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

[Webetcoins]

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.

I agree, because he is not having extraordinary performance in FIFA World Cup, but his presence is going to be big morale boost for his team even I still believe that he needs to stay on bench and just giving confidence to his team for one or few minutes in second half, that could be also enough.

Now his main target is, he want to write his name in the list of FIFA world cup winners and this is also possible if he plays like he has done in 2022 FIFA world cup, just few minutes on pitch and then rest of matches on bench for staying in touch with team. This way, they have enough youngsters, those can do good for Portugal and win the world cup for their country.

[giorgione]

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.

The thing that must necessarily be there the host nation is a bit funnysince there are more and more traveling tournaments the thing really can no longer be so sustainable in the long run, but i think it is for a matter of inclusiveness, now i am no longer surprised by Nietne

[$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.

I thinking since thy are gradually amassing the momentum to build  the capacity, it is only but a matter of time and the Saudi side will be able  to build such high performing athletes, they have the resources after all, and consistency of which if they continually build on, soon they will get players competing at any level globally and making impacts.

[Daniel91]

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.

Let's be honest, the World Cup is becoming less of a sporting event and more of an economic, marketing, and political event. 
In this World Cup, everyone will make a lot of money, FIFA will pay close attention to relations with President Trump and his administration, they will accept many of their demands regarding limiting fan attendance and access to matches, ticket prices will skyrocket, and everything will turn into a show for quick profit, very far from the ideal of fair sporting competition in which ordinary and poorer fans can participate. 
I expect that we will soon see even more national teams in the World Cup, further rising costs for fans, and the cultivation of friendly relations with wealthy dictatorships like Saudi Arabia.

[Lida93]

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.

Let's be honest, the World Cup is becoming less of a sporting event and more of an economic, marketing, and political event. 
In this World Cup, everyone will make a lot of money, FIFA will pay close attention to relations with President Trump and his administration, they will accept many of their demands regarding limiting fan attendance and access to matches, ticket prices will skyrocket, and everything will turn into a show for quick profit, very far from the ideal of fair sporting competition in which ordinary and poorer fans can participate. 
I expect that we will soon see even more national teams in the World Cup, further rising costs for fans, and the cultivation of friendly relations with wealthy dictatorships like Saudi Arabia.

Nothing difference from what the World Cup has always being about even with past host countries since it's history and that's why you see that every country are competing to host the World Cup whenever there's an opening for interested nations. Also, many dignitaries attends the event for different purposes which this one of no difference just because of where it's hosted and who is the current President of America. As for ticket fees I don't think there would be any rising cost as you're speculating because everything has being planned already.

[Donneski]

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.

I agree, because he is not having extraordinary performance in FIFA World Cup, but his presence is going to be big morale boost for his team even I still believe that he needs to stay on bench and just giving confidence to his team for one or few minutes in second half, that could be also enough.

Now his main target is, he want to write his name in the list of FIFA world cup winners and this is also possible if he plays like he has done in 2022 FIFA world cup, just few minutes on pitch and then rest of matches on bench for staying in touch with team. This way, they have enough youngsters, those can do good for Portugal and win the world cup for their country.

Cristiano Ronaldo is one player that's always hungry to break as many records as possible and as we look forward to this year's summer world cup, we all know he's very much interested in winning the most prestigious football trophy. He has a very good relationship with Portugal national team manager Roberto Martinez so I believe they'll be able to easily sort out of he'll be starting most of their games in the competition or not. If Ronaldo is fit and mentally ready to start, I believe he'll surely get the chance but if not he will likely play from the bench. What's more important for Ronaldo is winning the World Cup, wether he plays most of the games or not.

[8rch7]

Cristiano Ronaldo is one player that's always hungry to break as many records as possible and as we look forward to this year's summer world cup, we all know he's very much interested in winning the most prestigious football trophy. He has a very good relationship with Portugal national team manager Roberto Martinez so I believe they'll be able to easily sort out of he'll be starting most of their games in the competition or not. If Ronaldo is fit and mentally ready to start, I believe he'll surely get the chance but if not he will likely play from the bench. What's more important for Ronaldo is winning the World Cup, wether he plays most of the games or not.

