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

[Adiljutt156]

Wow, Italy had a brilliant win last night! I never would have expected it.
With our 2-0 victory over Northern Ireland, we’ve made it through to the final round. Now we’re up against Bosnia and Herzegovina – let’s hope for the best! It would really upset me to see Italy miss out on the World Cup for the third time in a row.
We’ve got a score to settle from USA ’94

Italy national football team performance was excellent in today game because they played very well in this match and they easily won this match by doing 2 goals in this match and opponent team could not do any goal in this match. Tonali was a person who did first goal of the match and he did this goal at 56 minutes of the match and we saw no goal in the first half of the match and Northern Ireland national football team could not do any goal till end . Players contribution was great in this match because their collaboration was more in this match and players did excellent job in this match. We expected that Northern Ireland l football team will fight back by doing goal in the second half of the match but they could not focus on their weaknesses and they lose this match at the end.

[banana33]

Turkiye reached the final and will face Kosovo.
On Tuesday night, we will travel to Kosovo and it won?t be an easy match for us.
We haven?t participated in the World Cup for a long time, so this is a huge opportunity for us.
Turkiye are the favorites against Kosovo and I believe we will win this match as well.

Turkey can do it i is more than convinced, they have courage to spare and i don't think they will back down, strange that they didn't immediately move on to the World Cup but had to wait for the playoff, i certainly would have expected a much easier match for them, but that wasn't the case

[Franctoshi]

World Cup 2026 Playoff Finals are officially set!

We now know the final matchups that will decide which teams will secure their spot in the FIFA World Cup 2026

I was lucky enough to watch the Czech Republic's game and it was a beautiful story they made. They started by losing 2-0 and then came back to win and qualify.

Who do you think is making it through? Any dark horses or are the favorites going to deliver?

Turkey is one of the favorites to qualify their opponent looks very easy to beat. This is not the match that one will say don’t underrate your opponent. In this particular match I’m underrating Kosovo. As for Italy it’s already a shame that they didn’t qualify directly from the group stage, so I’m expecting them to pick up this opportunity and qualify by beating Bosnia Herzegovina. Sweden and Poland have no clear favorite to qualify. Both are strong nations and any of them can go through. So I don’t have any favorite there. Same thing with Denmark and Chech republic. The strength of both teams are the same, so I can’t predict who will go through.

I'm picking up on Sweden as the favourite team here to win, as for Turkey they're super lucky to have to play Kosovo and if they miss such opportunity to go through then, they have no one to blame of their failure. I'm wondering how Italian national team dropped
this kind of form that they failed to join other big teams to secure their and now has to play a play off, let's see if they will miss this opportunity entirely.

[Slow death]

The only i want is to see Italy reaching the world cup, i hope they made it i dont want to see another world cup without them and having in the world cup shit tier teams instead of them.

For the other games for me is the same who goes into the world cup, maybe i dont want to see Kosovo in the world cup since they are not gonna bring something new.

Italy has one of the best football leagues in Europe. In my opinion, Italy should have a strong squad like other European countries with the best leagues, such as England, Spain, France, Germany, and Portugal. Unfortunately, Italy has a good league but hasn't created good conditions for its national players to become very important in the big Serie A teams.

As a consequence, when players are called up for the national team, they end up playing against teams whose best players play for the big Serie A teams and are the best players on those Serie A teams. This makes the Italian national team weak and prone to losing to these other teams.

Yesterday I bet on Italy to win and I won, but I don't know if I should bet on their next game. There's also the question of what their goals will be if Italy qualifies for the World Cup. Will they advance from the group stage? Well, we'll see. But I'm very unsure if betting on their next game would be a good option.

[changaa]

In the worst case scenario, it could go to extra time if they fail to win in regular time. Sometimes Ireland sits deep in defense and doesn't allow their opponents to score. But I think the Czech Republic has a solid attack and should be able to find a goal in regular time.

no one thinks that Italy is still the favorite anymore but let's say they will go to the World Cup, i think they will make an excellent impression, in the championships when they participate and manage to participate they are always an excellent team that makes life difficult for all the teams they encounter so never underestimate Italy.

