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

[retreat]

But what conflict are you talking about? Here there is no conflict, Mexico is no a war zone, no one is attacking them. Everything would be started by the cartels because right now no one is really going after them since there are corrupted politicians who protect them. If they choose to start killing innocent people because they are pissed off for whatever reason then they would be the ones digging their own grave. If they mind their business during the World Cup and don't do anything stupid then everything will be business as usual. They start killing random tourists for whatever reason? Good luck to them.

People see Mexico too badly and think that America is safer. If we talk about the context of mass shootings, data shows that the US has the highest number of mass shootings in the world. While Mexico has high gun violence, random mass shootings in public places are not as high as in the US, and they usually occur between cartels. Besides, I don't think the cartels are so foolish as to cause trouble by shooting tourists and making the government use that as an excuse to hunt them down.

[CLS63]

There are only 3 days left for the World Cup qualifiers playoffs to start. Turkey are going to host Romania in the semi final phase. We are serious favourites to win this match first of all.

The quality gap between these 2 teams is already obvious as well. I don't expect us to fail. Then we will face Slovakia/Kosovo in the final. That's going to be away which will make things more difficult for us.

But I believe in our players to qualify for the World Cup if we maintain our same system.

[Felicity_Tide]

There are only 3 days left for the World Cup qualifiers playoffs to start. Turkey are going to host Romania in the semi final phase. We are serious favourites to win this match first of all.

The quality gap between these 2 teams is already obvious as well. I don't expect us to fail. Then we will face Slovakia/Kosovo in the final. That's going to be away which will make things more difficult for us.

But I believe in our players to qualify for the World Cup if we maintain our same system.

I don't think Turkey will find any of the games difficult, although In the game against Romania, we might likely see 1-2 goals from both sides. You're correct, there is a massive quality difference between Turkey and the other national teams. I can still remember how they gave the Netherlands a very tough fight in the Euro 24 Quarter finals. They would have gone ahead to progress to the semi's if they hadn't missed a couple of chances. I guess that was the night I added them to my list of teams that are capable of pulling surprises.

Arda Guler is my main man and he's probably one of the reasons I try to follow up with their games most times. I hope they qualify so I can watch him play in the WC. He's a special player.

[Sithara007]

But what conflict are you talking about? Here there is no conflict, Mexico is no a war zone, no one is attacking them. Everything would be started by the cartels because right now no one is really going after them since there are corrupted politicians who protect them. If they choose to start killing innocent people because they are pissed off for whatever reason then they would be the ones digging their own grave. If they mind their business during the World Cup and don't do anything stupid then everything will be business as usual. They start killing random tourists for whatever reason? Good luck to them.

That would be the most logical thing to do for the cartels. But the problem is that there are dozens of cartels in Mexico and we can't predict their behaviour. Last month's violence was triggered by the arrest of cartel boss El Mencho. And from what I heard, some of the government officials were against the arrest, for the very same reason. They warned the officials that arresting him can trigger a bloodbath. Anyway, the violence there seems to have died down. And with Trump signalling that he may wind up the war in Iran, we may limp towards some sort of normalcy in the next few weeks.

[*Ace*]

Qualifying for the next World Cup kicks off again on Thursday evening.
There are still just a few places left to be decided.
As an Italian, I can’t wait to see my hopeless national team fail to qualify for the World Cup yet again.
I’m really looking forward to seeing the embarrassment we’ll make of ourselves

[AnisEverRise]

But what conflict are you talking about? Here there is no conflict, Mexico is no a war zone, no one is attacking them. Everything would be started by the cartels because right now no one is really going after them since there are corrupted politicians who protect them. If they choose to start killing innocent people because they are pissed off for whatever reason then they would be the ones digging their own grave. If they mind their business during the World Cup and don't do anything stupid then everything will be business as usual. They start killing random tourists for whatever reason? Good luck to them.