Cristiano Ronaldo still the greatest icon for Portugal national teams and has good relation with Roberto Martinez I believe bring Ronaldo to World Cup 2026, the same with Argentina has Lionel Messi as great icon although playing for MLS League club he still trust as captain teams and get regular position with the national team. During have consistent with the club in this season not doubt blame with Cristiano Ronaldo performance despite possibility winning World Cup or not because becoming the winner require teamwork not individual performance.

Ronaldo still not winning World Cup yet during his participants over four time and greatest achieving at 4th position at World Cup 2026 and has ambition for the last World Cup 202 appearance he want to be the winner.

[Slow death]

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.

I agree, because he is not having extraordinary performance in FIFA World Cup, but his presence is going to be big morale boost for his team even I still believe that he needs to stay on bench and just giving confidence to his team for one or few minutes in second half, that could be also enough.

Now his main target is, he want to write his name in the list of FIFA world cup winners and this is also possible if he plays like he has done in 2022 FIFA world cup, just few minutes on pitch and then rest of matches on bench for staying in touch with team. This way, they have enough youngsters, those can do good for Portugal and win the world cup for their country.

When analyzing a player, we must base our analysis on the player's data and not just on opinions or feelings, such as whether we like the player or not. He may be 40 years old, but the numbers speak for themselves:

So far, he has played 13 games in the Saudi league, scoring 14 goals and providing 1 assist.

And look, the guy at Al Nassr doesn't play with all the geniuses on his team; there are Saudis who aren't very talented and also foreigners who aren't very talented, but even so, he continues to score a lot of goals. And look, there are players much younger than Ronaldo who are in other national teams and don't score many goals, look at Vinicius Jr. for example.

Vinicius Jr. played 19 games in La Liga and only scored 5 goals, and in the Brazilian national team he's doing almost as well.

Lamine Yamal played 15 games in La Liga and only scored 7 goals, and in the national team he doesn't score many goals.

So what kind of serious coach would leave Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench in a World Cup?

[changaa]

I agree, because he is not having extraordinary performance in FIFA World Cup, but his presence is going to be big morale boost for his team even I still believe that he needs to stay on bench and just giving confidence to his team for one or few minutes in second half, that could be also enough.

Now his main target is, he want to write his name in the list of FIFA world cup winners and this is also possible if he plays like he has done in 2022 FIFA world cup, just few minutes on pitch and then rest of matches on bench for staying in touch with team. This way, they have enough youngsters, those can do good for Portugal and win the world cup for their country.

Surely the performances will be what they are and certainly will not be very incisive in terms of technique and goals, but we still can't know this, certainly he is still very incisive in terms of charisma and on that there is no discussion he is still the best of all

[Fiatless]

Cristiano Ronaldo still the greatest icon for Portugal national teams and has good relation with Roberto Martinez I believe bring Ronaldo to World Cup 2026, the same with Argentina has Lionel Messi as great icon although playing for MLS League club he still trust as captain teams and get regular position with the national team. During have consistent with the club in this season not doubt blame with Cristiano Ronaldo performance despite possibility winning World Cup or not because becoming the winner require teamwork not individual performance.

Ronaldo still not winning World Cup yet during his participants over four time and greatest achieving at 4th position at World Cup 2026 and has ambition for the last World Cup 202 appearance he want to be the winner.

It would be the last World Cup for two of the world's biggest footballers. Lionel Messi has achieved his goal of winning the competition. Maybe his target is to win it twice. But Ronaldo would do all he could to win it at least once. He would definitely be in the Portuguese squad that will feature in the competition, but I don't see them as a strong contender for the World Cup. I am not expecting him to contribute so much to the team. 

[Frankolala]

Surely the performances will be what they are and certainly will not be very incisive in terms of technique and goals, but we still can't know this, certainly he is still very incisive in terms of charisma and on that there is no discussion he is still the best of all

I don't think that Portugal will be able to withstand the pressure in the world cup to the extend of partaking in the finals. They have quality players but not compared to some other nations. Ronaldo loves football and planned to score 1000 goals to create a record that'll be very difficult to break. I believe that's why he's still in football.