[execijutiere]

Wales drew 1-1 with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dzeko’s goal in the final minutes practically kept his country in the tournament. With the score remaining unchanged in extra time, Bosnia and Herzegovina eliminated their opponent in a penalty shootout and will now face Italy. I don’t think they can beat Italy, but we can say they have a chance.
Poland, meanwhile, managed to win 2-1 after falling behind in the match, thanks to goals scored in the second half. By letting the opponent control the ball more in the second half and playing with a focus on the result, they found the goals.

[Iranus]

Poland, meanwhile, managed to win 2-1 after falling behind in the match, thanks to goals scored in the second half. By letting the opponent control the ball more in the second half and playing with a focus on the result, they found the goals.

Although the margin of  victory was small , poland worked hard and performed well enough to win. Anyway, I thought the match  would be one-sided. Albania's strong defense  made the match enjoyable. Poland was 1 -0 down at the end of the first half but  scored two goals in the second half. lewandowski performed well, scoring one goal. Szymanski also provided  two assists. Poland will face sweden in the next match. Sweden is a relatively  strong team.

[Pumared]

The only i want is to see Italy reaching the world cup, i hope they made it i dont want to see another world cup without them and having in the world cup shit tier teams instead of them.

For the other games for me is the same who goes into the world cup, maybe i dont want to see Kosovo in the world cup since they are not gonna bring something new.

I think the same way; it's almost an obligation for Italy to win and qualify. It would be strange if they didn't participate in the World Cup; the big countries with a tradition of winning World Cups should be in every one to make it a great show.

[giorgione]

Italy won their home match against Northern Ireland 2-0. They have performed quite well. But it will be very difficult for them to win against Bosnia in the next match.

Bosnia's team's performance is inconsistent but this team is strong in home matches. On the other hand, Italy's performance is not stable. We often see their very bad performance. So the road to victory in the playoffs final will be very difficult for Italy. I will not be surprised at all if Italy loses this match.

For me Italy has finally played like Italy and i think its a step forward compared to many other teams who will try to participate in the World Cup, its clear that everything remains to be seen and the last word hasn't been said, but i have to say that there will be some big surprises if they manage to participate in the World Cup, an Italy in great style in a great return, this is what i expect from them.

[verdinio]

Turkey?s next challenge is Kosovo. This is going to be exciting. Turkey narrowly defeated Romania 1-0, just as you said, with Turkey controlling the game.
Kosovo, the team Turkey will face next, defeated Slovakia in a dramatic fashion, which serves as a signal for Arda Güler to give it his all on April 1.

Italy?s next match will also be exciting after their win over Northern Ireland. Bosnia will be the team Italy faces.
If Italy advances, all speculation about Gattuso will be put to rest.

Honestly i think it will be a very interesting match to follow, I am not a big fan of Kosovo, but i have to say that Turkey seems to be in great shape at the moment and i think it won't be very difficult for them to win against Kosovo who seems to me to be much inferior to them, with a bit of work they can win easily.

[Alonso_]

World Cup 2026 Playoff Finals are officially set!

We now know the final matchups that will decide which teams will secure their spot in the FIFA World Cup 2026

I was lucky enough to watch the Czech Republic's game and it was a beautiful story they made. They started by losing 2-0 and then came back to win and qualify.

Who do you think is making it through? Any dark horses or are the favorites going to deliver?

Turkey is one of the favorites to qualify their opponent looks very easy to beat. This is not the match that one will say don’t underrate your opponent. In this particular match I’m underrating Kosovo. As for Italy it’s already a shame that they didn’t qualify directly from the group stage, so I’m expecting them to pick up this opportunity and qualify by beating Bosnia Herzegovina. Sweden and Poland have no clear favorite to qualify. Both are strong nations and any of them can go through. So I don’t have any favorite there. Same thing with Denmark and Chech republic. The strength of both teams are the same, so I can’t predict who will go through.

I'm picking up on Sweden as the favourite team here to win, as for Turkey they're super lucky to have to play Kosovo and if they miss such opportunity to go through then, they have no one to blame of their failure. I'm wondering how Italian national team dropped
this kind of form that they failed to join other big teams to secure their and now has to play a play off, let's see if they will miss this opportunity entirely.

Don’t get too carried away with Sweden because they can’t be trusted, I have previously watched them during the qualifiers group stages, they were absolutely shambolic, because there are games you expected them to win, but unfortunately they couldn’t win and I was surprised that they beat Northern Ireland comfortably yesterday, I wouldn’t say that Turkey are lucky because if you watch Kosovo in the group stages you will understand that Kosovo isn’t an easy side and Turkey isn’t lucky, if you underrate them you will have to know why they’re in the Playoffs, it will not be an easy game for Turkey.