That would be the most logical thing to do for the cartels. But the problem is that there are dozens of cartels in Mexico and we can't predict their behaviour. Last month's violence was triggered by the arrest of cartel boss El Mencho. And from what I heard, some of the government officials were against the arrest, for the very same reason. They warned the officials that arresting him can trigger a bloodbath. Anyway, the violence there seems to have died down. And with Trump signalling that he may wind up the war in Iran, we may limp towards some sort of normalcy in the next few weeks.

I've been following the recent updates and honestly, the road to World Cup 2026 is looking wilder than anyone expected.

With the killing of El Mencho last month, the security situation in Mexico is definitely a huge question mark for FIFA right now. Even if the government says everything is under control, 70 deaths in a few days is no joke for a host country.

And then you have Trump and the five-day deadline with Iran. It’s crazy how global politics and energy prices might actually dictate how this tournament is organized. If the Strait of Hormuz stays messy, travel costs for fans are going to skyrocket.

Do you guys think FIFA has a ''Plan B'' for the Mexican venues if the cartel violence doesn't settle down before the qualifiers? I’m starting to think we might see some matches moved to the US or Canada last minute.

[Sithara007]

I've been following the recent updates and honestly, the road to World Cup 2026 is looking wilder than anyone expected.

With the killing of El Mencho last month, the security situation in Mexico is definitely a huge question mark for FIFA right now. Even if the government says everything is under control, 70 deaths in a few days is no joke for a host country.

And then you have Trump and the five-day deadline with Iran. It’s crazy how global politics and energy prices might actually dictate how this tournament is organized. If the Strait of Hormuz stays messy, travel costs for fans are going to skyrocket.

Do you guys think FIFA has a ''Plan B'' for the Mexican venues if the cartel violence doesn't settle down before the qualifiers? I’m starting to think we might see some matches moved to the US or Canada last minute.

Three of the Mexican cities are supposed to host matches during the FIFA World Cup 2026: Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara. Out of these three, the cartel violence post El Mencho's arrest was mostly concentrated in Guadalajara. The other two cities were mostly untouched. A practical option for FIFA is to move the matches which are to be hosted originally by Guadalajara to the other two cities. Else they can also move them to some of the other Mexican cities where cartel activity is low, such as León, Mérida or Mexicali. But at this point, it looks like the violence has died down in Guadalajara. 

[8rch7]

Qualifying for the next World Cup kicks off again on Thursday evening.
There are still just a few places left to be decided.
As an Italian, I can’t wait to see my hopeless national team fail to qualify for the World Cup yet again.
I’m really looking forward to seeing the embarrassment we’ll make of ourselves

Italy national team has bad news after Federico Chiesa announce withdrew him self due physical condition for the qualifying match against Northern Ireland. Indeed Italy is favorite team to win this match but last edition failed qualified to World Cup after losing at playoff round qualifier match.
Actually I am hoping Italy national team will qualify to World Cup after absent last several edition and most hoping they can perform well when become the World Cup winner 2006 at Germany, almost twenty years ago is the greatest achievement of Italy team will this World Cup will make new record again?

[leea-1334]

There are only 3 days left for the World Cup qualifiers playoffs to start. Turkey are going to host Romania in the semi final phase. We are serious favourites to win this match first of all.

The quality gap between these 2 teams is already obvious as well. I don't expect us to fail. Then we will face Slovakia/Kosovo in the final. That's going to be away which will make things more difficult for us.

But I believe in our players to qualify for the World Cup if we maintain our same system.

Turkey and Italy have to be the 2 favorites to qualify, so they will probably win this easy, or else it will be maximum pressure if even a draw happens. I personally still have trouble believing Italy lost out on last 2 WCs,,, Turkey I can sort of understand with all the different combinations of play they can get. GL to you

[BIT-BENDER]

There are only 3 days left for the World Cup qualifiers playoffs to start. Turkey are going to host Romania in the semi final phase. We are serious favourites to win this match first of all.

The quality gap between these 2 teams is already obvious as well. I don't expect us to fail. Then we will face Slovakia/Kosovo in the final. That's going to be away which will make things more difficult for us.

But I believe in our players to qualify for the World Cup if we maintain our same system.

