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

[LUCKMCFLY]

We hope the 2026 World Cup will be held as expected, attracting more attention due to the changed competition format, and, of course, even better than previous World Cups. With the World Cup approaching, the FIFA President will undoubtedly want to ensure security and stability by building harmonious relationships with all parties. However, we certainly hope this will not tarnish football itself, regardless of anyone interests.

There's no doubt about it, what we want is for it to exceed expectations because the Qatar World Cup set the bar very high, but I think this World Cup will be successful, full of technology, improvements, where there's no corruption, where the referees aren't so biased, where we see good football, exclusively good football where the protagonists are the players and not the referees.

[Donneski]

We hope the 2026 World Cup will be held as expected, attracting more attention due to the changed competition format, and, of course, even better than previous World Cups. With the World Cup approaching, the FIFA President will undoubtedly want to ensure security and stability by building harmonious relationships with all parties. However, we certainly hope this will not tarnish football itself, regardless of anyone interests.

There's no doubt about it, what we want is for it to exceed expectations because the Qatar World Cup set the bar very high, but I think this World Cup will be successful, full of technology, improvements, where there's no corruption, where the referees aren't so biased, where we see good football, exclusively good football where the protagonists are the players and not the referees.

Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup honestly did set the bar very high but considering all that's been said about this year's tournament, I'm very confident that football fans will experience a more entertaining edition than we've ever experienced in recent years.  For the first time, 42 teams instead of 32 teams will feature in this year's FIFA World Cup competition and to be honest, I expect nothing but fascinating experience for us football fans. The clock is ticking and just like many football fans across the globe, I can't wait for the kickoff.

[Sithara007]

Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup honestly did set the bar very high but considering all that's been said about this year's tournament, I'm very confident that football fans will experience a more entertaining edition than we've ever experienced in recent years.  For the first time, 42 teams instead of 32 teams will feature in this year's FIFA World Cup competition and to be honest, I expect nothing but fascinating experience for us football fans. The clock is ticking and just like many football fans across the globe, I can't wait for the kickoff.

2026 edition is going to witness participation from 48 teams (not 42 as you stated). It is definitely going to be entertaining. And there will be more diversity, as more teams have been added from Asia and Africa. Teams such as Uzbekistan, Jordan and Curaçao will participate in the FIFA World Cup for the first time. But at the same time, some of the European fans have been complaining that it will lead to the dilution of quality. Personally, I don't find anything wrong with a 48-team tournament. The gap between the top teams and the lower ranked ones have been narrowing with time.

[tam31]

As a European, I would also like to briefly add my two cents on the subject. Soccer is huge in Europe  and whether it's the Champions League, the European Cup, or the World Cup we always try to watch all the games. Sometimes we meet up with friends somewhere to have a drink and watch the match, but that won't happen very often during this year's World Cup because the times the games are scheduled are a disaster for us. It's not just for  me but almost all of my friends. I don't think FIFA will be happy with the viewing figures.

My country has never been in FIFA World Cup still I love to watch this event due to its quality and performance level things are going to be more entertaining this time due to 48 countries participation, but time is disastrous for us as well because for watching game have to avoid many things which are not possible.

Still good things now technology making things easy to watch but 9 to 12 hours difference is still had big impact hopefully soccer will be at his best and teams will be able to do as they have tradition of playing having European or Asian timetable always helps to keep things on balance and also have enough entertainment from this game which is most famous around the globe.

[giorgione]

Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup honestly did set the bar very high but considering all that's been said about this year's tournament, I'm very confident that football fans will experience a more entertaining edition than we've ever experienced in recent years.  For the first time, 42 teams instead of 32 teams will feature in this year's FIFA World Cup competition and to be honest, I expect nothing but fascinating experience for us football fans. The clock is ticking and just like many football fans across the globe, I can't wait for the kickoff.

im not very convinced that this level is respected, FIFA, as always, thinks about doing well and looking after its own interests. i don't see all these teams participating in such a good way, there are too many of them and they are certainly less strong than other European contenders who are definitely on a much higher level.

