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

[pusaka]

I don't think Cristiano Ronaldo will play the full World Cup and won't necessarily play every match due to his age. His presence is crucial for the Portuguese national team, even though he won't play the full match. His experience and influence in the dressing room are crucial in motivating the Portuguese squad to perform well. This will be Cristiano Ronaldo's last World Cup, and of course, his greatest hope is to win the World Cup to complete his professional career.

That's a very realistic thing considering his age, even if we look now, he also doesn't always play at Al Nassr, at least in Asian competitions, he focuses more on the league. And I think it's also related to his age that as long as this match can still be without him, then the Al Nassr coach will not play him.

In the World Cup we don't know if he will continue to play or not, but clearly the coach still believes in him. Maybe he'll play but not full-time and that's according to the needs of the team too, so the coach will decide, and I don't think there's any pressure whether he should play or not.

[tbterryboy]

I doubt they will implement it. Most of the talks are just rumours. There have not even been any official statements that they're discussing it. It's too soon to implement it. Before FIFA uses anything for the World Cup, it is first of all tested. It could be tested in other competitions like lower competitions, the youth World Cup or even in the leagues. They test to see how well the change can be optimised.
We saw how they tested the World Cup ball (Trionda) in various competitions, even though it will be officially unveiled at the World Cup.
The first place they make such a significant rule change in the sport cannot be the world cup.

Changing rules are always easy for the FIFA governing body but when they feel these are going to create problems for the teams and things could be not easily handleable they keep going for improvement now in coming few events they will check and if they will be satisfied then it's going to be have implemented.

Even in early debate there are too many concerns about this because old one is doing good and all stakeholders are happy with this still talking or trying to bring new rules surely not good deal because this will increase problems and fans are already had not good feeling about few things this will increase their doubts about fair and better decisions from referees.

[Slow death]

I think that a player like Cristiano Ronaldo is fundamental both on and off the pitch. It's clear that today he's no longer the boy he once was who could transform matches with goals, but in less important matches he can still have his say, è still the best ever

I see Cristiano Ronaldo in very good shape and i think he has no problem playing good games, considering that it will be his last time in a World Cup we will see him make fire in the middle of the field obviously age and fitness allowing that in that case he doesn't even seem to be having a bad time

I don't think Cristiano Ronaldo will play the full World Cup and won't necessarily play every match due to his age. His presence is crucial for the Portuguese national team, even though he won't play the full match. His experience and influence in the dressing room are crucial in motivating the Portuguese squad to perform well. This will be Cristiano Ronaldo's last World Cup, and of course, his greatest hope is to win the World Cup to complete his professional career.

The national team coach wouldn't make the decision to bench Cristiano Ronaldo or substitute him during a game if the Portuguese national team is losing. That would negatively impact his job because Cristiano Ronaldo is the brains of the Portuguese national team. He can play well for at least 80 minutes in intense games and 90 minutes in less intense ones. I say this because I regularly watch the Portuguese national team's games and have observed this, and I've also heard football commentators talking about it.

[Fiatless]

The national team coach wouldn't make the decision to bench Cristiano Ronaldo or substitute him during a game if the Portuguese national team is losing. That would negatively impact his job because Cristiano Ronaldo is the brains of the Portuguese national team. He can play well for at least 80 minutes in intense games and 90 minutes in less intense ones. I say this because I regularly watch the Portuguese national team's games and have observed this, and I've also heard football commentators talking about it.

The days of Ronaldo being irreplaceable are gone. Portugal has various young players who can play in his position. I am in no way disrespecting one of the greatest football players; however, saying that he is the brain of the team is funny.

The coach can change anybody due to tactical changes and Ronaldo is not an exception. If I were his coach. I would keep him if I were playing defensively with a one-man front. He doesn't have the speed and strength to perform in such demanding situations. 

[Ale88]

Fifa introduced a small number of "more affordable" £45 tickets for all 104 matches following criticism of its pricing structure after the initial release of tickets.

"We have listened to feedback and this new category is the right thing to do", a Fifa official close to the discussions told BBC Sport.