[Accardo]

It would be the last World Cup for two of the world's biggest footballers. Lionel Messi has achieved his goal of winning the competition. Maybe his target is to win it twice. But Ronaldo would do all he could to win it at least once. He would definitely be in the Portuguese squad that will feature in the competition, but I don't see them as a strong contender for the World Cup. I am not expecting him to contribute so much to the team. 

Their presence would mean much contribution for the both lucky nations, Messi and Ronaldo are grand footballers compared to the new bloods, although they won't do all the visible jobs, but technically they'll make excellent input for their nations.

[asriloni]

A bit surprised to see how FIFA is having a plan to use AI generated avatar to increase the accuracy of offside call.I believe it's just another stupidity. What's the point using a video generate by AI while they can take multi angle video to determine the offside.

It's also still remain questionable how big accuracy of this kind of tech. So i'm wondering whether any of you agree with FIFA to use AI to interprete whether it's offside or not?

[KTChampions]

~Now that you bring up the political vector, it's almost "fun" to imagine what kind of groups could have been put together during the World Cup to really get some noise in the stadiums going.

USA
Venezuela
Iran
Colombia (if Trump carries out his threat)

It is a bizarre world. Do you think they would allow for these group constellations if they had theoretically been possible? Or do you think they would have intervened in the background?

I can't remember about the World Cup, there were games between Iran and the USA in the group stage, which means they could have been avoided if desired), but in Europe they don't allow Armenia and Azerbaijan to play each other, but for some reason they allow groups to be formed with Serbia and Albania together, and it always ends in scandal. But in any case, it's one thing to have a group stage where teams can be separated administratively, and another thing that anyone can face anyone in the playoffs, maybe we'll see interesting pairs again.

[Ale88]

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.

I agree, because he is not having extraordinary performance in FIFA World Cup, but his presence is going to be big morale boost for his team even I still believe that he needs to stay on bench and just giving confidence to his team for one or few minutes in second half, that could be also enough.

Now his main target is, he want to write his name in the list of FIFA world cup winners and this is also possible if he plays like he has done in 2022 FIFA world cup, just few minutes on pitch and then rest of matches on bench for staying in touch with team. This way, they have enough youngsters, those can do good for Portugal and win the world cup for their country.

When analyzing a player, we must base our analysis on the player's data and not just on opinions or feelings, such as whether we like the player or not. He may be 40 years old, but the numbers speak for themselves:

So far, he has played 13 games in the Saudi league, scoring 14 goals and providing 1 assist.

And look, the guy at Al Nassr doesn't play with all the geniuses on his team; there are Saudis who aren't very talented and also foreigners who aren't very talented, but even so, he continues to score a lot of goals. And look, there are players much younger than Ronaldo who are in other national teams and don't score many goals, look at Vinicius Jr. for example.

Vinicius Jr. played 19 games in La Liga and only scored 5 goals, and in the Brazilian national team he's doing almost as well.

Lamine Yamal played 15 games in La Liga and only scored 7 goals, and in the national team he doesn't score many goals.

So what kind of serious coach would leave Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench in a World Cup?

The other day I posted Cristiano Ronaldo's performances in the past World Cups and, to be honest, they are not what you would expect from a player like him. I don't want to say disappointing but almost. And we are talking about prime Ronaldo, let alone the current Ronaldo.
For some reason he always struggled in the World Cup while other players play better in the World Cup rather than the regular season.

Vinicius is extremely overrated and with the Brazilian team he's been a complete disaster, I wouldn't even make a comparison with Ronaldo, it's offensive for the Portuguese. And about Yamal, dude, he is 18 years old, what do you expect from him? He already played an incredible Euro Cup when he was only 16-17, you can't really complain about him.

[pewboy]

Now his main target is, he want to write his name in the list of FIFA world cup winners and this is also possible if he plays like he has done in 2022 FIFA world cup, just few minutes on pitch and then rest of matches on bench for staying in touch with team. This way, they have enough youngsters, those can do good for Portugal and win the world cup for their country.

Exactly, this is the most important thing for him, to have his name in the World Cup on the list of winners, now clearly, he is no longer a young man and i don't think he is as incisive as he was at 20 or 30, but his level is remarkable and i think he can still do very well

[maknyos]

~Now that you bring up the political vector, it's almost "fun" to imagine what kind of groups could have been put together during the World Cup to really get some noise in the stadiums going.

