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

[leea-1334]

I could be wrong, but Türkiye is overrated, they play significantly weaker away from home than at home. If Kosovo are as good as they were in the game against Slovakia, the game will be more equal than the bookmakers think.

They are overrated because they have two young promising attacking players, Yildiz and Guler, who have amazing skills and huge potential to become super star players but at this time, they still have many things to learn and improve.

Overrated,,, and if anybody wants to argue then it just needs to be reminded that they have not appeared in World Cup for over 20 years This is not a fluke, it is a reflection of how bad they are when it comes to international football, at least in Europe.

BTW it is not just your post that caught your attention but your name I did not know there are other Italian football followers, are you getting excited?

[Adiljutt156]

Turkey's opponent in the final match is Kosovo. I feel like this will be harder than it looks. Because firstly we are going to be away from home.

Secondly Kosovo looked really tough against Slovakia. Technically we are a much stronger team than both but I hope we don't let them take advantage of playing at home.
~

Yes, Kosovo showed an incredible game - first they came back from 0-1 down, then with the score 2-2 they were able to score 2 goals at once, essentially deciding the outcome of the game. 4 goals against Slovakia means something. Bookmakers are currently pricing the upcoming game with Turkey as follows:

3.90 - 3.50 - 1.98

I could be wrong, but Türkiye is overrated, they play significantly weaker away from home than at home. If Kosovo are as good as they were in the game against Slovakia, the game will be more equal than the bookmakers think.

Kosovo national football team played match against Slovakia national football team and that was two sided match because both teams played very well in this match and  there were 7 goals in this match and one team did 3 goals in this match and opponent team did 4 goals in this match and match was ended with result in this favour of Kosovo national football team because they did back to back goals in this match.  Hodža was a person who did second goal of the match and he did this goal at 21 minutes of the match and that was important goal for his team because before that we saw goal by opponent team which did goal at 6 minutes of the match and momentum of team was excellent in this match but after that opponent team came in form and all players of opponent team did effort in this match.

[Ale88]

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.

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.

I don’t think facing Bosnia will be difficult in the decisive World Cup qualifier.
The win over Northern Ireland makes me think that Tonali and his teammates will try to step up their game even more against Bosnia.

If you say Bosnia is inconsistent, you should be able to see that Italy can win and qualify.
But here’s the thing: even though Bosnia is inconsistent, Italy needs to be careful and avoid making mistakes that could lead to a loss. If it comes down to a penalty shootout, it’s 50:50, and I’m confident Donnarumma will be sharper in that situation.

Bosnia are not a problem, the pressure is the real deal. Italian players arrive at this playoff final with a lot of pressure because of the two previous failed qualifications, so they know the must win yes or yes, and if for any reason things will start to go south than they can get very nervous. Gattuso must be very good explaining the players they must be playing calmly, without an obsession to score immediately, first of all they must regain confidence. Italy's worst enemy right now is the pressure and the lack of self confidence. It's all in their heads.

On the other hand Bosnia have nothing to lose, they can just play with no pressure at all, that is a huge plus for them.

[execijutiere]

I think we’ll beat Kosovo. Of course, it won’t be an easy match, and from what I’ve seen, a tough game awaits us. Kosovo pulled off an amazing comeback against Slovakia and managed to eliminate their opponent. This time, it will be tougher than the Romania game. I still think we’re the favorites, but Kosovo also has a good chance of winning. We need to put on a good performance.

[shinratensei_]

I'm not backing either Turkiye or Kosovo to win the game. Bookies are favoring Turkiye, but this game is very hard to decide. Turkiye's recent performance has been so poor. They won narrowly against Romania, which is doubting me. Their defense is not that good atm. So it gives Kosovo chance to score as long as Kosovo players can explore the loopholes.
If Turkey are not careful enough with their defense and improve it.  They can get humiliated. by Kosovo. Turkiye disaster class against Montenegro can repeat if they're not getting more discipline in defending.

It's my reason to think the game won't end with goalless. I understood turkiye had superb performance in the group stage, but i also see huge improvement from Kosovo. So it's not gonna be easy game. Unable to kill the game will lead Turkiye to the lose. any opinion?

[Jewan420]

I think we’ll beat Kosovo. Of course, it won’t be an easy match, and from what I’ve seen, a tough game awaits us. Kosovo pulled off an amazing comeback against Slovakia and managed to eliminate their opponent. This time, it will be tougher than the Romania game. I still think we’re the favorites, but Kosovo also has a good chance of winning. We need to put on a good performance.

There is only one match left in the World Cup and two teams will fight for that ticket. Of course, this match will not be easy for any team and will not be predictable. We can only hope for the supported team and be positive for their victory. I expect Turkey to win the match and be able to secure the World Cup ticket, but Kosovo will not let them get this ticket easily. I am very excited to watch the match. Both teams have overcome tough opponents and entered the final.