The thing that i like from FIFA is that sometimes, they're still hearing all of complaints came from the public. So they create affordable ticket for people. However, i'm feeling FIFA's clam is so garbage by saying 10 millions ticket request everyday.

Do you believe with what they claim regarding this?

I don't trust Fifa and I don't trust Infantino. If they are receiving so many ticket requests why would they lower the prices then? It doesn't make sense. You lower the price when something is not selling. I see this just as a strategy to sell these discounted tickets very quickly and then, maybe in a month, make a new promotion. I don't believe there is a crazy request for tickets that cost thousands of dollars to go watch Curaçao, Haiti, Tunisia, etc.

Well, you may be right but not completely right bud, there are times in which something maybe selling off very fast and because of this, the price is lowered to make it very affordable to every one who may be interested in such a thing, the goal is not to make as much profit as possible, but to give everyone an opportunity to be able to afford the ticket, and more people show interests, the company indirectly still profits from the large sells and so on.

And on the other hand, have you also thought about the possibility that the lowered ticket price is also why a lot of people are showing interest in buying the ticket?
Some goods, services sell fast because their price is low, but what I think fifa did there is that they are trying to give every one an opportunity not minding how much people have already shown interest in the buying the ticket, this is why they reduced the price.

There has been an interest surge exactly because they reduced the prices after people complained. But the interest is probably limited to these discounted tickets because if you couldn't afford a $300 ticket before and you miss the discounted ticket, well, you still can't afford the $300, it doesn't change anything. And if many people are interested only in the discounted tickets then it simply means that people see the average ticket price as overpriced.

Let's also not forget about another important factor: this World Cup is supposed to bring a ton of people from all around the world due to the high number of participating teams, so people must book planes, cars, hotels, etc: if they see that the tickets are crazy expensive (imagine a family of 4) then they simply wouldn't book anything. And if FIFA see that ticket sales are low they may decide to reduce the costs even more but at this point you can't expect people to book a full trip 2 weeks in advance. We'll see, I feel like FIFA are playing a very dangerous game.

[DaNNy001]

The national team coach wouldn't make the decision to bench Cristiano Ronaldo or substitute him during a game if the Portuguese national team is losing. That would negatively impact his job because Cristiano Ronaldo is the brains of the Portuguese national team. He can play well for at least 80 minutes in intense games and 90 minutes in less intense ones. I say this because I regularly watch the Portuguese national team's games and have observed this, and I've also heard football commentators talking about it.

The days of Ronaldo being irreplaceable are gone. Portugal has various young players who can play in his position. I am in no way disrespecting one of the greatest football players; however, saying that he is the brain of the team is funny.

The coach can change anybody due to tactical changes and Ronaldo is not an exception. If I were his coach. I would keep him if I were playing defensively with a one-man front. He doesn't have the speed and strength to perform in such demanding situations.  

Well to be frank I think you are right and wvery part of me want to agree with you but the truth is that despite the fact that his age isn't on his side the man still finds a way to pull out numbers when it comes to goal scoring although I understand fully well the fact that you highlighting because Portugal is now filled with so much that you can say it's okay to bench him but the truth is that they still need him very much in that squad.

[KTChampions]

The national team coach wouldn't make the decision to bench Cristiano Ronaldo or substitute him during a game if the Portuguese national team is losing. That would negatively impact his job because Cristiano Ronaldo is the brains of the Portuguese national team. He can play well for at least 80 minutes in intense games and 90 minutes in less intense ones. I say this because I regularly watch the Portuguese national team's games and have observed this, and I've also heard football commentators talking about it.

I think the smartest thing to do if Ronaldo has problems with his physical fitness (which is unlikely to happen, to be honest) is to release him for the second half. If a team wins 3-0, then of course it's okay to change him, because the job is done, but if the team loses and such a change occurs, it subsequently becomes a scandal (regardless of the result) and puts unnecessary pressure on the team. We've already seen this. It's actually a simple solution: if you bet on Ronaldo, then believe and wait for the outcome, and don't rush around.

