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

[Sithara007]

I believe that the conditions are not yet in place to remove stronger teams, which are currently Brazil. That federation is like that, there are teams that are better trained by years and years of experience and others that try because they are new and don't know much about what they are doing, so it is quite a big problem.

Why stronger teams such as Brazil need to be removed? Let the weak teams play along strong teams. Along with better training, there is one more factor which is currently making the minnows stronger. A lot of players are now migrating between the countries. Indonesia has a lot many Dutch-born players. Same is the case with Curaçao. Arab nations have imported players from all around the world without any limits. Remember the case of Mohammed Muntari and Almoez Ali (Qatar)? Kazakhstan team has also a number of German players. This falls within a grey area of eligibility. But unless FIFA comes up with a rule that explicitly outlaws it, player migration will increase in the coming years.

[changaa]

More inclusion? Are we talking about a competition or a woke Disney movie? A World Cup is not about letting everybody play some games because otherwise somebody may get offended. If I pay $1,000 for a ticket I want to see the best players in the world, not some unknown player from Jordan, Tunisia or Curaçao. If they manage to qualify because they earned it, good, but taking part just because your federation now has double the spots is not an achievement.

Yes, this is also the problem, inclusion. These people are only interested in money, and if we have to be inclusive to attract investors, we also have to do something like this, where the laws that have governed until now will be put to the test. There are teams that don't deserve to be there, and yet they are there with help.

[SuperBitMan]

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.

I have seen many who have changed their nationality to play the World Cup, it also happened to Italy in many cases, in fact a long time ago it was possible to play with two national teams at the same time now they cannot do so, but you have to make a single choice and decide forever.

Yes, this time around you cannot play for two countries. You just have to play for one country and if you have started playing for one country already, you cannot change to another country and that is The best decision that FIFA took I love it that way, if it was not that way people will be switching from one country to another and that we give World Cup a very bad reputation and it won’t be interesting anymore to watch.
However, I don’t know what are the requirements for those who are willing to change to a different country especially there real country I don’t know if there’s an exception for that or you can’t change to another country no matter the situation.

[retreat]

I have seen many who have changed their nationality to play the World Cup, it also happened to Italy in many cases, in fact a long time ago it was possible to play with two national teams at the same time now they cannot do so, but you have to make a single choice and decide forever.

Players are given the freedom to choose their nationality, if they feel that they have cultural ties, family ties and a greater opportunity to be able to play for one national team, then they can change nationalities if necessary. In my country, many foreign players choose to naturalize to have the opportunity to play at national team level. Most of them are players from the Netherlands, apart from the fact that there are many Indonesian descendants there, their chances of becoming part of the core squad for the Dutch national team are fewer, so they chose to change citizenship and strengthen the Indonesian national team as a way to achieve their dream of playing at international level. And the same is the case for many other players, especially those from countries with tight competition in the national team.

[Ale88]

I have seen many who have changed their nationality to play the World Cup, it also happened to Italy in many cases, in fact a long time ago it was possible to play with two national teams at the same time now they cannot do so, but you have to make a single choice and decide forever.

Players are given the freedom to choose their nationality, if they feel that they have cultural ties, family ties and a greater opportunity to be able to play for one national team, then they can change nationalities if necessary. In my country, many foreign players choose to naturalize to have the opportunity to play at national team level. Most of them are players from the Netherlands, apart from the fact that there are many Indonesian descendants there, their chances of becoming part of the core squad for the Dutch national team are fewer, so they chose to change citizenship and strengthen the Indonesian national team as a way to achieve their dream of playing at international level. And the same is the case for many other players, especially those from countries with tight competition in the national team.

To be fair they don't really change citizenship, they simply acquire a second one. In Europe there are several laws to follow if you're not a EU citizen so for sure those Dutch players are not renouncing to their Dutch citizenship, they are getting another one but they still remain Dutch too. Otherwise it would potentially become complicate for them to play (and live) in Europe. At this point there are very few countries in the world that don't accept double (or even more) citizenship, the first ones I remember are Japan and China for example.

