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

[giorgione]

I don't think the politics of the US would have any security issues when the world cup kicks off officially, adequate security will be put in place to a smooth running of both logistics and of lives and properties when the tournament gets on the way proper, I don't think there is anything to worry about especially since it is not only the US that is hosting the event, there Canada and also Mexico, all three countries would put head together with FIFA to ensure that everything goes according to plan when the time comes, I don't think there would be any security threats against the host nations hence there's nothing to worry about.

The World Cup will obviously be protected and surrounded by many security checks. What is important is that it is well received by all nations, as it is an event that includes all the nations, including those in the Middle East and other countries that are certainly at risk from the USA, so i don't see it as a big danger.

[Ruttoshi]

The World Cup will obviously be protected and surrounded by many security checks. What is important is that it is well received by all nations, as it is an event that includes all the nations, including those in the Middle East and other countries that are certainly at risk from the USA, so i don't see it as a big danger.

Trump is capable of taking care of security in the US for the players and fans that will be present in the country for the world cup. I believe that preparation on this aspect has been ongoing for long and it wouldn't be a problem for the world power to take care of any security threats.

This is why, the US limited the number of fans and people that will fly into the US for this great tournament. This might also be the reason why three countries are hosting the world cup so that the US wouldn't be filled with a lot of foreigners for the world cup.

[boltz]

The World Cup will obviously be protected and surrounded by many security checks. What is important is that it is well received by all nations, as it is an event that includes all the nations, including those in the Middle East and other countries that are certainly at risk from the USA, so i don't see it as a big danger.

Trump is capable of taking care of security in the US for the players and fans that will be present in the country for the world cup. I believe that preparation on this aspect has been ongoing for long and it wouldn't be a problem for the world power to take care of any security threats.

This is why, the US limited the number of fans and people that will fly into the US for this great tournament. This might also be the reason why three countries are hosting the world cup so that the US wouldn't be filled with a lot of foreigners for the world cup.

Yea , this WC will actually be for TVs and only a few lucky people will actually attend on stadiums in USA because I can see the stadiums being full in Mexic and Canada but I cannot see USA stadium being at full capacity as security comes on first place when it comes to USA.

This will be a bad vibe for Football fans all over the world who actually had plans since 2022 for this World Cup and suddenly they won't be even able to to to USA... . Personally I was sure that something like this will happen and we won't see more than 70% capacity being full at USA football games. 

[cande86]

Na man Saudi league is only "competitive" because of the ammount of european players playing there right now, but is real competitive or is only competitive for a few years?
I mean are saudi players having real chances of playing and having the years to start to develop a much higher level of footbal by themselves? That is the important question and not if right now the Saudi League games are competitive.

Thats what they're trying to do, trying to prepare players to compete, in much stronger leagues, but they don't have the culture to be able to develop such high-performing athletes in the world of football, they don't have a background that can lead to the development of football in that country.

[retreat]

At club side Ronaldo is still doing fine even at his age and it is normal to expect same from him playing for his country but on a second taught, country games are absolutely different from the experience at club side, so do not be surprised if you see him perform any lesser there, also he may do better, either ways I am.not expecting same performance as that in club side from him. The country can take advantage of the influence his presence will command to get some victory in certain fixtures.

His performance in the Saudi Arabian League can't be compared to his performance in the World Cup, as the World Cup matches are more competitive and the players he faces are of a higher quality than in the Saudi league. So, if he doesn't perform optimally in the World Cup, it won't be a big deal, as people already expect that. However, he can be a good captain for the Portuguese national team, uniting the players and improving their team performance. So, even if his individual performance isn't so great, he can still have a significant impact on the field.

[8rch7]

It's mostly a cultural thing. Some people think that quality football can't exist outside EU/US. The Major League Soccer (MLS) is fine, because it is a North American League. Saudi Professional League doesn't have that advantage, as it is in the middle east. I am sure that most of the people who criticize SPL hasn't ever watched any of the matches in that league. Obviously we can't compare the SPL with the English Premier League, but it is stupid to say that SPL is of a much lower quality when compared to the average European leagues such as Eredivisie and Süper Lig.