Well Italy looks like a mess, I don’t understand what they are playing, and I will not be surprised if they don’t qualify for the World Cup, they’re a terrible team to watch, I wish them well to qualify for the World Cup.

[ILuckyGuyI]

Honestly i think it will be a very interesting match to follow, I am not a big fan of Kosovo, but i have to say that Turkey seems to be in great shape at the moment and i think it won't be very difficult for them to win against Kosovo who seems to me to be much inferior to them, with a bit of work they can win easily.

We are much stronger than Kosovo on paper. But of course football isn't played always according to the quality gap. There have been so many surprising results we've witnessed.

The way Kosovo beat Slovakia could also be considered kind of an unexpected result also. They weren't favoured in the end.    Our handicap against them is not playing home.

But I still trust our players to finally qualify for the World Cup after 20+ years.

[cande86]

We struggled against Romania but won 1-0. Ferdi scored the winning goal with a superb assist from Arda Güler. Romania came very close to scoring in the 75th minute; their shot hit the post. Romania only attempted to attack 2-3 times throughout the match. I can say Turkey played well.

Türkiye's opponent was Kosovo. Kosovo defeated Slovakia 3-4 away. Kosovo fell behind twice in the match but scored two goals in the second half when the score was 2-2, making it 2-4. Slovakia scored their third goal in the last minute, but the remaining time wasn't enough for a draw. Could Turkey score 4 goals and Kosovo 3 in the Kosovo-Türkiye match? I don't think so.

Turkey will have no problems going to the World Cup, they have a very respectable team with players who are starters in very strong club teams, i don't think there are problems, but in football anything can happen, i think Kosovo is not in very good shape, everything that happens has a meaning and this team is not strong

[aylabadia05]

Honestly i think it will be a very interesting match to follow, I am not a big fan of Kosovo, but i have to say that Turkey seems to be in great shape at the moment and i think it won't be very difficult for them to win against Kosovo who seems to me to be much inferior to them, with a bit of work they can win easily.

We are much stronger than Kosovo on paper. But of course football isn't played always according to the quality gap. There have been so many surprising results we've witnessed.

The way Kosovo beat Slovakia could also be considered kind of an unexpected result also. They weren't favoured in the end.    Our handicap against them is not playing home.

But I still trust our players to finally qualify for the World Cup after 20+ years.

Once in the playoffs, every team plays as if it were a final. This motivation is what allows underdogs to transform into wild teams that don’t care about the quality of their play—the teams here in this stage are solely focused on defeating their opponents.

Turkey is a strong team, and Kosovo is certainly not a weak team that can be overlooked.
Perhaps we’re on the same page—I’m also rooting for Turkey to advance over Kosovo. I like Turkey’s roster because most of the starting lineup consists of players I’ve followed during their club careers, particularly the forwards.

[MinoRaiola]

Italy national football team performance was excellent in today game because they played very well in this match and they easily won this match by doing 2 goals in this match and opponent team could not do any goal in this match. Tonali was a person who did first goal of the match and he did this goal at 56 minutes of the match and we saw no goal in the first half of the match and Northern Ireland national football team could not do any goal till end . Players contribution was great in this match because their collaboration was more in this match and players did excellent job in this match. We expected that Northern Ireland l football team will fight back by doing goal in the second half of the match but they could not focus on their weaknesses and they lose this match at the end.

I didnt think Italy played nice. They didnt really have a good scoring chance in the first 45 minutes, and that was against a team like Northern Ireland, which isnt so strong defensive. So Italy really needs to play better if they want to qualify for the WorldCup and made good results there. If you look at other teams like France or the Netherlands, there are still significant differences. Italy hasnt been in a WorldCup for over 10 years, and you could see that again this time. They dont have a strong team as they did in 2006.