Turkey and Italy have to be the 2 favorites to qualify, so they will probably win this easy, or else it will be maximum pressure if even a draw happens. I personally still have trouble believing Italy lost out on last 2 WCs,,, Turkey I can sort of understand with all the different combinations of play they can get. GL to you

Turkey has been good and not so good in this world cup qualification and they have so much talent I won't want us to not see at the world cup so I am hoping that they qualify.
Italy are not there yet in terms of building the great team we have always knew they have, checking their call up list you can see that they have far more defenders than any other wing and those defence aren't on the level we know Italy can have.

[asriloni]

Qualifying for the next World Cup kicks off again on Thursday evening.
There are still just a few places left to be decided.
As an Italian, I can’t wait to see my hopeless national team fail to qualify for the World Cup yet again.
I’m really looking forward to seeing the embarrassment we’ll make of ourselves

You can at least be more positive to your NT caused by they had pretty good result against Nothern Ireland. I know Italy has been shite, but who knows they can comeback stronger. So we can see they can perform better than they did during the euro and UEFA nation league.

I know Gattuso ain't a reliable coach, but his team has better quality on papre compared to the Nothern Ireland. That's also the reason i bet on Italy to win.

So we can be positive, and expect a surprise to come from Gattuso. If Gattuso fails to deliver even against Nothern Ireland, he deserves the blame.

However, Italy might able to qualify if they sign a better name than Gattuso. Let's see how it plays out soon.

[Inwestour]

Turkey has been good and not so good in this world cup qualification and they have so much talent I won't want us to not see at the world cup so I am hoping that they qualify.
Italy are not there yet in terms of building the great team we have always knew they have, checking their call up list you can see that they have far more defenders than any other wing and those defence aren't on the level we know Italy can have.

Yes, Turkey have a decent team, but Romania shouldn’t be underestimated either. For me they are evenly matched, and I can’t give a clear preference to either side. I think both teams deserve to be at the World Cup.

In the matchup between Italy and Northern Ireland, Italy are the favorites for me. Even though they’ve been going through difficult times, they are playing quite well at the moment. I like the way Gattuso is managing the team. If you look at the head to head history between Italy and Northern Ireland, Italy have always been the clear favorites.

[Ale88]

Do you guys think FIFA has a ''Plan B'' for the Mexican venues if the cartel violence doesn't settle down before the qualifiers? I’m starting to think we might see some matches moved to the US or Canada last minute.

A Plan B to move a ton of matches to another country? There is no such thing. People already bought game tickets, booked hotels, planes, cars, what do you think would happen if FIFA, a couple of month before the World Cup, would tell them they moved the matches to another country? Who is going to reimburse all these people? No way they are going to change anything.

[IjawMan]

Qualifying for the next World Cup kicks off again on Thursday evening.
There are still just a few places left to be decided.
As an Italian, I can’t wait to see my hopeless national team fail to qualify for the World Cup yet again.
I’m really looking forward to seeing the embarrassment we’ll make of ourselves

lest to say Italy is not up against Norway in this playoff and you cannot lost hope on your country's national team for a Northern Ireland team that has never won Italy in all their encounters. Italy will perform differently at this stage and  will make all Italians proud when they finally qualify to the international stage of the World cup.

I got your disappointment in this team cause for the name the Italian national team has made in international tournaments, and  giving this poor execution that had brought them to this play off, no stunch fan will be proud of their underperforming results.

[snipie]

Do you guys think FIFA has a ''Plan B'' for the Mexican venues if the cartel violence doesn't settle down before the qualifiers? I’m starting to think we might see some matches moved to the US or Canada last minute.

A Plan B to move a ton of matches to another country? There is no such thing. People already bought game tickets, booked hotels, planes, cars, what do you think would happen if FIFA, a couple of month before the World Cup, would tell them they moved the matches to another country? Who is going to reimburse all these people? No way they are going to change anything.

The whole situation in North America is not stable. I suppose Canada is the safest for visitors and teams. Otherwise US already have a high violence rate even by automatic arms. The war against immigrants led by the actual government will just prepare the ground for people who want to disturb the event and the war against Iran just fueled the whole thing.
As of Mexico, the security there is at stake for long time and the operation led recently by US made things poorer. Anyway, there will be a ton of security and limited places to visit. I doubt a war will be declared. Maybe few individual attempts will occur at worst. US should also give the promised money for security since they delayed it for more than two months.