[Pumared]

I don't know if you're aware, but there's a possibility for players to change their nationality to play for another national team. This recently happened in Brazil, where a player changed his nationality to play for the Paraguayan national team. I believe he wouldn't have been called up to the Brazilian national team and chose to go to another team. What do you think of this change? Do you know of similar cases with other national teams?


source: https://noataque.com.br/futebol/noticia/2026/02/11/meia-revelado-pelo-cruzeiro-se-naturaliza-e-pode-jogar-copa-do-mundo-2026/

[katanic97]

Do you guys see this? FIFA president says he might lift Russia's ban. If that's gonna be true, doesn't he also force UEFA to lift the ban for Russia as well? So we can expect an interest conflict between FIFA and UEFA. I personally hope won't happen caused by we're getting closer to the WC 2026. It won't be good to have another serious conflict that may disrupt the competition.

I can only guess FIFA consider it caused by they were not banning Israel. So they're thinking to also lift the ban for russia. I also see a lot of people are against this idea, but it sounds partially right.

I've heard even AFC already voted no for russia to join there. I think the better to leave them still on the list of banned country.

If we’re going to look at political rules and the sanctioning of Russia practically from the world of sports, then we also have to mention America, Israel, and the major european powers that are helping Ukraine in the war against Russia. Just to be clear, i’m not interested in any war , it’s the greatest evil of humanity , and i believe mixing politics with sports is completely unnecessary. These are simply the facts as they are.I would like to see all national teams at the world cup and for politics and sports to never be mixed

[8rch7]

I don't know if you're aware, but there's a possibility for players to change their nationality to play for another national team. This recently happened in Brazil, where a player changed his nationality to play for the Paraguayan national team. I believe he wouldn't have been called up to the Brazilian national team and chose to go to another team. What do you think of this change? Do you know of similar cases with other national teams?

source: https://noataque.com.br/futebol/noticia/2026/02/11/meia-revelado-pelo-cruzeiro-se-naturaliza-e-pode-jogar-copa-do-mundo-2026/

Its normally nowadays many players change their nationality for playing at World Cup with difference country born, in my national teams Indonesia has many players get naturalization after get difficulty for Netherland national team calling and seeing the opportunity with other national has chance for playing with other country.

During the player not has appearances at FIFA matchday match they can change the nationality depend have full the regulation to be naturalization players, for the world cup 2026 seems interested to see which one players get success with their difference national teams after not getting his own national team calling.

[banana33]

2026 edition is going to witness participation from 48 teams (not 42 as you stated). It is definitely going to be entertaining. And there will be more diversity, as more teams have been added from Asia and Africa. Teams such as Uzbekistan, Jordan and Curaçao will participate in the FIFA World Cup for the first time. But at the same time, some of the European fans have been complaining that it will lead to the dilution of quality. Personally, I don't find anything wrong with a 48-team tournament. The gap between the top teams and the lower ranked ones have been narrowing with time.

Yes, the variety will certainly be varied and there will be many teams never seen before that can do very well and put on a show, these teams are clearly inferior to the European contenders, but that is not necessarily true, i remember Morocco who then became an excellent team that won against many teams that were favourites

[Lillominato89]

2026 edition is going to witness participation from 48 teams (not 42 as you stated). It is definitely going to be entertaining. And there will be more diversity, as more teams have been added from Asia and Africa. Teams such as Uzbekistan, Jordan and Curaçao will participate in the FIFA World Cup for the first time. But at the same time, some of the European fans have been complaining that it will lead to the dilution of quality. Personally, I don't find anything wrong with a 48-team tournament. The gap between the top teams and the lower ranked ones have been narrowing with time.

Yes, the variety will certainly be varied and there will be many teams never seen before that can do very well and put on a show, these teams are clearly inferior to the European contenders, but that is not necessarily true, i remember Morocco who then became an excellent team that won against many teams that were favourites

I would say that more teams means more entertainment, more matches, more money circulating, and more fans. The quality will obviously suffer, and obviously those watching the World Cup from home will choose which matches to watch! With all due respect to the smaller national teams, few people would be interested in watching a match such as Curacao vs Ivory Coast or Haiti vs Morocco, for example, as they will have much less appeal than many other matches.

[m4r1o]

My country has never been in FIFA World Cup still I love to watch this event due to its quality and performance level things are going to be more entertaining this time due to 48 countries participation, but time is disastrous for us as well because for watching game have to avoid many things which are not possible.