[Lillominato89]

Wow, Italy had a brilliant win last night! I never would have expected it.
With our 2-0 victory over Northern Ireland, we’ve made it through to the final round. Now we’re up against Bosnia and Herzegovina – let’s hope for the best! It would really upset me to see Italy miss out on the World Cup for the third time in a row.
We’ve got a score to settle from USA ’94

Italy national football team performance was excellent in today game because they played very well in this match and they easily won this match by doing 2 goals in this match and opponent team could not do any goal in this match. Tonali was a person who did first goal of the match and he did this goal at 56 minutes of the match and we saw no goal in the first half of the match and Northern Ireland national football team could not do any goal till end . Players contribution was great in this match because their collaboration was more in this match and players did excellent job in this match. We expected that Northern Ireland l football team will fight back by doing goal in the second half of the match but they could not focus on their weaknesses and they lose this match at the end.

Yes, last night the Italian national football team put in an excellent performance and secured their place in the final stage of the play-offs.
I didn’t watch the whole match because I was busy, but I saw a team that was focused and determined to go all the way!
I hope it will be the same against Bosnia and Herzegovina

[retreat]

There's no doubt that Italy and Turkey are going to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. Bosna and Kosovo are no match for Italy and Turkey.
-snip-

If we were to close our eyes, we could confidently say that Italy could win this match and qualify for the World Cup, given their superior squad. However, Bosnia will be hosting this match and are also eager to qualify for the World Cup, which will give them an advantage. We don't know what strategy Gattuso will employ, but hopefully, they'll succeed.

Turkey also has a better chance of qualifying because they have more reliable players. However, this time they won't be playing at home, so they need to be cautious, as Kosovo will be the host nation. However, this shouldn't be a major problem for Turkey, and they should be able to qualify smoothly for the World Cup.

[MorganaX]

World Cup 2026 Playoff Finals are officially set!

We now know the final matchups that will decide which teams will secure their spot in the FIFA World Cup 2026

I was lucky enough to watch the Czech Republic's game and it was a beautiful story they made. They started by losing 2-0 and then came back to win and qualify.

Who do you think is making it through? Any dark horses or are the favorites going to deliver?

Turkey is one of the favorites to qualify their opponent looks very easy to beat. This is not the match that one will say don’t underrate your opponent. In this particular match I’m underrating Kosovo. As for Italy it’s already a shame that they didn’t qualify directly from the group stage, so I’m expecting them to pick up this opportunity and qualify by beating Bosnia Herzegovina. Sweden and Poland have no clear favorite to qualify. Both are strong nations and any of them can go through. So I don’t have any favorite there. Same thing with Denmark and Chech republic. The strength of both teams are the same, so I can’t predict who will go through.

I'm picking up on Sweden as the favourite team here to win, as for Turkey they're super lucky to have to play Kosovo and if they miss such opportunity to go through then, they have no one to blame of their failure. I'm wondering how Italian national team dropped
this kind of form that they failed to join other big teams to secure their and now has to play a play off, let's see if they will miss this opportunity entirely.

The Italian national team have been struggling for some time now especially in the aspect of grooming players and making or playing good football like they used to and they have failed to qualify for the world cup in all these recent years which is a big disappointment in Italian since Italy is one of the nations that one can say has so many great achievement in football history.

[JoyMarsha]

Wow, Italy had a brilliant win last night! I never would have expected it.
With our 2-0 victory over Northern Ireland, we’ve made it through to the final round. Now we’re up against Bosnia and Herzegovina – let’s hope for the best! It would really upset me to see Italy miss out on the World Cup for the third time in a row.
We’ve got a score to settle from USA ’94

The Italians having a score to settle from the US 1994(FIFA World Cup), is it how the Brazilians defeated them in the finals by 3-2 in a penalty shootout or is there any score to settle you have in mind, not the one I talked about that Italians have to avenge?

However, I don't think Italy will reach the position of reaching the finals of the World Cup with what I have seen them play, if peradventure the qualify for the World Cup this year. They might be kicked out in the group stage or the round of 16, unfailing.

[Cryptoprincess101]

I'm wondering how Italian national team dropped this kind of form that they failed to join other big teams to secure their and now has to play a play off, let's see if they will miss this opportunity entirely.

Am still wondering why you said that the Italian team dropped form because they have been in winning streak since Gennaro Gattuso became the Italian National team coach before Norway won them and just yesterday, they won Northern Ireland. You should understand that Europe is the toughest continent that comprises of many great countries so the competition there is tensed unlike other continents. It's true that Italy was a shadow of themselves before Gennaro Gattuso took over but i believe that with him, Italy can qualify for the world cup by emerging victorious in the playoffs round but the only place they may face some challenges will be at the Inter-confederation.