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

[xLays]

Is it possible to edit this thread and add a poll about which team or country people here think will win the World Cup this year? I’m curious what most of the Bitcointalk community thinks about who’s going to win.
As for me, I’m hoping Germany becomes champion this year. I think they didn’t do well in the last World Cup and got upset, right? Maybe this time they bounce back with no surprises. lol

About Sweden vs Ukraine correct me if I'm wrong the is will be held not both in their country so no home advantage. So I think this game can be draw.

[execijutiere]

Turkey’s match will start earlier than the others. The lineups haven’t been announced yet, but based on the likely lineup, I think we’ll field a strong starting 11. There’s no need to take risks. We need to advance by defeating both Romania and the winner of the Kosovo/Slovakia match. I believe this current generation has the potential to achieve great success at the World Cup. I hope they don’t let us down, and we need to show just how strong we are against Romania.

[letteredhub]

I don't consider any country superior to the other when it comes to playoff matches, for me the playoffs is a game of chance and only the most desperate would make it through, if Romania could utilise all their chances against the Turks then they could secure a place for themselves in the forthcoming World Cup, in this phase of the qualifiers you don't need to underrate any side because if it were that easy then they wouldn't be playing at this level, Turkey can go through if they can beat the Romanians, likewise the Romanians can also beat Turkey, it depends on who is more prepared to snatch the slot.

I still feel that Turkey will have it a little bit easy in this match. They  have a great squad than that of Romaina. Players like yildz and Arder guler are great talent which will help Turkey overcome Romania. Turkey has played in the previous editions of the World cup, so for them to miss this will be a very big blow to the nation. So they will want to use that as an experience. I don't think the Romainans can surprise Turkey. Surely they can get  1 or 2 goals. So my prediction for this game will be Turkey 3-1 Romania. This is a walk through for Turkey, no upset will happen.

Apparently the Turkish side is being viewed as the favourites because of their ratings, the Romanians are nowhere near the Turkish side when it comes to class and player to player ratings too, the Romanian league can't even be compared to the Turkish Super League so therefore it is already perceived that the Turkish side is ahead of Romania but am still convinced that Romania won't let go easily without putting in a fight, because they also want to play in the World Cup and this is the only shot they have.

[KTChampions]

No, i have optimism for Ukraine beat Sweden and save us from rat Isak being on World Cup 
As for other games, I see good opportunities for live betting in the Italy vs. Northern Ireland and Denmark vs. North Macedonia games. The odds for Italy and Denmark to win are very low, but their opponents are extremely tough teams and I think the odds could rise significantly as the game progresses. Once they grow above 1.5-1.6, you can place a bet.

So what makes you think that Isak is a rat, When I hear people calling Isak a rat I wonder what makes you have that impression~

Impression?   You're probably new to more than just this forum, right? If you've been following football, you'd know Isak refused to honor his active contract with Newcastle at the start of the season. He's a rat by every metric that could be applied to this situation. The fact that he is free and has not been stripped of his licence is simply a reflection of the fact that it cost Newcastle far more to establish justice than to sell him. But that doesn't change the fact that he's a rat.

[Pumared]

Today there will be a friendly match between Brazil and France. Brazilian fans have many doubts about what Ancelotti will present, as the Brazilian players don't have much star power, and there's also uncertainty about whether Neymar will be officially called up.

[Ale88]

I wasn’t expecting Italy to be in the playoffs they should’ve qualified directly

Italy should have qualified directly with Norway in the group? Did you take a look at the teams? Norway were the team who scored the most goals, 37, and Haaland alone scored 16 goals, This is by far the best generation Norway ever produced. Italy have one of the worst one. So, I'm sorry, but what you are saying makes no sense, there was no way Italy could finish at group winner.

[giorgione]

Italy didn't qualify in the past for two main reasons: for sure the players are not as good as they used to be in the past (even though in the recent years the various young teams obtained excellent results, so there is hope for the future), but Italy didn't qualify because back in 2018 lost one single match against Spain in the group phase. One match against one of the best teams in the world. And in 2022, sure, we lost against North Macedonia but the playoff final would have been against Portugal, which was (and is) a better team than us. The European qualification simply don't allow all the best teams to qualify because you lose one match out of ten and you can be screwed.

perhaps, but i wouldn't underestimate the Italian national football team which can truly amaze everyone, it doesn't seem to me that there is a lack of strong players, in fact there are players as Gattuso says who have also made Champions League finals and who certainly won't hold back if they want to win

[Swordsoffreedom]

Turkey’s match will start earlier than the others. The lineups haven’t been announced yet, but based on the likely lineup, I think we’ll field a strong starting 11. There’s no need to take risks. We need to advance by defeating both Romania and the winner of the Kosovo/Slovakia match. I believe this current generation has the potential to achieve great success at the World Cup. I hope they don’t let us down, and we need to show just how strong we are against Romania.

The match will start in a while. Turkiye will play at their home. Considering the home match, it would not be wrong to consider tukiye as the favorite. But it is not possible to make a sure prediction about the international matches. We have to be ready to see any result. Placing a bet is also very risky.