Stupid ideas claim about lower quality of Saudi Pro League competition if not updating about current transfer activities, since Ronaldo moving to play for Al Nassr many top player following him by accepting Saudi Pro League club offer. Usually the players have over age and play one or two season later get retire but Saudi Pro League signing many top players on the top golden age.
Saudi Pro League has competitive because several teams can sign top players and no one club dominance, I think many Saudi Pro League's players still get national team calling and right now many of them playing at AFCON Cup 2025.

[Iamgoat]

I don't think the politics of the US would have any security issues when the world cup kicks off officially, adequate security will be put in place to a smooth running of both logistics and of lives and properties when the tournament gets on the way proper, I don't think there is anything to worry about especially since it is not only the US that is hosting the event, there Canada and also Mexico, all three countries would put head together with FIFA to ensure that everything goes according to plan when the time comes, I don't think there would be any security threats against the host nations hence there's nothing to worry about.

Tournaments which are as big as the world cup do not leave room for chances especially when it comes to the issue of security. These countries which are going to be hosting these tournaments are not small countries which are still battling with their security rather they are big countries who have heavily worked on their security structures and with FIFA involved as an international organization, the planning as well as the security will be very detailed. I also know since it is a shared hosting arrangement, the security of the locations are going to be collectively coordinated around logistics, crowd control and the protection of the individuals and their properties.

[Ale88]

At club side Ronaldo is still doing fine even at his age and it is normal to expect same from him playing for his country but on a second taught, country games are absolutely different from the experience at club side, so do not be surprised if you see him perform any lesser there, also he may do better, either ways I am.not expecting same performance as that in club side from him. The country can take advantage of the influence his presence will command to get some victory in certain fixtures.

His performance in the Saudi Arabian League can't be compared to his performance in the World Cup, as the World Cup matches are more competitive and the players he faces are of a higher quality than in the Saudi league. So, if he doesn't perform optimally in the World Cup, it won't be a big deal, as people already expect that. However, he can be a good captain for the Portuguese national team, uniting the players and improving their team performance. So, even if his individual performance isn't so great, he can still have a significant impact on the field.

Out of curiosity I checked Cristiano Ronaldo's performances during the last World Cup hosted by Qatar in 2022: he played 5 games and he was part of the starting eleven in 3 occasions, he scored 1 goal (penalty) and didn't provide any assist. He mainly played in the group stage but then, in the knockout stages, the manager preferred a young Gonçalo Ramos over him.

Now he is 4 years older, for sure Portugal are going to face one easy opponent (Uzbekistan) and a tough one (Colombia). The third team is still TBD. Historically Ronaldo didn't perform extremely well in the World Cup, he had some great matches (I still remember an hat-trick against Spain) but I think we can say that people were expecting more from a player like him.

[$weetne$$]

Na man Saudi league is only "competitive" because of the ammount of european players playing there right now, but is real competitive or is only competitive for a few years?
I mean are saudi players having real chances of playing and having the years to start to develop a much higher level of footbal by themselves? That is the important question and not if right now the Saudi League games are competitive.

Thats what they're trying to do, trying to prepare players to compete, in much stronger leagues, but they don't have the culture to be able to develop such high-performing athletes in the world of football, they don't have a background that can lead to the development of football in that country.

Saudi may not have the background and all the and culture for athletes but you see one thing I know about  them is that, they are putting in  the effort to build that tradition and culture, they are literally pushing it to even be speedy, give them few years from now and they may like gain all the capacity to training players who will match up equally with their European counterparts. It will only take time but their commitment towqrit will earn them a really solid reward soon.

[GiftedMAN]

Na man Saudi league is only "competitive" because of the ammount of european players playing there right now, but is real competitive or is only competitive for a few years?
I mean are saudi players having real chances of playing and having the years to start to develop a much higher level of footbal by themselves? That is the important question and not if right now the Saudi League games are competitive.

Thats what they're trying to do, trying to prepare players to compete, in much stronger leagues, but they don't have the culture to be able to develop such high-performing athletes in the world of football, they don't have a background that can lead to the development of football in that country.

The Idea is to make it become extremely global, with better quality and to large extent, they've actually succeeded in making it a very competitive league. I think the major project on why Saudi Pro League clubs are signing world class players is to improve the quality of the league so the home based players can get more exposed to global audience and become better to represent the national team in international stage.

[Bitcoin_Arena]

This is why, the US limited the number of fans and people that will fly into the US for this great tournament. This might also be the reason why three countries are hosting the world cup so that the US wouldn't be filled with a lot of foreigners for the world cup.

