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

[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.

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.

In fact, yes it's problematic. The recent events aren't the only problem that FIFA face. Remember the situation of Israel which many countries refuse to normalize relations with it and in many sports events like Olympics players from many countries refuse to compete with Israelite players even leave the whole event.

Back to events in Venezuela, the problem is not with FIFA by all means. Trump administration said that there are other few countries on the list. I can mention Cuba, Argentina, and others. Imagine if those countries decide to cut relations with the USA, wouldn't this disrupted the event?

[Iamgoat]

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.

As much as we all will want to say no player should be untouchable or beyond any exceptions when it comes to making tactical decisions by managers, some times it would be wrong to ignore players like Ronaldo looking at the kind of value they bring into the team which is beyond just the goals. His presence alone does brings some level of motivation and confidence to the team especially the younger players and when they know they have the likes of Ronaldo in the team, they put in their best by following his directives sometimes in the pitch.

[Lida93]

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 age factor isn't a problem for Christiano Ronaldo as long as the Portuguese captain remains fit, besides the Portuguese player hasn't shown any sign of weakness as a result of his age and at such doesn't have to skip any game, we saw how he led the Portuguese team during the qualifiers and I don't think anything has changed that requires the coach to make any changes to the team when the world cup kicks off.

[Ale88]

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?

The USA didn't kidnap a president. They arrested a bloody dictator. Only Venezuela's allies recognized Maduro as the legitimate president, all the rest of the world didn't. Maduro rigged the last 2 election. He wasn't the president, he "simply" was the guy in charge. The people chose another person to be president so, please, let's not try to make Maduro look like an innocent poor guy who did nothing wrong.

[$crypto$]

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?

The USA didn't kidnap a president. They arrested a bloody dictator. Only Venezuela's allies recognized Maduro as the legitimate president, all the rest of the world didn't. Maduro rigged the last 2 election. He wasn't the president, he "simply" was the guy in charge. The people chose another person to be president so, please, let's not try to make Maduro look like an innocent poor guy who did nothing wrong.

I saw another news that Venezuelans are happy with Maduro's arrest? Is this what they call their pleasure because the previous two elections were manipulated? I don't know about this myself.

About the upcoming world cup in the US --- I think this country can handle attacks from anywhere because we know the US has the resources for it, so with this news however the world cup will still be held in the US without being disturbed in the slightest.

[LUCKMCFLY]

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.

I agree with you, it's great that you can go to the World Cup and enjoy it. If you're going to see CR7, I'm so happy for you, you're so lucky! I wish I had that opportunity, but since you have it, enjoy it a lot , my friend.

[Daniel91]

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 age factor isn't a problem for Christiano Ronaldo as long as the Portuguese captain remains fit, besides the Portuguese player hasn't shown any sign of weakness as a result of his age and at such doesn't have to skip any game, we saw how he led the Portuguese team during the qualifiers and I don't think anything has changed that requires the coach to make any changes to the team when the world cup kicks off.

Age is not a problem for Ronaldo when playing in a weaker football league like the Saudi football league, or in World Cup qualifiers against weaker opponents, I agree. However, the question is how competitive Ronaldo can be in games against the strongest football opponents in the World Cup. He is no longer as fast and explosive as he was when he was a younger player. It was already evident at the World Cup in Qatar that Ronaldo was powerless to help his team in the most important and decisive matches, such as the match against Morocco.

[cande86]

I saw another news that Venezuelans are happy with Maduro's arrest? Is this what they call their pleasure because the previous two elections were manipulated? I don't know about this myself.

About the upcoming world cup in the US --- I think this country can handle attacks from anywhere because we know the US has the resources for it, so with this news however the world cup will still be held in the US without being disturbed in the slightest.

Personally i think that such an event is certainly quiet, and super safe, super controlled, clearly they have to be very careful because of the possible problems that can happen, but I think that in principle the United States will make us feel relatively calm

[allthebitandbobs]

One thing about this world cup is that, it is gong to be played at a nation that doesn't love football as much as European or even Latin American ones, we have to just understand that it is not about football in this one. What is it about then? It's about entertainment, USA is the capital of entertainment, while some other nations may "claim" they have better ones, we all know that you are not going to find as big of entertainment as USA does anywhere else.

So football itself will be shadowed or at least it is hoped by the organizations there that it will be. This will be very different, I am hoping that it gets a lot of attention and works out, because entertainment is never bad, if they do it good, then we can have fun with it.

[Die_empty]

The USA didn't kidnap a president. They arrested a bloody dictator. Only Venezuela's allies recognized Maduro as the legitimate president, all the rest of the world didn't. Maduro rigged the last 2 election. He wasn't the president, he "simply" was the guy in charge. The people chose another person to be president so, please, let's not try to make Maduro look like an innocent poor guy who did nothing wrong.