Tukiye team is strong. Even I think it is stronger than romania. They have won the last 4 matches. On the other hand, romania's performance is quite irregular. In the last match, the team won against San marino by a huge margin of 7-1 . But in the previous match , they lost 3 -1 against a  weak team like Bosnia. Although Romania is strong in home matches , it is relatively weak in away matches.

[retreat]

In the Turkey-Romania match, I think Turkey has a chance to stay in the World Cup because they are the host nation and have a better squad quality. The winner of this semi-final match will face the winner of the Slovakia-Kosovo match. Therefore, I think the winner of the Slovakia-Kosovo match will want Romania to win this match. Turkey is a tough opponent to face.

Turkey is the favorite to win this match because they have players they can rely on, such as Arda Guler, who will most likely be the playmaker in this match. Turkey also has home advantage, so they can play more freely in front of their fans, which will give them the advantage of direct support from their fans. Moreover, they have not participated in the World Cup for so long, they will ensure that they can reach the final to face the winner of the match between Slovakia and Kosovo. So Turkey will fight tooth and nail in this match to be able to secure a position in the World Cup.

[slapper]

The big day has finally arrived for us. We are going to play home against Romania in the evening. Of course we are big favourites for the win here. I don't expect any surprises as long as we keep playing with our usual game plan.

The biggest problem will be the final stage... Because we are going to be the away side against Slovakia / Kosovo. Not having home advantage matters a lot I think. Of course we have much more valuable players but we need to play our best game for the WC qualification.

I believe we'll make it there finally after 24 years.  

I bet on Turkey to win today's game because I believe that playing at home, Turkey will have a better chance of winning and shouldn't waste the opportunity, because qualifying for the World Cup has become more complicated than in 2022 when Turkey qualified and achieved a relevant position in the competition. Nowadays, many national teams that were weak in the past have good players who play for big European clubs, and countries with good leagues are importing many foreign players.

This leaves them with few highly skilled native players who play for the big teams. Just look at the case of Turkey, which has a good league, but its national team is ranked lower than the Belgian national team, which has a league that isn't very popular. I, for one, prefer the Turkish league to the Belgian league.

Italy is another example; it has a good league, but the Italian national team even had difficulty qualifying for the World Cup through normal means and now will have to play in the playoffs. Therefore, I hope that Turkey doesn't underestimate its opponent, plays to score many goals early, and defends well afterward to save money for the next opponent.

Turkey at the World Cup... They haven't been there since 2002. And not because they suck. Euros they show up decent, quarter finals last year even It's specifically the World Cup qual that breaks them somehow. Portugal knocked them out last cycle, Switzerland literally started a war almost in 2006. I watch this and I feel like something superstitious is happening.

The home stats back you up though, fourteen goals in four home games, crowd turns that stadium in to something uncomfortable to play in. And Romania hasn't won a single away game in like a year. Not one. However, their coach Lucescu he managed in Turkish league. He knows what is up to at Besiktas Park blind. He's walked in there, hundred times. He knows precisely what the crowd does to teams, psychologically. Or maybe he's going to use that against Turkey, make them run around, make them sloppy.

In this sense, I do agree leagues kill national teams. The Super Lig pays enormous money, brings in aging foreign players, and Turkish kids don't even get to play in their league. And then somehow Belgium (whose league most people couldn't name three clubs from) keeps on producing elite international players. It's a paradox that makes absolutely perfect sense when you think about it.

Score early and Turkey is probably going to win. Stay past 60 minutes... I don't wanna think about it.

[Lida93]

...

...

Yes, that's a possibility, you're right. However, we will do our best in this match we will play in Turkey. Hopefully, we can go to the World Cup and represent ourselves in the best way there. We drew 2-2 with Spain in Spain, and we did that against the number one team in the world. I think we need to be in the World Championship.

The possibilities of both teams getting an unexpected result is very much high, it all depends on who is more desperate and intent, if Romania can pull themselves out of their shell like north Macedonia against Italy in the last World Cup qualifiers then we might experience another football wonder in this match, but for now we just have to wait for the kickoff.

[Adiljutt156]

I was seeing Sweden's squad list a few days ago, but i see no Isak and Kulusevki in their line up. It's very disappointing me to see those two big names may be missing in this game. However, i still have optimism caused by Ukraine is not that good now.

So we can still ahve a small hope to see the Sweden to thrash Ukraine. If Isak won't play, i can only count on Gyokeres. Hopefully, he's doing everything to score in order to help his club to qualify.

Do you have optimism for Sweden to beat Ukraine without Isak?

Sweden men's national football team performance is very bad in the recent matches because they could not win any match out of 5 matches which they played against different teams and they should try to win at least 2 games which they could not and opponent team performance is very good in last matches as they won 3 matches out of 5 matches and 1 match ended with draw result and 1 match lost by that team. The head to head performance of Ukraine national football team is excellent because they won 1 match which they played against Sweden men's national football team and that was one sided match. That match was organized in the Ciutat de València, València and that was a match of World cup Qualifier and both teams want to qualify and which team will win more matches will qualify for the World cup.