You talk as though the threat is from outside, yet it's from within the US itself. Go look at most of those shootings/mass shootings and tell me if someone just directly flew from, let's say, Syria and then a few days later started shooting people or kids at school.
Limiting foreigners from entering the host country for a sport that is loved the most in the whole world is a pretty dumb idea.

[Ale88]

Na man Saudi league is only "competitive" because of the ammount of european players playing there right now, but is real competitive or is only competitive for a few years?
I mean are saudi players having real chances of playing and having the years to start to develop a much higher level of footbal by themselves? That is the important question and not if right now the Saudi League games are competitive.

Thats what they're trying to do, trying to prepare players to compete, in much stronger leagues, but they don't have the culture to be able to develop such high-performing athletes in the world of football, they don't have a background that can lead to the development of football in that country.

Saudi may not have the background and all the and culture for athletes but you see one thing I know about  them is that, they are putting in  the effort to build that tradition and culture, they are literally pushing it to even be speedy, give them few years from now and they may like gain all the capacity to training players who will match up equally with their European counterparts. It will only take time but their commitment towqrit will earn them a really solid reward soon.

Reaching the European players level in a few years? How? To actually see improvements you need at least 10-15 years, minimum, because you need to rely on the new generations who grew up in a different environment, with different mentality and different training methods. A Saudi player who is already 20-22 won't improve much, it's already too late for him. They must work on kids. Which is the same that did Japan back in the '90s and now they have excellent players. But they understand that they must invest in managers and infrastructures, simply buying foreign players won't be enough because Ronaldo, Benzema etc won't play for the Saudi national team.

[Sithara007]

Reaching the European players level in a few years? How? To actually see improvements you need at least 10-15 years, minimum, because you need to rely on the new generations who grew up in a different environment, with different mentality and different training methods. A Saudi player who is already 20-22 won't improve much, it's already too late for him. They must work on kids. Which is the same that did Japan back in the '90s and now they have excellent players. But they understand that they must invest in managers and infrastructures, simply buying foreign players won't be enough because Ronaldo, Benzema etc won't play for the Saudi national team.

They are already at the European level, depending on which European country you are comparing to. Europe is a massive continent with close to 50 countries. Apart from football superpowers such as England and Spain, they also have smaller teams such as Wales and Finland. I would say that at the moment Saudi Arabia can be compared to the second group of teams. And if you check the performance of the Saudi Arabian national team, you can see that they made a lot of progress during the last few years. The Saudi Professional League is definitely helping them with that.

[Ale88]

Reaching the European players level in a few years? How? To actually see improvements you need at least 10-15 years, minimum, because you need to rely on the new generations who grew up in a different environment, with different mentality and different training methods. A Saudi player who is already 20-22 won't improve much, it's already too late for him. They must work on kids. Which is the same that did Japan back in the '90s and now they have excellent players. But they understand that they must invest in managers and infrastructures, simply buying foreign players won't be enough because Ronaldo, Benzema etc won't play for the Saudi national team.

They are already at the European level, depending on which European country you are comparing to. Europe is a massive continent with close to 50 countries. Apart from football superpowers such as England and Spain, they also have smaller teams such as Wales and Finland. I would say that at the moment Saudi Arabia can be compared to the second group of teams. And if you check the performance of the Saudi Arabian national team, you can see that they made a lot of progress during the last few years. The Saudi Professional League is definitely helping them with that.

So how come we don't see any Saudi player in Europe? The only one I could mention is Saud Abdulhamid (I had to Google him) because he "played" for Rome for a very short time. If the players were actually good they would be playing at least in minor leagues like Belgian, Dutch or Danish.

And going back to the national team, Japan for example reached a level where it can actually compete against big European teams, we saw it during the last WC. Saudi Arabia is far from that. And please, don't say they beat Argentina, they were extremely lucky and they got eliminated anyway.

[rezakurnia66]

So how come we don't see any Saudi player in Europe? The only one I could mention is Saud Abdulhamid (I had to Google him) because he "played" for Rome for a very short time. If the players were actually good they would be playing at least in minor leagues like Belgian, Dutch or Danish.

And going back to the national team, Japan for example reached a level where it can actually compete against big European teams, we saw it during the last WC. Saudi Arabia is far from that. And please, don't say they beat Argentina, they were extremely lucky and they got eliminated anyway.