[Sithara007]

To be fair they don't really change citizenship, they simply acquire a second one. In Europe there are several laws to follow if you're not a EU citizen so for sure those Dutch players are not renouncing to their Dutch citizenship, they are getting another one but they still remain Dutch too. Otherwise it would potentially become complicate for them to play (and live) in Europe. At this point there are very few countries in the world that don't accept double (or even more) citizenship, the first ones I remember are Japan and China for example.

This was the loophole that was used by teams such as Indonesia and Curaçao. There are a lot of players with Curacoan or Indonesian descent in Dutch league. But these players are not good enough to get selected to the Dutch national team. So they get an additional passport from their parent's or grandparent's country and then play for them. Here we have a scenario where players who have never been to Indonesia before representing that country. As per the FIFA eligibility criteria, this is perfectly fine. As long as they have citizenship, FIFA allows them to play for the new (adopted) country.

[Hanadawa]

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.

I have seen many who have changed their nationality to play the World Cup, it also happened to Italy in many cases, in fact a long time ago it was possible to play with two national teams at the same time now they cannot do so, but you have to make a single choice and decide forever.

Many countries naturalize players, but some players sometimes choose not to. The French national team is largely comprised of African immigrants, and they won the 2018 World Cup, with almost all of their players being of African descent. I think some of them were asked to return to their home countries, but they refused because they had the opportunity to play for France, a country with a strong chance of winning the World Cup and European Championships. What happened in Indonesia is that most naturalized players are those who struggled to qualify in their other countries. Take Eliano Reijnders, for example, who chose Indonesia, but his brother, Tijjani Reijnders, earned a starting spot on the Dutch national team. But I think nationalism is also a factor. For example, Hilgers, Idzes, and Emil Audero are good players who could still have a good chance of playing for the Netherlands and Italy with their current performances, even though they might only be bench players in their countries. But they chose Indonesia, especially Idzes and Hilgers, who are still in their prime.

[m4r1o]

I think some player change their nationality because seeing bigger opportunity with new national team for playing more and get national team calling for FIFA World Cup.

I don't think they can change their national team at will, i don't know where you read it, but i don't think it can happen. Before, you could change your national team even during the race if you had dual citizenship. This is something that is wrong, a choice is a choice and it cannot be changed.

[Mate2237]

FIFA will rule in the case that was summited by Nigeria against the DRC on Monday, FIFA will decide if eventually DRC filled ineligible players against Nigeria in their CAF world cup playoffs. It will be a decisive decision because this case will decide the faith of two countries because, hopes will be lost and hopes will also be regain by this decision.


But personally I don't see why Nigerian has not been able to accept their defeat in the world cup Qualifiers against DRC. If they can't qualify comfortable from the African region then there is no need of Nigeria going to the world cup.

[Wakate]

Yes, this time around you cannot play for two countries. You just have to play for one country and if you have started playing for one country already, you cannot change to another country and that is The best decision that FIFA took I love it that way, if it was not that way people will be switching from one country to another and that we give World Cup a very bad reputation and it won’t be interesting anymore to watch.

You shouldn't be excited about this kind of decision by FIFA because players should be free to choose what country they want to play for without any restrictions. We have seen in the past how players were able to take deals from their home country and play for them after staying and playing for a different country that is not their home country. I think FIFA should consider them also without bias.

[Ale88]

To be fair they don't really change citizenship, they simply acquire a second one. In Europe there are several laws to follow if you're not a EU citizen so for sure those Dutch players are not renouncing to their Dutch citizenship, they are getting another one but they still remain Dutch too. Otherwise it would potentially become complicate for them to play (and live) in Europe. At this point there are very few countries in the world that don't accept double (or even more) citizenship, the first ones I remember are Japan and China for example.

This was the loophole that was used by teams such as Indonesia and Curaçao. There are a lot of players with Curacoan or Indonesian descent in Dutch league. But these players are not good enough to get selected to the Dutch national team. So they get an additional passport from their parent's or grandparent's country and then play for them. Here we have a scenario where players who have never been to Indonesia before representing that country. As per the FIFA eligibility criteria, this is perfectly fine. As long as they have citizenship, FIFA allows them to play for the new (adopted) country.

I wouldn't call it a loophole, at the end they could legally get the second citizenship because of their family's roots. We can question the morality of such move because many times, like you said, we are talking about players who have never been to that country, and sometimes they don't even speak the local language. But it's not different from a regular person from South America (for example) who gets an Italian or Spanish passport because his grandfather was from Europe: if you can do it, it's a smart move because you can move and legally live and work in Europe in that case.