Still good things now technology making things easy to watch but 9 to 12 hours difference is still had big impact hopefully soccer will be at his best and teams will be able to do as they have tradition of playing having European or Asian timetable always helps to keep things on balance and also have enough entertainment from this game which is most famous around the globe.

This is why for many teams and many nations it is a source of pride and it should be like this. Seeing your national team participate in such an important event is certainly noteworthy and must be very nice for everyone, but this must not be a motivation for FIFA to take advantage of these nations and exclude others who are deserving.

[Fiatless]

I would say that more teams means more entertainment, more matches, more money circulating, and more fans. The quality will obviously suffer, and obviously those watching the World Cup from home will choose which matches to watch! With all due respect to the smaller national teams, few people would be interested in watching a match such as Curacao vs Ivory Coast or Haiti vs Morocco, for example, as they will have much less appeal than many other matches.

Your observations are correct. Watching some games might be a waste of time because these countries are not highly ranked. But it's good that the competition was expanded to accommodate more nations. It would expose some countries to international football. And it could also be a source of revenue for countries if they can go further in the competition.  Scouts of some clubs see the World Cup as an avenue to identify talent. Players from these small nations might be lucky to get contracts in big clubs.

[Ale88]

I don't understand that whether most Americans are so nationalistic or they are just like frogs in a well that most of them say that the NFL is bigger than the World Cup Final. I mean, I understand that the NFL is the most beloved sport in the US, and everyone understands that they call it their "football". But let's just be more realistic that football fans are much bigger than the NFL. I don't want to compare the two sports but it's just that this debate continues on online platforms and so many people say that the NFL is bigger than the World Cup Final which I find a bit ridiculous.

Why America Thinks the Super Bowl is Bigger Than the World Cup
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9Kch-OVGto

I don't even care about opening the video but the simple fact that they have the "MLB World Series" which consist of a game between the winners of two American leagues, and yet they use the word "world", says it all. Also football (or soccer) in the USA is a secondary sport compared to basketball, American football and baseball, and since usually the Super Bowl is the most viewed event in the US for many Americans that automatically means it's the most viewed in the world because, for them, there is nothing better than the US. Many times they forget there is whole world outside their borders...

[Dump3er]

We hope the 2026 World Cup will be held as expected, attracting more attention due to the changed competition format, and, of course, even better than previous World Cups. With the World Cup approaching, the FIFA President will undoubtedly want to ensure security and stability by building harmonious relationships with all parties. However, we certainly hope this will not tarnish football itself, regardless of anyone interests.

There's no doubt about it, what we want is for it to exceed expectations because the Qatar World Cup set the bar very high, but I think this World Cup will be successful, full of technology, improvements, where there's no corruption, where the referees aren't so biased, where we see good football, exclusively good football where the protagonists are the players and not the referees.

What do you mean when you say that the Qatar World Cup set the bar very high? Are you talking about slavery scandals or sponsors close to boycotting the event because Qatar wanted to prohibit alcohol entirely despite having other agreements? Or do you mean the political drama about wearing rainbow colours or silencing criticism about human rights? I am serious here, I don't know what bar they set very high. Perhaps I missed all those details.

The bad news is that in its current state, the USA could actually be a worse host than Qatar. A few years ago nobody would have thought that is possible, but now apparently nothing is impossible.

[Sithara007]

I would say that more teams means more entertainment, more matches, more money circulating, and more fans. The quality will obviously suffer, and obviously those watching the World Cup from home will choose which matches to watch! With all due respect to the smaller national teams, few people would be interested in watching a match such as Curacao vs Ivory Coast or Haiti vs Morocco, for example, as they will have much less appeal than many other matches.

This is an argument which I have seen multiple times in this thread. Let's look at the past editions. The FIFA World Cup of 2022 had a total of 32 participants. And most of the one-sided matches involved teams which would have qualified even for a 24-team world cup. Remember that the 1994 FIFA World Cup had only 24 participants. FIFA expanded the tournament to 32 teams in 1998. And compared to the 1994 edition, there were fewer one-sided matches in 1998. Russia's 6-0 win against Cameroon (in which Oleg Salenko scored a record 5 goals) was the most one-sided match in 1994.