USA
Venezuela
Iran
Colombia (if Trump carries out his threat)

It is a bizarre world. Do you think they would allow for these group constellations if they had theoretically been possible? Or do you think they would have intervened in the background?

I can't remember about the World Cup, there were games between Iran and the USA in the group stage, which means they could have been avoided if desired), but in Europe they don't allow Armenia and Azerbaijan to play each other, but for some reason they allow groups to be formed with Serbia and Albania together, and it always ends in scandal. But in any case, it's one thing to have a group stage where teams can be separated administratively, and another thing that anyone can face anyone in the playoffs, maybe we'll see interesting pairs again.

It's interesting to see the World Cup this time and it's interesting not because it's directly related to football, but it's closely related to politics, both the host of the World Cup and others.
The highlight is how the host can provide a sense of security to the spectators who come. The situation is now very hot and the World Cup is in sight. I am now not thinking whether the World Cup will be lively and memorable or not, I am thinking more about safety and comfort.

[el kaka22]

There are many nations that are quite in either actual war with each other, or at least have quite big disagreements, some recently and some historically. That does bring some fun to equation if you ask me, because when that type of game plays, it is just more than a game and you get a lot more out of it.

There are many nations that play against each other and it makes it very fun .Even something as small as USA vs England, which is not even a historical thing anymore, is still fun. But, there are many nations that hate each other, even citizens hate each other let alone just governments and when those play it's very fun.

[Dump3er]

~Now that you bring up the political vector, it's almost "fun" to imagine what kind of groups could have been put together during the World Cup to really get some noise in the stadiums going.

USA
Venezuela
Iran
Colombia (if Trump carries out his threat)

It is a bizarre world. Do you think they would allow for these group constellations if they had theoretically been possible? Or do you think they would have intervened in the background?

I can't remember about the World Cup, there were games between Iran and the USA in the group stage, which means they could have been avoided if desired), but in Europe they don't allow Armenia and Azerbaijan to play each other, but for some reason they allow groups to be formed with Serbia and Albania together, and it always ends in scandal. But in any case, it's one thing to have a group stage where teams can be separated administratively, and another thing that anyone can face anyone in the playoffs, maybe we'll see interesting pairs again.

Yes I remember there are a few statutes trying to avoid high risk matches as good as possible. However the truth is that these high risk matches are unlikely to come about in the knockout rounds of any international tournament. I don't have all of the potentially high risk matches in mind, but going through most of them, I think it is unlikely that those teams will make it through the group stage.

After all I would happily waive any political drama for the sake of additional wrongly incentivized excitement during the game. But to be realistic, it will never happen that everyone in the world is reasonably in peace with each other.

Nevertheless I am looking forward to the World Cup, but I recently read an article stating that the chance for Trump to boycott the World Cup or to exclude Mexico as a host is not zero. I fear I have to agree with that. Sadly everything seems possible.

[EL MOHA]

It's interesting to see the World Cup this time and it's interesting not because it's directly related to football, but it's closely related to politics, both the host of the World Cup and others.
The highlight is how the host can provide a sense of security to the spectators who come. The situation is now very hot and the World Cup is in sight. I am now not thinking whether the World Cup will be lively and memorable or not, I am thinking more about safety and comfort.

Last I read on X (formerly twitter) is that some organizations or journalists are beginning to ask some serious questions about the safety of this World Cup taking place in the US, Many are of the opinion that this Donald Trump second tenure is getting more involved into wars which he shouldn’t be getting into and some of the sanctions that they have placed are on countries that could potentially be at the world. So the question is those countries which have been banned from coming into America what happens to not just the players but the supporters also, are they going to be allowed in too for the tournament to support their nations and if yes hope their movement wouldn’t be restricted to certain level and what is their confidence in their security.

All this questions are genuinely good questions that could make the FIFA officials actually reconsider a decision because of the ever increasing wars in American but I don’t think with the way this current FIFA officials are romancing this trump administration, I don’t ever think they have the balls to actually take any action