[Distraction]

I think we’ll beat Kosovo. Of course, it won’t be an easy match, and from what I’ve seen, a tough game awaits us. Kosovo pulled off an amazing comeback against Slovakia and managed to eliminate their opponent. This time, it will be tougher than the Romania game. I still think we’re the favorites, but Kosovo also has a good chance of winning. We need to put on a good performance.

As for the odds of the match it's like 1.91 for Turkey and 3.90 for Kosovo right now. Bookmakers don't think it will be an easy match for Turkey even though we are technically the much stronger side.

Probably the reason is Kosovo's great performance against Slovakia. We defeated Romania by only 1 goal also. No matter what I believe we will manage to defeat Kosovo and qualify for the World Cup. The last time we did it was 2002...

[execijutiere]

Bosnia and Herzegovina really has its work cut out for it. They’re certainly not the favorites against Italy, and Italy is definitely the favorite in this matchup. To be honest, I’d love to see Bosnia and Herzegovina win, but a World Cup without Italy just wouldn’t be the same. A tough match awaits both teams. I hope Edin Dzeko is the one to make it to the World Cup.

[AYOBA]

The match was very difficult for both teams. The Turkish football team was trying their best to win the match and we saw relatively aggressive football from their side. But Romania and the main objective was to play the match defensively and create counterattacks when they got the chance. They failed to fully achieve their goal, losing the important 3 points of the match. Although their fight was certainly exciting. We saw the only goal of the match in the 53rd minute from the Turkish side, despite seeing some good chances throughout the game, they could not convert them into goals.

Their match was very interesting one both teams are in their best form and that’s why they where as to played complete first half without a got from any teams, which have said that the game is got to end in draw but luckily Turkey still prove their strongest over Romania by scoring a goal immediately they came back to second half.

But my mind was still not rest on them because I was expecting that Romania are going to equalize back, due to how their performances was going very well throughout the first half which why i was them to do much better; but they find it difficult to equalize back.

[Fiatless]

Bosnia and Herzegovina really has its work cut out for it. They’re certainly not the favorites against Italy, and Italy is definitely the favorite in this matchup. To be honest, I’d love to see Bosnia and Herzegovina win, but a World Cup without Italy just wouldn’t be the same. A tough match awaits both teams. I hope Edin Dzeko is the one to make it to the World Cup.

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy have met six times. Italy won four times  and Herzegovina has one win and one ended in a draw. It will be a tough games and Coach Sergej Barbarez will be relying on Džeko and Ermedin Demirović to get the needed goals. The forty-year-old Džeko might not be strong but his strength lies in his experience. Italian defenders need to be careful to avoid mistakes.

[verdinio]

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.

Italy must not be afraid of anyone, of any other team, they are certainly not among the best 3 teams in the world, but they are certainly in the top 10, so having said that they must play calmly because they know that they can win against anyone, i hope they understood this after the last victory.

[Jaycoinz]

Bosnia and Herzegovina really has its work cut out for it. They’re certainly not the favorites against Italy, and Italy is definitely the favorite in this matchup. To be honest, I’d love to see Bosnia and Herzegovina win, but a World Cup without Italy just wouldn’t be the same. A tough match awaits both teams. I hope Edin Dzeko is the one to make it to the World Cup.

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy have met six times. Italy won four times  and Herzegovina has one win and one ended in a draw. It will be a tough games and Coach Sergej Barbarez will be relying on Džeko and Ermedin Demirović to get the needed goals. The forty-year-old Džeko might not be strong but his strength lies in his experience. Italian defenders need to be careful to avoid mistakes.

Dzeko is an experience striker with lots of goals scoring skills and would utilize any opportunities given to him and I don't expect any defender of the Italian side to not take him seriously, if anything I feel they would even make him the focus point in that game so as to always keep him in check to avoid any mistakes too.

I would like to see Italy go all the way but we all know it's not going to be easy at all as they are good teams still to play even they win this particular fixture.

[PremiumcryptoHub]

The match was very difficult for both teams. The Turkish football team was trying their best to win the match and we saw relatively aggressive football from their side. But Romania and the main objective was to play the match defensively and create counterattacks when they got the chance. They failed to fully achieve their goal, losing the important 3 points of the match. Although their fight was certainly exciting. We saw the only goal of the match in the 53rd minute from the Turkish side, despite seeing some good chances throughout the game, they could not convert them into goals.

The match was tough for both teams, but I still noticed that the Turkish team worked harder to win this World Cup qualifier semi-final match. You noticed that after the break, the Turkish team suddenly started a quick counterattack, which resulted in them scoring in the 53rd minute in this World Cup qualifier against Romania. Turkey are as strong as ever at home, and we saw them prove it against Romania, now that the Turkish team has won the semi-final round, their next match is the final match of the World Cup qualifiers against the Kosovo team therefore it seems to me maybe this team will win this round with their single-handed dominance.