[pewboy]

Football have never seen such level of fitness and performance at such age before, that's why many of us will always idolise the the Portuguese superstar. He's "the greatest there's, the greatest there was and the greatest there ever will be." I can't just wait to watch him in this summer's FIFA World Cup and hopefully, he finally lifts the only trophy that's eluded his illustrious career. Portugal have got other top footballers who can help him achieve his dream of winning a World Cup trophy.

It's clear that these guys are the best of all the others at that age and you definitely can't get anything better when it comes to the show. Now the biggest stage for them to be seen is the World Cup. Obviously, bringing home the World Cup is the best thing they can achieve.

[verdinio]

I don't trust Fifa and I don't trust Infantino. If they are receiving so many ticket requests why would they lower the prices then? It doesn't make sense. You lower the price when something is not selling. I see this just as a strategy to sell these discounted tickets very quickly and then, maybe in a month, make a new promotion. I don't believe there is a crazy request for tickets that cost thousands of dollars to go watch Curaçao, Haiti, Tunisia, etc.

I think it should help poor countries where they can't even afford food to eat, they should have a special price for fans who are in much poorer countries, without national team fans they are without the essence of football, but this won't happen but

[Kavelj22]

I am not sure about the news because I did not find official sources to confirm but only few social media posts here and there, so I thought I would ask here about if there are widespread calls or an official boycott movement for the 2026 World Cup because of the recent events in Venezuela and what the USA did by kidnapping the Venezuelan president and bringing him to trial on its territory?

Since the choice to join the FWC is personal and free for all qualified countries, it is important to note that major sporting events are sometimes subject to boycott calls for various political or human rights reasons. Similar facts occured during the cold war between the two camps communist and capitalist.

[jostorres]

This is especially welcome news for supporters of countries that are new to the event, as they can watch the event for a fraction of the ticket price. Although I'm sure the amount spent by FIFA for this ticket price is not much but yes they still make concessions which means they don't only look at the business side of things.
Oh btw does this ticket price also apply to important matches, meaning strong countries vs strong countries?

Overall ticket prices are never been favourable for the fans with recently Donald Trump bringing too many changes into his policies which are also creating wired situation because many countries are already banned, and their fans are not going to be welcomed in the USA.

Venezuela situation brings another big debate about American policies, hopefully things will be staying on for better way of settlement because world can't afford another war or big conflict now big events like these have enough support from media rights, just because of this I always support cheap tickets but this time matches which are going to be playing in the USA have high prices which are surely not good.

[Ale88]

I don't trust Fifa and I don't trust Infantino. If they are receiving so many ticket requests why would they lower the prices then? It doesn't make sense. You lower the price when something is not selling. I see this just as a strategy to sell these discounted tickets very quickly and then, maybe in a month, make a new promotion. I don't believe there is a crazy request for tickets that cost thousands of dollars to go watch Curaçao, Haiti, Tunisia, etc.

I think it should help poor countries where they can't even afford food to eat, they should have a special price for fans who are in much poorer countries, without national team fans they are without the essence of football, but this won't happen but

I don't want to sound harsh but if you can't afford to eat then you shouldn't even thinking about buying tickets for a match. I like football but in lie there are at least 30 things that come before football. Otherwise it's like saying that Lamborghini should lower the prices so also poor people can afford one. It doesn't work like that. I can't afford a Lamborghini either and even if I could, I would never spend that much money for a car.
And here the problem is not only the game ticket: if you come from a poor country you probably going to need a visa too, which is probably several hundreds of dollars. Then the flight, the taxi from the airport to the hotel, the hotel would cost hundreds of dollars per night, the food, etc etc. I mean, I'm sorry but if you're poor there is no way you should even think about going to attend a World Cup match.

[Sithara007]

I am not sure about the news because I did not find official sources to confirm but only few social media posts here and there, so I thought I would ask here about if there are widespread calls or an official boycott movement for the 2026 World Cup because of the recent events in Venezuela and what the USA did by kidnapping the Venezuelan president and bringing him to trial on its territory?