He was not arrested because he rigged elections, because I can mention many countries whose elections were scams, yet they are still close allies of the US. When we talk about dictators, the Arab world has a high number of them. Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in the Saudi Arabian embassy in Turkey in the most brutal manner. His body was never found and the investigation proved that it was Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who ordered the hit. Yet the Prince was welcomed in White House and is a close ally of the US government.

Maduro is not a saint. He is guilty of many terrible crimes, but there are international laws that should be respected. We all know that Trump wants to control Venezuela oil to frustrate its foes like China and Cuba and also make more money for US oil firms. The US is setting a wrong precedent that can be copied by China and other superpowers. Columbia, Cuba and Greenland are onsight, all hail the emperor.   
   

[blue Snow]

About the upcoming world cup in the US --- I think this country can handle attacks from anywhere because we know the US has the resources for it, so with this news however the world cup will still be held in the US without being disturbed in the slightest.

The World Cup schedule has been set and cannot be postponed, so it will still be held in the three host countries. The US-Venezuela conflict will not impact the World Cup, especially when matches are played in the US. Therefore, the World Cup will proceed smoothly in the US without any security disruptions, as the US will implement strict security measures.

[bitgolden]

I am sure, most of the "discounted tickets" will go to officials and whatever of those national teams. So, let's say you are from Nigeria, then Nigerian football federation will send some people, not just players and staff, but some officials in suits etc, and those will get cheap, some even free I am sure, like head of it, and all of those tickets will go to either them or people around them that went with, like wife or kids etc. Not some regular fan, and this is true for every nation that participates.

[dollyamo]

As much as we all will want to say no player should be untouchable or beyond any exceptions when it comes to making tactical decisions by managers, some times it would be wrong to ignore players like Ronaldo looking at the kind of value they bring into the team which is beyond just the goals. His presence alone does brings some level of motivation and confidence to the team especially the younger players and when they know they have the likes of Ronaldo in the team, they put in their best by following his directives sometimes in the pitch.

Ronaldo has the potential to interact with the team and make them work to optimize their performances, the fact that he is untouchable is a personal thought in my opinion.
Because if he makes a mistake or at least doesn't follow the guidelines, worsening the team's performance, it's right that he be reinstated instead.

Skill the appointment of great player does not make you untouchable, in fact you have a great responsibility in my opinion.

[KTChampions]

The USA didn't kidnap a president. They arrested a bloody dictator. Only Venezuela's allies recognized Maduro as the legitimate president, all the rest of the world didn't. Maduro rigged the last 2 election. He wasn't the president, he "simply" was the guy in charge. The people chose another person to be president so, please, let's not try to make Maduro look like an innocent poor guy who did nothing wrong.

You are tripping 
I don't deny that Maduro is a bad guy, a dictator and all that, but it's literally only the US (and maybe a couple of allies) that doesn't recognize him as president.
By the way, since you're such a champion of justice, could you explain to me why the US now only wants Venezuela to comply with economic demands? They're perfectly happy with the torture and murder of the opposition, the dictatorship over the people, etc., as long as US interests are respected. From the outside, it seems to me like the US is becoming an accomplice to a bloody dictatorship. Where am I wrong? Please explain.

[barbara44]

Ronaldo has the potential to interact with the team and make them work to optimize their performances, the fact that he is untouchable is a personal thought in my opinion.
Because if he makes a mistake or at least doesn't follow the guidelines, worsening the team's performance, it's right that he be reinstated instead.

Skill the appointment of great player does not make you untouchable, in fact you have a great responsibility in my opinion.

At this age, he is doing impressive job, and I am sure he could be good for his team, but now it's time to understand few things like his role could be much better as motivator cum player instead of going for full-time player because this will give youngsters better motivation, and he will have also available for achieving another milestone of his career.

His performance is amazing with he is still doing impressive job for his club and country but due to his presence things may not always work for his team just because of this having some changes in role, may bring better results for Portugal without any doubt, they are having fair chance of winning FIFA world cup this time, but they need to manage things on good level through innovations.

[Rikafip]

The USA didn't kidnap a president. They arrested a bloody dictator. Only Venezuela's allies recognized Maduro as the legitimate president, all the rest of the world didn't. Maduro rigged the last 2 election. He wasn't the president, he "simply" was the guy in charge. The people chose another person to be president so, please, let's not try to make Maduro look like an innocent poor guy who did nothing wrong.