[Ale88]

I would say that more teams means more entertainment, more matches, more money circulating, and more fans. The quality will obviously suffer, and obviously those watching the World Cup from home will choose which matches to watch

Maybe it's because I'm a minimalist but I never understood this idea that "more is better". I prefer to focus on the quality of things rather than the quantity. Bringing a bunch of unknown national teams doesn't make the World Cup better, it just reduces the overall quality and interest for the whole tournament. There are competitions that are supposed to be only for the best of the best, not for the good teams/athletes. I'm looking forward to see the attendance info about the group stage.

[cande86]

Your observations are correct. Watching some games might be a waste of time because these countries are not highly ranked. But it's good that the competition was expanded to accommodate more nations. It would expose some countries to international football. And it could also be a source of revenue for countries if they can go further in the competition.  Scouts of some clubs see the World Cup as an avenue to identify talent. Players from these small nations might be lucky to get contracts in big clubs.

There are nations that can't do much and they know it, but FIFA, which has to force new teams to increase their earnings, doesn't care, so i think it's only for this reason, only for the earnings that by increasing the teams will surely be much higher, but it doesn't surprise me.

[Lillominato89]

I would say that more teams means more entertainment, more matches, more money circulating, and more fans. The quality will obviously suffer, and obviously those watching the World Cup from home will choose which matches to watch! With all due respect to the smaller national teams, few people would be interested in watching a match such as Curacao vs Ivory Coast or Haiti vs Morocco, for example, as they will have much less appeal than many other matches.

This is an argument which I have seen multiple times in this thread. Let's look at the past editions. The FIFA World Cup of 2022 had a total of 32 participants. And most of the one-sided matches involved teams which would have qualified even for a 24-team world cup. Remember that the 1994 FIFA World Cup had only 24 participants. FIFA expanded the tournament to 32 teams in 1998. And compared to the 1994 edition, there were fewer one-sided matches in 1998. Russia's 6-0 win against Cameroon (in which Oleg Salenko scored a record 5 goals) was the most one-sided match in 1994.

I believe that one-sided matches are becoming less common because the technical skills of players have improved, even in weaker national teams.
But they still happen! For example, in 2002, the most one-sided match was Germany vs Saudi Arabia 8-0.
In 2010, Portugal vs North Korea 7-0.
In 2014, Germany vs Brazil 7-1. (this victory was incredible).
In 2022, Spain vs Costa Rica 7-0.
Data taken from the World Cup almanac.
As you can see, more teams have not really eliminated one-sided matches, but have only diluted them.

[Alpha Marine]

im not very convinced that this level is respected, FIFA, as always, thinks about doing well and looking after its own interests. i don't see all these teams participating in such a good way, there are too many of them and they are certainly less strong than other European contenders who are definitely on a much higher level.

You people complain too much. You complain about every single thing. Will the top teams play only lower teams? Has there ever been a World Cup where all the 32 teams were top teams? Why do you people hate change so much? You complained over the slightest bit of change,, even though it doesn't do any damage to the sports.
The same thing happened when the UCL format was changed, football fans complained all day and now, it has turned out to be a very possitve change becasue it has made the competition more intersting, Previouly people didnt care that much about the group stages, but now, from the very first match, eveybody is interated.

48 teams means more countries, more inclusion. The world cup is not for only the top football teams in the world, it should include more people. They have been divided into 12 groups. The only big changes is that after the group stages, there will now be a round of 32 instead of a round of 16.

[KTChampions]

You people complain too much. You complain about every single thing. Will the top teams play only lower teams? Has there ever been a World Cup where all the 32 teams were top teams? Why do you people hate change so much? You complained over the slightest bit of change,, even though it doesn't do any damage to the sports.
The same thing happened when the UCL format was changed, football fans complained all day and now, it has turned out to be a very possitve change becasue it has made the competition more intersting, Previouly people didnt care that much about the group stages, but now, from the very first match, eveybody is interated.

48 teams means more countries, more inclusion. The world cup is not for only the top football teams in the world, it should include more people. They have been divided into 12 groups. The only big changes is that after the group stages, there will now be a round of 32 instead of a round of 16.

Seriously? It's the people complaining, not the organizers doing the bullshit? You must be kidding about the Champions League? It's complete crap, the group stage is practically nonexistent – ​​in two seasons, only one big team has failed to qualify (Napoli). So, all these eight games are just a farce and a show-off to get the same group of teams into the playoffs as always. We'll see the same thing at the World Cup, only in the group stage there will be more "standard" football scores like 10-0