[Unsoldier]

FIFA announced new football rules for the 2026 World Cup to prevent time-wasting:

1. Quick substitutions:
The substituted player is given a maximum of 10 seconds to leave the field. If they delay, their replacement must wait one minute before entering the pitch, temporarily leaving the team with one fewer player.

2. Time management:
A 5-second timer will be applied to throw-ins and goal kicks. Exceeding this time will result in a loss of possession.

3. Off-field medical treatment:
A player receiving medical attention on the pitch must leave the field and wait one minute before returning, except in cases where the injury was caused by a foul resulting in a card.

4. Expanded VAR capabilities:
VAR will be able to review second yellow cards that lead to a red card, as well as incorrectly awarded corner kicks.

5. Captain and referees:
A rule is in effect where only the captain may approach the referee for clarification; other players may be cautioned with a yellow card if they surround the official.

What do you think of the new rules?

[ILuckyGuyI]

It's halftime in the Turkey vs Romania game and it's 0-0. I mean we are clearly the far better side than Romania. But we need to show it ASAP.

The first half performances didn't satisfy me. We have great attackers so we should be able to score goals already.

There is no room for a mistake as it's only one-leg. It's a home game for us at the same time. What do we need more to win this? I believe we'll make it to the final game in playoffs. 

[blomen]

It's halftime in the Turkey vs Romania game and it's 0-0. I mean we are clearly the far better side than Romania. But we need to show it ASAP.

The first half performances didn't satisfy me. We have great attackers so we should be able to score goals already.

There is no room for a mistake as it's only one-leg. It's a home game for us at the same time. What do we need more to win this? I believe we'll make it to the final game in playoffs. 

i’m just learning from you that the playoffs are being played as single-elimination matches. turkey is currently dominating the game and leads 1-0. the game has played out in a way that reflects the score, but this score isn’t enough for a single-elimination match that will be decided in one game. securing the win is crucial. turkey was the favorite from the start, but i thought they’d be able to score more goals by now. if turkey wins, their opponent will be determined by the slovakia vs. kosovo match, which is set to begin shortly.

[tygeade]

tomorrow, turkey will face romania in the world cup playoffs. turkey is the favorite in this first playoff matchup, and i think they’ll easily win the game, which is being played in istanbul. the team’s quality is quite good right now; i’d say this is the most dynamic squad we’ve seen in recent years. if they can’t make it to the world cup with this roster, things will start to get tough for montella. this opportunity comes once every four years, and it’s time to make the most of it.

Many people say Turkey is very favorite later against Romania, they play at home an advantage in front of their citizens, therefore, Turkey's chances of winning are very large because I do not doubt tonight, as I know there are several players who are still relied on.

I can't guess the score for sure, but Turkey's game is likely to be more offensive to score more goals even though we know Romania can sometimes provide fierce resistance later --- still I choose Turkey.

In national level of football, you never know what's going to happen. While Turkey may seem like favourites, it's clear that they do not have a striker, like at all. This becomes an issue when they need to win games, they are still good because they have players like Arda from Real and Kenan from Juventus, so not like they have bad team, they do have a good team, but it's a top heavy team.

Like they have 3-4 players that no team they face has, but then have like 3-4 players who are equal, and the rest could be considered even worse. So it s a top heavy team and the best players they have are better than most players they face  but they still have a couple very bad players too. Use that to your advantage and Romania could have a chance.

[Fiatless]

What do you think of the new rules?

These rules are making football more complicated. I know they want to curb delays by some players but some of these actions are not intentional. A player might be injured, will he be given just ten seconds to leave the pitch when he is substituted? Players sometimes are emotional and want to complain to the referee. This will now result in a yellow card. They just want to make Players act like robots. I just hope that referees will use their discretion sometimes.

[execijutiere]

Turkey managed to beat Romania, even though it was a tough match. To be honest, I didn’t expect it to be this tough. It was a match where we struggled to create scoring opportunities and find the net. We didn’t give the opponent any chances to take accurate shots, but we were barely able to score either. At least we managed to score one goal and advanced to the next round. We’re now waiting for our next opponent. Whoever it is, we have to beat them.

[xzone]

Arda Güler's assist was perfect; it once again showed the whole world why a quality team like Real Madrid signed him. Ferdi Kadığlu just touched the ball and it was a goal. It was really enjoyable to watch.
It wasn't a match with many goals, but at least Turkey won. We have a much better squad than Romania, so this score shouldn't surprise anyone. We could have played more offensively, or at least we need more effective attacks

[KTChampions]

Turkey managed to beat Romania, even though it was a tough match. To be honest, I didn’t expect it to be this tough. It was a match where we struggled to create scoring opportunities and find the net. We didn’t give the opponent any chances to take accurate shots, but we were barely able to score either. At least we managed to score one goal and advanced to the next round. We’re now waiting for our next opponent. Whoever it is, we have to beat them.

Was the game really that tense? I checked the stats occasionally, and it seemed like Turkey was in control. When the odds became good, I placed my bet without hesitation. I respect Romania, but Turkey always has a big boost at home, so I'd be surprised if they didn't win in regulation time.



The other games also promise to be interesting, but unfortunately, due to work, I will have little time to catch a good moment for live betting.