I think the discussion above talking about the level quality of Saudi Pro League competition dominance by many top Europe players not talking how many Saudi Arabia's players who playing for top Europe club. Its purely about the level quality of Saudi Pro League as the elite competition after club success signing many top players. Almost every season many top Europe player signing and many of the player still play as regular for the Europe club like Inigo Martinez.
He played for Barcelona regular and playing well but suddenly moving to Al Nassr, huge salary offering and Al Nassr has many top player make Martinez leaving Barcelona and playing at Saudi Pro League.

[retreat]

His performance in the Saudi Arabian League can't be compared to his performance in the World Cup, as the World Cup matches are more competitive and the players he faces are of a higher quality than in the Saudi league. So, if he doesn't perform optimally in the World Cup, it won't be a big deal, as people already expect that. However, he can be a good captain for the Portuguese national team, uniting the players and improving their team performance. So, even if his individual performance isn't so great, he can still have a significant impact on the field.

-snip-
Now he is 4 years older, for sure Portugal are going to face one easy opponent (Uzbekistan) and a tough one (Colombia). The third team is still TBD. Historically Ronaldo didn't perform extremely well in the World Cup, he had some great matches (I still remember an hat-trick against Spain) but I think we can say that people were expecting more from a player like him.

It's natural that people expect more from a player like him - he's a goat, after all - and people hold him to a higher standard because of his skill and accomplishments. But I'm just being realistic, CR7 is past his prime, and expecting him to dominate at 40 is unrealistic. So I'm being realistic and not expecting too much from him - although I do hope he can lead Portugal to a significantly better position, but not with his physical dominance, but with his leadership and ability to elevate those around him.

[Dump3er]

His performance in the Saudi Arabian League can't be compared to his performance in the World Cup, as the World Cup matches are more competitive and the players he faces are of a higher quality than in the Saudi league. So, if he doesn't perform optimally in the World Cup, it won't be a big deal, as people already expect that. However, he can be a good captain for the Portuguese national team, uniting the players and improving their team performance. So, even if his individual performance isn't so great, he can still have a significant impact on the field.

-snip-
Now he is 4 years older, for sure Portugal are going to face one easy opponent (Uzbekistan) and a tough one (Colombia). The third team is still TBD. Historically Ronaldo didn't perform extremely well in the World Cup, he had some great matches (I still remember an hat-trick against Spain) but I think we can say that people were expecting more from a player like him.

It's natural that people expect more from a player like him - he's a goat, after all - and people hold him to a higher standard because of his skill and accomplishments. But I'm just being realistic, CR7 is past his prime, and expecting him to dominate at 40 is unrealistic. So I'm being realistic and not expecting too much from him - although I do hope he can lead Portugal to a significantly better position, but not with his physical dominance, but with his leadership and ability to elevate those around him.

He is 40 and that and that has an impact on his game beyond doubt, but I think it is not the time yet to underestimate him. It's not like he is slow or lost a lot of his agility. The skillset is still there and it's all about these moments, like a free kick from 25 meters and he has the technique and force to score. Or as a striker he knows where and when to move and I think he still has enough speed to finish off counter attacks.

I don't mean he is the same as he used to be in his 20s or early 30s, but you can see how Messi's game changed as he got older and if there was an opportunity as a European coach, I would still sign Messi for a season. He has much more a midfielder role these days, it is more similar to Modric while he still has this outstanding instinct to score.

If that World Cup is meant to be a moment to remember for Ronaldo, I think he still has what it takes to make that happen.

[letteredhub]

I don't think the politics of the US would have any security issues when the world cup kicks off officially, adequate security will be put in place to a smooth running of both logistics and of lives and properties when the tournament gets on the way proper, I don't think there is anything to worry about especially since it is not only the US that is hosting the event, there Canada and also Mexico, all three countries would put head together with FIFA to ensure that everything goes according to plan when the time comes, I don't think there would be any security threats against the host nations hence there's nothing to worry about.

Tournaments which are as big as the world cup do not leave room for chances especially when it comes to the issue of security. These countries which are going to be hosting these tournaments are not small countries which are still battling with their security rather they are big countries who have heavily worked on their security structures and with FIFA involved as an international organization, the planning as well as the security will be very detailed. I also know since it is a shared hosting arrangement, the security of the locations are going to be collectively coordinated around logistics, crowd control and the protection of the individuals and their properties.

