense. This was because Ireland focused their strength on defense and launched attacks when they had the opportunity. And that succeeded in leading them to victory against a team that was actually heavily favored in this match. It was unfortunate that Cristiano Ronaldo received a red card. But Portugal will fight better in the next match, even without Cristiano Ronaldo.

Cristiano Ronaldo was completely overwhelmed by all the people's expectations and when you are under too much pressure you risk making mistakes like the ones Cris made.
I think he's still a great player but it's easy for him to lose his head right now

Almost every player face this issues of high expectations on them to perform, and we've seen many players flop in a match because of this, and Cristiano is a human being like other players and can't totally be exempted from this, there's always gonna be a time when he will feel pressured due to high expectations on him to deliver his country and coupled with his declining age, it's more reason to see him flop in a match.

[verdinio]

A frustrated GOAT. LOL. Red card and a loss. Many predicted that Portugal could win easily. But everyone was wrong; Ireland played with full spirit and worked hard. This red card will make Ronaldo miss the decisive match against Armenia. Portugal must win against Armenia if they want to qualify comfortably. If they do qualify, the suspension will continue into the first match of the group stage. Can they win and qualify? Portugal should be able to play well even without Ronaldo. There are still many other players performing well.

Ireland have certainly shown character and determination, but Portugal remains a strong team even without Ronaldo and this is a very important thing to understand if and how the future will be without him, this thing counts a lot and everyone knows it and must be certain that it will happen.

[martinom]

This really surprised me, because I thought that Portugal would win this match, or at least they would get 1 point, but it turned out that my guess was wrong, and it was Ireland who turned out to be the winner. Portugal dominated the match, but unfortunately, they didn't have a good finishing touch in this match, and they even had difficulty penetrating the penalty box. When all efforts still failed to produce a goal, Ireland surprisingly managed to get a second goal, and I think this indirectly had quite an impact on the mentality of the Portuguese players. Maybe that's why Ronaldo got a red card, as he was very frustrated because he kept failing to find the net.

What a bad luck Portugal had, I'm really sorry for them, they dominated the match and deserved to win, it's clear that these players deserved more, but it's always nice to see that a small team manages to win those matches,Now I don't know if it's bad for them but I don't think so.

[Velvet78]

Even without Ronaldo, Portugal should be just fine with beating Armenia easily. This time they are qualifying for that World Cup directly instead of extending it to playoffs. Their group is just too easy already.

But their last 2 point losses were really meaningless... Ronaldo says this is his last World Cup and naturally it is the last chance for a trophy here. Will he achieve it? I don't think so. There are more deserving teams than them.  

[Roseline492]

Now, he will miss the decisive match in the next round against Armenia.

Source: the first red card in Cristiano Ronaldo 's International career

"CR7 left Portugal with 10 men on the day they could have sealed their qualification for the 2026 World Cup" I find that part very hypocritical and coming from a goal.com admin, we know better. Yes he was red carded no doubt about that but the writing saying he left them on the day that would have sealed their qualification was a different thing entirely. Portugal was already 2 goals down and time was far going. The team itself didn't look like people that wanted to win, yes they tried but they couldn't break the Irish defense and I love how they contained Portugal. Portugal hasn't been serious in their last 2 matches and this should be a wake up call for them, because of eventually they qualify, they will be meeting far stronger teams in the WC, is this how they will play!

Can we remember when Ronaldo was sent out like this?, except we have to look into all the match one of after another because we cannot remember any recent sent out on him, given a red card to Ronaldo is another entertainment outside the match because a lot of people talk about it than even how the match was played. His elbow was intentional and he did it because of how upset he was for Ireland for wining 2:0 but the referee made it worst for him, he wasn't supposed to feel bad because win or lose they can't be moveable, they lose but are still the highest, he has done Armenia a favour.

[giorgione]

Portugal losing against Ireland isn't such a big deal, because Portugal needs a draw against Armenia in order to qualify for the World Cup.
Ronaldo got frustrated because he didn't score a goal. Getting a red card for the first time at the age of 40 playing for his national team is hilarious. I don't think that Roberto Martino is the right guy for Portugal. The Portuguese defense had problems and Martino isn't a coach, who favors defensive play. France defeating Ukraine was pretty much expected and the match was very boring. Mbappe can't stop scoring for France.

Portugal dominated the whole match and I think with or without him Portugal can do well, of course he is a player who is always very influential but for the good of the team he must let go and step aside a bit maybe he can stay there but in a much more calm manner

[Emitdama]

Even without Ronaldo, Portugal should be just fine with beating Armenia easily. This time they are qualifying for that World Cup directly instead of extending it to playoffs. Their group is just too easy already.

But their last 2 point losses were really meaningless... Ronaldo says this is his last World Cup and naturally it is the last chance for a trophy here. Will he achieve it? I don't think so. There are more deserving teams than them.  