[paco92x]

Dzeko is an experience striker with lots of goals scoring skills and would utilize any opportunities given to him and I don't expect any defender of the Italian side to not take him seriously, if anything I feel they would even make him the focus point in that game so as to always keep him in check to avoid any mistakes too.

I would like to see Italy go all the way but we all know it's not going to be easy at all as they are good teams still to play even they win this particular fixture.

Italians are the favourites even on away ground, but they shouldn’t be cocky like they were when they found out they would play against Bosnia. They’ve already experienced that kind of cockiness against North Macedonia, and we all know what happened. Bosnia is miles better than Macedonia, so we’ll see what’s going to happen.

[Furious 7]

Dzeko is an experience striker with lots of goals scoring skills and would utilize any opportunities given to him and I don't expect any defender of the Italian side to not take him seriously, if anything I feel they would even make him the focus point in that game so as to always keep him in check to avoid any mistakes too.

I would like to see Italy go all the way but we all know it's not going to be easy at all as they are good teams still to play even they win this particular fixture.

Regardless of Dzeko's age now he is still a fulcrum so Italy needs to make this a respect so that his guard is not loosened but with the current average age conditions it seems that even though Dzeko's experience is much better but I think the Italian defenders will be able to withstand the movements he makes.

Currently Italy is still the favorite and I am still quite sure they can get a victory in this match. The odds given by the bookmakers are also quite good in this match where for 1x2 Italy is far superior with odds of 1.56 even though they play away in this match and I think for 1x2 odds it looks very worthy for us to bet.

[Uhde]

Kosovo national football team played match against Slovakia national football team and that was two sided match because both teams played very well in this match and  there were 7 goals in this match and one team did 3 goals in this match and opponent team did 4 goals in this match and match was ended with result in this favour of Kosovo national football team because they did back to back goals in this match.  Hodža was a person who did second goal of the match and he did this goal at 21 minutes of the match and that was important goal for his team because before that we saw goal by opponent team which did goal at 6 minutes of the match and momentum of team was excellent in this match but after that opponent team came in form and all players of opponent team did effort in this match.

Kosova is a young and exciting team, which makes them unpredictable. They showed exactly this in the Slovakia match. Their greatest strength is also their biggest weakness. they play with so much passion but that leaves them prone to simple defensive errors.

[CLS63]

I could be wrong, but Türkiye is overrated, they play significantly weaker away from home than at home. If Kosovo are as good as they were in the game against Slovakia, the game will be more equal than the bookmakers think.

Turkey showed a really good performance in Euro 2024. We reached quarter finals there. But I must admit a fact here. We haven't really been able to qualify for the World Cup for 24 years.

Our current manager Montella has done a good work so far though. He is the most successful name we have had recently. We are one step away from finally joining the main tournament. I hope we will make it.

[Iamgoat]

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.

I agree with you and on the case of Italy. It is actually a disappointment for the Italians to see the national team struggling to survive. A team with the kind of pedigree they command should not be talking about playoffs at this time but I know in football sometimes this kind of pressure they are currently undergoing could even wake them up from their slumber. With this playoffs, it is like they have been given a second chance to prove their worth and if they don't take this opportunity, be sure they will be facing plenty questions from fans and country people about the team's direction which is something they won't want to experience. I think for me Sweden and and Poland is a 50 50 as I see Sweden as a more organized team but Poland is a team which can hurt you at any given moment. All the teams won't want to slack because it will also mean failure and you being kicked out with no remorse.

[l99l]

Turkiye national team is the favorite going into the match against Kosovo, given their recent form and squad depth. However, the fact remains that we lack even a single attacking player.
The defense has a big job to do, and our goalkeeper Uğurcan Çakır's reflexes and leadership are reassuring. Kosovo has managed to be effective in counter-attacks and set-piece situations. It's crucial not to give Vedat Muriqi any opportunities in attack. Türkiye will control the match and have possession. The fast and accurate passing game will disrupt the balance of the Kosovo defense.

[Italian Panic]

I also think that a World Cup without Italy is a World Cup that’s missing something. It would be like playing without Brazil, Germany, France or Argentina honestly, something would be missing. They have now put themselves in a good position to qualify, but I feel that as a team their style of play isn’t exactly attractive. They are slow and cumbersome. The game today is much more direct and fast. We’ll see how it goes.

Yes! Something will be missing if Italy fails to qualify for the World Cup for the third time in a row.
Obviously, we Italians will feel this more keenly than other nations.
But what more can we say? Let’s just hope we qualify, because it would be a real tragedy not to make it to the World Cup for three consecutive times.

It would truly be a sporting tragedy to be knocked out for a third time a real low point in Italian sporting history in a sport where Italian teams have always held their own and stood up to the best. Long gone are the days when there was an abundance of great players, when we went to the World Cup with Del Piero, Inzaghi and Vieri on the bench.