Since the choice to join the FWC is personal and free for all qualified countries, it is important to note that major sporting events are sometimes subject to boycott calls for various political or human rights reasons. Similar facts occured during the cold war between the two camps communist and capitalist.

I am not sure whether I can properly understand your post. Why there should be a boycott of the FIFA World Cup 2026? FIFA didn't kidnapped Nicolás Maduro. It was done by the American special forces under the command of Donald Trump. Let's have a clear separation between sports and politics here. Already there is a lot of controversy surrounding the tournament, related to visa and travel issues. I believe it will be better not to complicate it any further. BTW, Venezuela hasn't qualified for the World Cup this time also. So in that regard also, there is not going to be any issue.  

[Franctoshi]

I am not sure about the news because I did not find official sources to confirm but only few social media posts here and there, so I thought I would ask here about if there are widespread calls or an official boycott movement for the 2026 World Cup because of the recent events in Venezuela and what the USA did by kidnapping the Venezuelan president and bringing him to trial on its territory?

Since the choice to join the FWC is personal and free for all qualified countries, it is important to note that major sporting events are sometimes subject to boycott calls for various political or human rights reasons. Similar facts occured during the cold war between the two camps communist and capitalist.

Even if they're to call Donald to order, the UN. This reason cannot stop the World Cup from being scheduled in June 2026 at the moment, because it's going to cause a lot of damage to FIFA's plans put in place, and besides, it's not only the US that's hosting this very world cup; Canada and Mexico are involved, except for a situation where there is a breakout war between the US and Venezuela and the US starts being bombed.

I am not sure whether I can properly understand your post. Why there should be a boycott of the FIFA World Cup 2026? FIFA didn't kidnapped Nicolás Maduro. It was done by the American special forces under the command of Donald Trump. Let's have a clear separation between sports and politics here. Already there is a lot of controversy surrounding the tournament, related to visa and travel issues. I believe it will be better not to complicate it any further. BTW, Venezuela hasn't qualified for the World Cup this time also. So in that regard also, there is not going to be any issue.  

[MRY]

This is especially welcome news for supporters of countries that are new to the event, as they can watch the event for a fraction of the ticket price. Although I'm sure the amount spent by FIFA for this ticket price is not much but yes they still make concessions which means they don't only look at the business side of things.
Oh btw does this ticket price also apply to important matches, meaning strong countries vs strong countries?

Overall ticket prices are never been favourable for the fans with recently Donald Trump bringing too many changes into his policies which are also creating wired situation because many countries are already banned, and their fans are not going to be welcomed in the USA.

Venezuela situation brings another big debate about American policies, hopefully things will be staying on for better way of settlement because world can't afford another war or big conflict now big events like these have enough support from media rights, just because of this I always support cheap tickets but this time matches which are going to be playing in the USA have high prices which are surely not good.

You are correct that the country to country diplomacies play a big role in determining how easily the fans can directly assist one another. We are experiencing the effects of the economic policy making the access to matches a privilege that is not afforded equally to every person. The solution to keep the ticket prices affordable to the masses should be the availability of funding by the broadcasters. The third party has found that world peace is the crucial element to be sure that we will be able to enjoy major events without experiencing unnecessary anxiety.

[Ahli38]

I am not sure about the news because I did not find official sources to confirm but only few social media posts here and there, so I thought I would ask here about if there are widespread calls or an official boycott movement for the 2026 World Cup because of the recent events in Venezuela and what the USA did by kidnapping the Venezuelan president and bringing him to trial on its territory?

Since the choice to join the FWC is personal and free for all qualified countries, it is important to note that major sporting events are sometimes subject to boycott calls for various political or human rights reasons. Similar facts occured during the cold war between the two camps communist and capitalist.

To date there has been no official statement from FIFA regarding this incident. On social media many people have criticized the recent awarding of the FIFA Peace Prize to Donald Trump, where he was named the recipient of the award for his role in promoting global conflict resolution. I personally think this award is highly questionable in light of recent events. And I think FIFA perhaps will remain neutral or even support peace. I personally hope that peace will be established soon so that the FWC can proceed smoothly as it should. It would be a shame if this major world competition became problematic. Even though this competition is the most eagerly awaited event so far.