Anyway now FIFA's rules are quite strict so players usually only go for the second option when they know they'll never be called for the main national team.

[Sithara007]

I wouldn't call it a loophole, at the end they could legally get the second citizenship because of their family's roots. We can question the morality of such move because many times, like you said, we are talking about players who have never been to that country, and sometimes they don't even speak the local language. But it's not different from a regular person from South America (for example) who gets an Italian or Spanish passport because his grandfather was from Europe: if you can do it, it's a smart move because you can move and legally live and work in Europe in that case.

Anyway now FIFA's rules are quite strict so players usually only go for the second option when they know they'll never be called for the main national team.

As far as I know, FIFA only allows a change in nationality once. If a Dutch player opts for Curaçao or Indonesia, then there is no chance that he can reverse this and go back to represent the Dutch team. I am also somewhat OK with this option. In most cases, the players have some degree of ancestry from the country which they are representing. On the other hand, I have seen foreign citizens with no known ancestry representing "national" teams in cricket. The laws in football regarding eligibility are a lot better. But then, what to do with teams who still fake eligibility? such as this one:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx4pdg9w2wo

[asriloni]

FIFA will rule in the case that was summited by Nigeria against the DRC on Monday, FIFA will decide if eventually DRC filled ineligible players against Nigeria in their CAF world cup playoffs. It will be a decisive decision because this case will decide the faith of two countries because, hopes will be lost and hopes will also be regain by this decision.


But personally I don't see why Nigerian has not been able to accept their defeat in the world cup Qualifiers against DRC. If they can't qualify comfortable from the African region then there is no need of Nigeria going to the world cup.

The better to wait for FIFA's decision regarding this. I've heard FIFA already dismissed Nigeria's appeal, but still no official statement. I expect it to comestomorrow.

For me i think Congo stand more chance to qualify.  The fact that Congo has not used the false document to registered its players. they're properly following all of FIFA rules. So i no reason why FIFA must be excluded them from World Cup.

It's also proving all of accusations by Nigeria regarding ineligible players are not true in the end. I know Nigeria accused many of Congo players have double citizenship, which opposite to the Congo's law, but FIFA doesn't use nation's law to determine its eligibility.

It's all make sense to think Congo will get a spot they deserve at World Cup.

[Sithara007]

The better to wait for FIFA's decision regarding this. I've heard FIFA already dismissed Nigeria's appeal, but still no official statement. I expect it to comestomorrow.

For me i think Congo stand more chance to qualify.  The fact that Congo has not used the false document to registered its players. they're properly following all of FIFA rules. So i no reason why FIFA must be excluded them from World Cup.

It's also proving all of accusations by Nigeria regarding ineligible players are not true in the end. I know Nigeria accused many of Congo players have double citizenship, which opposite to the Congo's law, but FIFA doesn't use nation's law to determine its eligibility.

It's all make sense to think Congo will get a spot they deserve at World Cup.

The ruling will be out by tomorrow. Eligibility has become a hot topic nowadays, due to increased instance of migration of players between different nations. And it is being further exacerbated by forging of documents by certain countries, such as Malaysia. Just a few months ago, there was a huge scandal from the CONMEBOL confederation regarding the eligibility of Ecuadorian player Byron Castillo. Federación de Fútbol de Chile (FFCh) filed the complaint with FIFA, claiming that the player is actually Colombian and not Ecuadorian. After an enquiry, FIFA rejected the complaint from FFCh.

[YOSHIE]

The better to wait for FIFA's decision regarding this. I've heard FIFA already dismissed Nigeria's appeal, but still no official statement. I expect it to comestomorrow.

To be honest, even though I am not Nigerian, I enjoy watching various football matches, especially the players are Nigerian, because I feel entertained and enjoy watching the way they play on the field.

In the current situation of tension between the pros and cons of FIFA and the NFF, I just hope and pray that Nigeria can qualify for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, I hope that FIFA does not reject the appeal submitted by the NFF, Tomorrow/Monday's decision can bring happiness, especially to all people and football fans in Nigeria.