[DiMarxist]

Snip

lest to say Italy is not up against Norway in this playoff and you cannot lost hope on your country's national team for a Northern Ireland team that has never won Italy in all their encounters. Italy will perform differently at this stage and  will make all Italians proud when they finally qualify to the international stage of the World cup.

I got your disappointment in this team cause for the name the Italian national team has made in international tournaments, and  giving this poor execution that had brought them to this play off, no stunch fan will be proud of their underperforming results.

Let see what Italy will play in this playoff against a less fancied northern Ireland that has also shown strength and resilience in the European Qualifiers so far. At this point no team is to be underrated because every team at this stage wants to make it to the world cup. But Italy is one of the greatest footballing nations in the world in the past and has a lot of followership and many people wants them to be in the world cup including myself, Italy knows what is at stake they can't afford to lose out on another world cup again. I wish them success in this playoff.

[$crypto$]

Qualifying for the next World Cup kicks off again on Thursday evening.
There are still just a few places left to be decided.
As an Italian, I can’t wait to see my hopeless national team fail to qualify for the World Cup yet again.
I’m really looking forward to seeing the embarrassment we’ll make of ourselves

For me the World Cup without Italy feels empty because the iconic world cup from the past Italy has always been championed, it's just that the last few years Italy has performed poorly, but now this team has the possibility of qualifying.
Against Northern Ireland is likely to win in this semifinal, which becomes difficult maybe in the final later this is the determination, for me Italy will definitely try hard to win at all costs.

[Dump3er]

Qualifying for the next World Cup kicks off again on Thursday evening.
There are still just a few places left to be decided.
As an Italian, I can’t wait to see my hopeless national team fail to qualify for the World Cup yet again.
I’m really looking forward to seeing the embarrassment we’ll make of ourselves

For me the World Cup without Italy feels empty because the iconic world cup from the past Italy has always been championed, it's just that the last few years Italy has performed poorly, but now this team has the possibility of qualifying.
Against Northern Ireland is likely to win in this semifinal, which becomes difficult maybe in the final later this is the determination, for me Italy will definitely try hard to win at all costs.

Italy was one of those teams that added value to all international matches, but it is possible there will be a few teams come and go. The competition has become harder I think and decades ago it was ore predictable when the big teams played against the smaller teams. This has changed and if a team didn't deserve it uring all those qualification matches, I think it is right to just not have them play there. Whether it is a big name or not, doesn't matter then. Again I agree that it was often times iconic gameplay, but as soon as a big teams plays bad, it has nothing to do with being an iconic event anymore.

[Sithara007]

For me the World Cup without Italy feels empty because the iconic world cup from the past Italy has always been championed, it's just that the last few years Italy has performed poorly, but now this team has the possibility of qualifying.
Against Northern Ireland is likely to win in this semifinal, which becomes difficult maybe in the final later this is the determination, for me Italy will definitely try hard to win at all costs.

Even with the expanded format of 48 participants, we need to remember that only around 20% of the teams that take part in the World Cup qualifiers eventually make it to the main tournament. So we don't need to get surprised if Italy misses the boat here. Also, remember that Italy failed to qualify either for the 2018 or the 2022 editions. In case they fail to qualify this time also, then it will be the third consecutive time that they are failing to qualify. I suspect that demographics has something to do with this, as Italy as one of the rapidly ageing populations, even w.r.t. other countries in Europe.

[GFOXOG]

I would agree the World Cup 2026 is indeed an exciting prospect with several significant changes compared to previous editions

Some key point for this years games.

This will be the first time we see a tournament featuring 48 teams, significantly increasing the competition's scale.
Match Volume should lead to promises of a dynamic event
it's set to be one hell of a comp!

I am looking forward to discussing these aspects, as well as how each host nation is preparing for their role in this global sporting event.

Who you got money on?