[8rch7]

To date there has been no official statement from FIFA regarding this incident. On social media many people have criticized the recent awarding of the FIFA Peace Prize to Donald Trump, where he was named the recipient of the award for his role in promoting global conflict resolution. I personally think this award is highly questionable in light of recent events. And I think FIFA perhaps will remain neutral or even support peace. I personally hope that peace will be established soon so that the FWC can proceed smoothly as it should. It would be a shame if this major world competition became problematic. Even though this competition is the most eagerly awaited event so far.

FIFA and EUEFA have difference regulation about war invasion if did by United State or Israel but easily giving punishment if did other countries when Russia without few weeks after war invasion to Ukraine suspended from all FIFA and UEFA competition. More than 48 hours after United State government made conflict with Venezuela's president until right now FIFA or CONCACAF not announce yet what the punishment for Unite State and has possibility withdraw as host for FIFA World Cup 2026?

FIFA become problematic nowadays if any countries against with United State easily suspend them but if happening for United State and Israel both national teams never get suspend any more. We need revolution for UEFA, FIFA, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL football federation give freedom for all participants.

[Daniel91]

This is especially welcome news for supporters of countries that are new to the event, as they can watch the event for a fraction of the ticket price. Although I'm sure the amount spent by FIFA for this ticket price is not much but yes they still make concessions which means they don't only look at the business side of things.
Oh btw does this ticket price also apply to important matches, meaning strong countries vs strong countries?

This is great news, but are we sure it's real?

I have serious doubts about it.

Of course, if this is true, it would be absolutely right, and for once, FIFA is doing something positive for those who can't afford it. I'm happy with this news. especially in countries with so little money.

Not all details are yet known about the so-called 'discount tickets' that will be distributed to the national associations. 
For now, it seems likely that a certain number of 'discount tickets' priced at $60 will be distributed for the group stage matches of the competition. 
How the national associations will distribute these tickets and whether discounted tickets will also be available for the knockout stage of the competition is still unclear.

[BlackBaron]

I am not sure about the news because I did not find official sources to confirm but only few social media posts here and there, so I thought I would ask here about if there are widespread calls or an official boycott movement for the 2026 World Cup because of the recent events in Venezuela and what the USA did by kidnapping the Venezuelan president and bringing him to trial on its territory?

Since the choice to join the FWC is personal and free for all qualified countries, it is important to note that major sporting events are sometimes subject to boycott calls for various political or human rights reasons. Similar facts occured during the cold war between the two camps communist and capitalist.

To date there has been no official statement from FIFA regarding this incident. On social media many people have criticized the recent awarding of the FIFA Peace Prize to Donald Trump, where he was named the recipient of the award for his role in promoting global conflict resolution. I personally think this award is highly questionable in light of recent events. And I think FIFA perhaps will remain neutral or even support peace. I personally hope that peace will be established soon so that the FWC can proceed smoothly as it should. It would be a shame if this major world competition became problematic. Even though this competition is the most eagerly awaited event so far.

I see FIFA has double standards in some ways. They say football should be free from politics, but I see them not fully implementing what they say, and at one point I felt like they had double standards. I don't know if what I think is what some people think or not, but I see it that way.

If they say there's no politics in football, then they should apply it, except when it comes to humanity. Now in this latest case, I haven't seen what the real situation is, but I hope this doesn't affect football especially since this is something we've been doing for a long time.

[Sarah Azhari]

The coach can change anybody due to tactical changes and Ronaldo is not an exception. If I were his coach. I would keep him if I were playing defensively with a one-man front. He doesn't have the speed and strength to perform in such demanding situations.  

I agree with you that when making tactical changes, the coach will replace anyone, including Ronaldo. It would be a huge blunder if the coach, while making tactical changes, was reluctant to replace Ronaldo, given his reputation, in case Ronaldo fails to perform well throughout the match. At Ronaldo's current age, he doesn't have the speed he once had, but it must be acknowledged that Ronaldo's presence at the World Cup has motivated the younger players in the Portugal national team, given his immense influence.