If what USA did was all about saving people of Venezuela from a dictator, how come they didn't pick up his deputy as well? Delcy Rodríguez was a vice president since 2018, and for sure was involved in bunch of shit that Maduro did, yet they didn't touch her. So now, she is interim president.
US doesn't care about people of Venezeula, they only care about what's under the surface. And if Maduro gave them access, he would still be a president, and if needed they would even protect him.

Anyway, I don't think that this will affect incoming world cup at all.

[BitBakerr1]

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 age factor isn't a problem for Christiano Ronaldo as long as the Portuguese captain remains fit, besides the Portuguese player hasn't shown any sign of weakness as a result of his age and at such doesn't have to skip any game, we saw how he led the Portuguese team during the qualifiers and I don't think anything has changed that requires the coach to make any changes to the team when the world cup kicks off.

Lida93 you are correct, Cristiano Ronaldo is still very strong and fit so I see no reason why he should not participate very well in the coming world cup, with his age he has been scoring goals and performing very well in his country and also in his Club, the only reason why he should not be allowed to play full is when his not performing well anymore but since his still doing very well he should be allowed to participate fully, don't be surprised he may be the one that will lead Portuguese to the final with his performance. I love Cristiano Ronaldo because he is very strong and players football with passion.

[TastyChillySauce00]

Damn! This world cup thread is just turning into politic thread. Just stop guys! Sport is sport, politic is a politic. Even if some of you decide to boycott this, let others who feel entertaiment enough to watch football and enjoy it.
My national TV channel already paid the right to broadcast world cup 2026, and i can watch it for free. Do i need to miss it? I don't think so.  

Anywya, FIFA urged countries to play on "pride match", do you agree with this? I meant FIFA did it with the reason to respect the culture. The thing that surprised me it's both muslim countries Iran and Egypt who being urged to play in the pride match. However, those two countries showed objections to participate in that pride match to respect the culture in seattle.

[KTChampions]

Damn! This world cup thread is just turning into politic thread. Just stop guys! Sport is sport, politic is a politic.~

Hmmm... Where have you been these last years? 
When top clubs are owned by rich people (or even states) who play with them like toys, when the French president persuades a player to stay at PSG, it doesn't seem like sport and politics are different things, don't you think? I'm not even touching on the topic of why Israel plays in the UEFA zone at the club/national team level, and why it continues to take part in international tournaments at all, while Russia does not.

[Ale88]

The USA didn't kidnap a president. They arrested a bloody dictator. Only Venezuela's allies recognized Maduro as the legitimate president, all the rest of the world didn't. Maduro rigged the last 2 election. He wasn't the president, he "simply" was the guy in charge. The people chose another person to be president so, please, let's not try to make Maduro look like an innocent poor guy who did nothing wrong.

You are tripping  
I don't deny that Maduro is a bad guy, a dictator and all that, but it's literally only the US (and maybe a couple of allies) that doesn't recognize him as president.

Dude, Google is free, why don't you use it before showing everyone how ignorant you are?

I copy-paste from Google:

A number of countries, primarily long-standing allies, recognize Nicolás Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela following the disputed July 2024 election results.

Africa: Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sudan, and Zimbabwe.
Asia: Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, Iran, Kuwait, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, South Ossetia, Syria, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
Europe: Belarus, Russia, and Serbia.
Latin America & Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

I don't see any UE country. I don't see Canada. I don't see Japan. I don't see Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, South Korea, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico. etc etc. There is not one democratic country recognizing Maduro but for you only the US didn't recognize him as legit president? And I'm the one tripping? I just hope you're trolling because if you are for real it would be sad, very sad.

The USA didn't kidnap a president. They arrested a bloody dictator. Only Venezuela's allies recognized Maduro as the legitimate president, all the rest of the world didn't. Maduro rigged the last 2 election. He wasn't the president, he "simply" was the guy in charge. The people chose another person to be president so, please, let's not try to make Maduro look like an innocent poor guy who did nothing wrong.

If what USA did was all about saving people of Venezuela from a dictator, how come they didn't pick up his deputy as well? Delcy Rodríguez was a vice president since 2018, and for sure was involved in bunch of shit that Maduro did, yet they didn't touch her. So now, she is interim president.
US doesn't care about people of Venezeula, they only care about what's under the surface. And if Maduro gave them access, he would still be a president, and if needed they would even protect him.

Anyway, I don't think that this will affect incoming world cup at all.

I never said the US did it for the Venezuelan people. Just like everybody else, they are doing it to obtain some economical/political/influence advantage. The US don't give a damn about Venezuelans but this doesn't change the fact that Maduro has been torturing its own people for years and years. And Chavez before him. Will things suddenly improve? I don't think so, but if Venezuelans are celebrating Maduro's arrest I would say that they are happy. For now.