After securing their spot into World Cup, Portugal team is doing not their best which is surely going to have impact on their rhythm and performance this is huge lost against Ireland with now their last game against Armenia at home giving them good advantage but in soccer still everything is possible and Hungary vs Ireland is also interested game.

Playing without Cristiano Ronaldo is good because this will increase their confidence and team will be gain good things for coming mega event but now time to give their best because last two games were not as their standard and this defeat and red card is surely going to be not ideal for last game which is coming in few days.

[Franklyn-wood]

What a goal missed from Osimeh yesterday if they dont ended up winning that game i dont know what can happen to him or his family in Nigeria, i know this sound weird but we know in third world countries bad things can happens for this kind of things.

Aside of that what a disaster from Cameroon having such a good team and when Africa receive more places than ever for WC. What a failure.

Did you watch the Portugal match yesterday? It was disappointing for Portugal to be defeated unexpectedly after fans were having high expectations. The Nigerian team with Gabon was disappointing playing 1-1 in a full match before they were able to score during the extract time. Congratulations to all the teams that won yesterday. Sport betting is becoming unpredictable right now and I will have to be very careful about it. Some of the matches yesterday was not appealing after all predictions.

[Solosanz]

I think it's worth to bet on Poland vs Netherlands match.

The match will held in Poland's home, all of their players are available, and their recent history is good. It just their head to head is bad, so far Poland never won in all of their match.

I know Netherlands have many high quality players, but despite having quality players, their performance aren't really impressive.

[Sexylizzy2813]

It was a bad day for Portugal but that's football the big teams don't win all the time. Portugal will win Armenia and qualify for the world cup that's for sure. The only thing that got me worried is Cristiano Ronaldo elbowing his opponent. It wasn't necessary it was something that should have been avoided. Ronaldo should have understood that his behaviour was going to put his team mate in danger and should have just tolerated the player than hurting him the way he did. Ronaldo needs to work on his anger issues before the world cup.

I don't think is just anger, C. Ronaldo easily get frustrated each time the game doesn't go his way and is bad for a player who have seen it all in the world of football, dropping an elbow on someone isn't suppose to be, like you said it wasn't necessary at all. Now let's look at this act from a different angle, what if this was the last game and if they lose or draw it will be the end of the young ones from going to the World Cup, is this how he was going to lose his cool? Who would we have blamed in all these, the players or him being the captain?
As a senior player he shouldn't always get involved with so much happening on the field of play like in a bad way, just like what happened yesterday, Ronaldo should be the bigger person not this behavior or an amateur. Sometimes be the head by directing the players on how to get things done the right way and all that, ok is this kind of act someone like Leao should copy from a big player like C. Ronaldo? To me he has lost it, that role of being a good leader has left him completely, he should just retire from the national side and you'd see how well Portugal national team would look like and you'd see how better the players will play in their next game.

[bitzizzix]

Now, he will miss the decisive match in the next round against Armenia.

Source: the first red card in Cristiano Ronaldo 's International career

"CR7 left Portugal with 10 men on the day they could have sealed their qualification for the 2026 World Cup" I find that part very hypocritical and coming from a goal.com admin, we know better. Yes he was red carded no doubt about that but the writing saying he left them on the day that would have sealed their qualification was a different thing entirely. Portugal was already 2 goals down and time was far going. The team itself didn't look like people that wanted to win, yes they tried but they couldn't break the Irish defense and I love how they contained Portugal. Portugal hasn't been serious in their last 2 matches and this should be a wake up call for them, because of eventually they qualify, they will be meeting far stronger teams in the WC, is this how they will play!

Can we remember when Ronaldo was sent out like this?, except we have to look into all the match one of after another because we cannot remember any recent sent out on him, given a red card to Ronaldo is another entertainment outside the match because a lot of people talk about it than even how the match was played. His elbow was intentional and he did it because of how upset he was for Ireland for wining 2:0 but the referee made it worst for him, he wasn't supposed to feel bad because win or lose they can't be moveable, they lose but are still the highest, he has done Armenia a favour.

It was his first red card, and I believe Ronaldo committed the foul because he was under constant physical pressure from the start of the match. Given that he was a key player for Portugal and was constantly being closely marked, physical contact was inevitable. I believe this was one of Ireland's coach Heimir Hallgrímsson's strategies, and he succeeded in provoking an emotional reaction from Ronaldo, which ultimately led to the red card.
However, the loss to Ireland was not a problem for Portugal, as they remain top of Group F.

[Distraction]

I think the only potentially competitive match today is Poland - Netherlands.

If the point gap was less than 3 points then I would say this one could be a decider for the leader. But even if Netherlands lose today it's quite hard for them to drop down from the lead.  

Because they have a goal difference of 19 while it's only 6 for Poland now. I think there is no way this gap would be closed even if the winner becomes Poland today.