I do look forward to see one of the best World Cup hosting with a hitch free tournament  because it's really going to be a hectic one with many people taking the opportunity to go see the USA, Canada and Mexico for the first time the movements among tourists to and fro the different hosting countries, I don't think it would be like anything that we have seen with other World Cup hosting. It does saddened me that my country's national team wasn't able to qualify for this World Cup as this would be making it three times in a row now.

[Ale88]

So how come we don't see any Saudi player in Europe? The only one I could mention is Saud Abdulhamid (I had to Google him) because he "played" for Rome for a very short time. If the players were actually good they would be playing at least in minor leagues like Belgian, Dutch or Danish.

And going back to the national team, Japan for example reached a level where it can actually compete against big European teams, we saw it during the last WC. Saudi Arabia is far from that. And please, don't say they beat Argentina, they were extremely lucky and they got eliminated anyway.

I think the discussion above talking about the level quality of Saudi Pro League competition dominance by many top Europe players not talking how many Saudi Arabia's players who playing for top Europe club. Its purely about the level quality of Saudi Pro League as the elite competition after club success signing many top players. Almost every season many top Europe player signing and many of the player still play as regular for the Europe club like Inigo Martinez.
He played for Barcelona regular and playing well but suddenly moving to Al Nassr, huge salary offering and Al Nassr has many top player make Martinez leaving Barcelona and playing at Saudi Pro League.

We are talking about national teams here. And right now the Saudi team can't even win the Asian Cup, last time was back in 1996, the other user was saying that "They are already at the European level, depending on which European country you are comparing to." so sure, they are probably going to beat San Marino and Andorra. Wales? Ireland? Serbia? Denmark? I don't think so.

His performance in the Saudi Arabian League can't be compared to his performance in the World Cup, as the World Cup matches are more competitive and the players he faces are of a higher quality than in the Saudi league. So, if he doesn't perform optimally in the World Cup, it won't be a big deal, as people already expect that. However, he can be a good captain for the Portuguese national team, uniting the players and improving their team performance. So, even if his individual performance isn't so great, he can still have a significant impact on the field.

-snip-
Now he is 4 years older, for sure Portugal are going to face one easy opponent (Uzbekistan) and a tough one (Colombia). The third team is still TBD. Historically Ronaldo didn't perform extremely well in the World Cup, he had some great matches (I still remember an hat-trick against Spain) but I think we can say that people were expecting more from a player like him.

It's natural that people expect more from a player like him - he's a goat, after all - and people hold him to a higher standard because of his skill and accomplishments. But I'm just being realistic, CR7 is past his prime, and expecting him to dominate at 40 is unrealistic. So I'm being realistic and not expecting too much from him - although I do hope he can lead Portugal to a significantly better position, but not with his physical dominance, but with his leadership and ability to elevate those around him.

I don't have any particular expectation about Ronaldo's performance in the next WC, actually I wrote several times that Portugal's current team is probably one of the best they ever had in their history, and I hope for them that Ronaldo's ego won't hijack the decisions.

My post was mainly aimed to those users who say that since Ronaldo scored many goals during the qualifications then it means he is going to score a lot of goals in the actual WC too. I simply disagree with them.

[Lida93]

The World Cup will obviously be protected and surrounded by many security checks. What is important is that it is well received by all nations, as it is an event that includes all the nations, including those in the Middle East and other countries that are certainly at risk from the USA, so i don't see it as a big danger.

Trump is capable of taking care of security in the US for the players and fans that will be present in the country for the world cup. I believe that preparation on this aspect has been ongoing for long and it wouldn't be a problem for the world power to take care of any security threats.

This is why, the US limited the number of fans and people that will fly into the US for this great tournament. This might also be the reason why three countries are hosting the world cup so that the US wouldn't be filled with a lot of foreigners for the world cup.

Ordinarily you would think that the World cup is just about the host nation but in the real sense the world cup is a global event and that's why FIFA goes all the way to ensure a smooth organisation of the tournament, remember FIFA has a representative in almost all the nations except for those under suspension and it's all of the nations that are represented that plan the world cup and not just the host nations, hence with all these nations being involved and considering how influential the game is and the global relevance it carries i dont think the football governing body and the host would let anyone or anything jeopardise their efforts of staging the best world cup ever.