[BitBakerr1]

The better to wait for FIFA's decision regarding this. I've heard FIFA already dismissed Nigeria's appeal, but still no official statement. I expect it to comestomorrow.

To be honest, even though I am not Nigerian, I enjoy watching various football matches, especially the players are Nigerian, because I feel entertained and enjoy watching the way they play on the field.

In the current situation of tension between the pros and cons of FIFA and the NFF, I just hope and pray that Nigeria can qualify for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, I hope that FIFA does not reject the appeal submitted by the NFF, Tomorrow/Monday's decision can bring happiness, especially to all people and football fans in Nigeria.

Nigeria would have qualified for the World Cup, but they are not consistent if they had played the way they played in the just concluded African cup of nation surely they would have qualified for the World Cup, but because of their inconsistency and because of the injury that Victor had that was why Nigeria was unable to qualify, I really don’t think that FIFA will disqualify Congo to play the World Cup, because if that happens, there will be a lot of tension, so I believe if they will just leave them to play the competition, since they have already qualified. all Nigeria should removed hope in the decision that we be made tomorrow because I don’t see Nigeria playing in the 2026 World Cup again.

[Sithara007]

Nigeria would have qualified for the World Cup, but they are not consistent if they had played the way they played in the just concluded African cup of nation surely they would have qualified for the World Cup, but because of their inconsistency and because of the injury that Victor had that was why Nigeria was unable to qualify, I really don’t think that FIFA will disqualify Congo to play the World Cup, because if that happens, there will be a lot of tension, so I believe if they will just leave them to play the competition, since they have already qualified. all Nigeria should removed hope in the decision that we be made tomorrow because I don’t see Nigeria playing in the 2026 World Cup again.

Nigeria performed poorly during the CAF qualifiers. They were placed in a group along with South Africa and Benin. They came second and the third placed Benin had the same points as them. They managed to defeat Gabon in second round, but then lost to DRC. As a result, DRC qualifies for the world cup in 2026, and Nigeria failed to do so. Rather than admitting this, they went through the ugly route by complaining against DRC to the FIFA. Quality of Nigerian football has gone down recently. Even for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, they were unable to qualify from the CAF confederation.

[LUCKMCFLY]

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.

It's going to be very exciting, what I like most is that we'll have more hours of football, more enjoyment, it's something that I hope will be what makes the difference, however I just hope that this time technology has more of a leading role than referees, that they trust it more since the human hand in refereeing is not efficient and now anything determines who wins and who doesn't, and a refereeing error can leave out a team that doesn't deserve it.

[$weetne$$]

You shouldn't be excited about this kind of decision by FIFA because players should be free to choose what country they want to play for without any restrictions. We have seen in the past how players were able to take deals from their home country and play for them after staying and playing for a different country that is not their home country. I think FIFA should consider them also without bias.

This will make some countries not have good players if it happens that FIFA actually makes it a rule that players can playing any country of their choice, it will be like club football and no more like a country international competition. It will be better FIFA reconsider this because it may take some countries out of the world cup permanently for lack of players to even get pass the qualification stage.

[Mate2237]

Snip

Nigeria performed poorly during the CAF qualifiers. They were placed in a group along with South Africa and Benin. They came second and the third placed Benin had the same points as them. They managed to defeat Gabon in second round, but then lost to DRC. As a result, DRC qualifies for the world cup in 2026, and Nigeria failed to do so. Rather than admitting this, they went through the ugly route by complaining against DRC to the FIFA. Quality of Nigerian football has gone down recently. Even for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, they were unable to qualify from the CAF confederation.

I agree with you because if Nigeria can't qualify comfortable from a group that had opponents that were not that strong then I don't see the reason why Nigerian should be protesting against the DRC, as far as am concerned what Nigeria is trying to do is like going through the back door since they have failed to qualify automatically, but this doesn't tell well of the Nigeria football because Nigeria was known as one of the power house in African football but now what has happened to this country, Even qualifying for the world cup is now a problem to them if the decision goes against Nigeria this will be the second consecutive world cup that Nigeria will be missing out on.


To me instead of protesting like this Nigeria should accept their fate and go back to the drawing board and develop their football because the Nigerian league is not developing and it part of the problems that the Nigeria football has. Until Nigeria gets it right in their league they will continue to suffer setback in their football.