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

[Hispo]

With all the things happening around the world, all the bombing, I am actually worried if the FIFA 2026 World Cup going to happen or not. USA has been doing some really dangerous things. They have gone to a war with Iran just because Israel said so. They probably thought it is going to be another Venezuela. But isn't it turning out to be another Afghanistan or maybe even worse than that?

Whatever, I'm pretty sure everyone will fingering Israel should not be allowed to play in the World Cup, as Russia was also not allowed to play, very disappointing.

It's going to be a weird one especially Trumps reply to the Iranian about the potential involvement and the risk of playing the World Cup at the United States and that shows the level of uneasiness when that time will come for other teams to get on the stage, and honestly, I wonder what the FIFA body will do to fill up this spaces left by conflicting teams.

There has been instances in history in which world cup tournaments were canceled because of war. There were not big international tournaments after World war tow broke out. The economical and political cost of cancelling the event at this state would be huge for the presidency of the FIFA an also for the hosting nations in north America.

The biggest fear Mexico, Canada and USA need to keep in their mind is keeping people save, as I don't have any doubt there will be attempts to attack players and fans during the matches in the USA, and perhaps in Canada.

[Balmain]

We know that under Montella's management, Türkiye clearly wants to have possession of the ball. Montella wants to play this way because the squad is suited to it. However, the decisive factor will be the reaction to balls played behind the defense. The Kosovo national team, with its compact playing style, forces its opponents into mistakes and is effective with quick counter-attacks. The balance established in the midfield will determine the fate of the match. Turkey will want to be the controlling side, while Kosovo will wait and see if the right moment is right. Individual quality should be a key factor for our national team in this match.

[EL MOHA]

There has been instances in history in which world cup tournaments were canceled because of war. There were not big international tournaments after World war tow broke out. The economical and political cost of cancelling the event at this state would be huge for the presidency of the FIFA an also for the hosting nations in north America.

The biggest fear Mexico, Canada and USA need to keep in their mind is keeping people save, as I don't have any doubt there will be attempts to attack players and fans during the matches in the USA, and perhaps in Canada.

Is there an immediate threat? I would certainly said that there is no immediate threat from Iran. This is because you cannot say that Iran will be sending like Missiles from their country upto the USA, this is over 10,000 KM away, the farthest have read the missiles travelled have been actually less than 4,000KM and that means that Iran cannot get to US if that’s the worry. They can actually just do that if they had bases close to the country which they do not have at the moment.

For me I still think even though there wasn’t a threat if this was another war it will be actually questionable to continue the World Cup in that country I think the FIFA president might be looking for alternatives but since it is US they aren’t even some sanctions like the Russian one

[Ale88]

Italy to win the World Cup, that's laughable. It is coming from you, that's why it is even more laughable:

You did not include Spain, France, England, Brazil, or Argentina in your 2026 campaign  . I have a weird guess Italy will go far in the World Cup, but they wont win the World Cup. Good defence wins you a title, not in the World Cup, though.

Chances of Italy winning the FIFA World Cup in 2026 is the same as some of the other teams such as Denmark, Saudi Arabia or Colombia. They are not in the top-5 and probably not in the top-10 list of favorites. They have a young team and made a lot of progress recently. But that is not enough to win the world cup.

Dude, I understand Italy are shit now, and I say that as Italian, but putting on the same level Italy and Saudi Arabia makes no sense at all. Do you really think the two national teams are at the same level? Do you think if Italy would play against Saudi Arabia the odds would be 50:50? Because if you think it for real maybe you should check the last results of both teams. Italy a few years ago won the Euro Cup and in the Nations League they obtained good results playing against better teams; Saudi Arabia can't even obtain a decent result in the Asian Cup...

[Sithara007]

Dude, I understand Italy are shit now, and I say that as Italian, but putting on the same level Italy and Saudi Arabia makes no sense at all. Do you really think the two national teams are at the same level? Do you think if Italy would play against Saudi Arabia the odds would be 50:50? Because if you think it for real maybe you should check the last results of both teams. Italy a few years ago won the Euro Cup and in the Nations League they obtained good results playing against better teams; Saudi Arabia can't even obtain a decent result in the Asian Cup...

Agreed on this. Italy may not be as strong as they were a few decades ago. But grouping them together with teams such as Saudi Arabia makes no sense. Italy had a tough qualifying route during the UEFA qualifiers. In the first round, they were placed along with Norway and Israel. And even in the second round, they faced relatively strong opponents. At the same time, some of their younger players performed really well in the qualifiers. I was talking about players such as Mateo Retegui, Alessandro Bastoni, Giacomo Raspadori and Andrea Cambiaso. All of them are in mid-20s and the presence of so many young players can benefit Italy.

[LUCKMCFLY]

I heard about the new rules that had been added by FIFA recently and will be applied in the World Cup. I really appreciated the intention to reduce the amount of time wasted by players. For your suggestion, I believe I mentioned that in the past so I totally agree with that. Such rule will reduce the fortune of some referees and for those who don't believe that just see the news in Africa or Turkey. There are many busted ones red handed.

That's right, what you say is true because that's how they try to waste time so the other team can gain more. Where I live, they call that "criollo cunning," which I don't like at all, but that's tolerable. What's not tolerable is corruption, and I think the VAR rules are very superficial and continue to allow corruption in a very diplomatic way It's a shame because I thought that in this World Cup they were going to value technology more than being human, because it has been proven that being human when making decisions is really bad.

[*Ace*]

Italy to win the World Cup, that's laughable. It is coming from you, that's why it is even more laughable:

You did not include Spain, France, England, Brazil, or Argentina in your 2026 campaign  . I have a weird guess Italy will go far in the World Cup, but they wont win the World Cup. Good defence wins you a title, not in the World Cup, though.

Chances of Italy winning the FIFA World Cup in 2026 is the same as some of the other teams such as Denmark, Saudi Arabia or Colombia. They are not in the top-5 and probably not in the top-10 list of favorites. They have a young team and made a lot of progress recently. But that is not enough to win the world cup.

Dude, I understand Italy are shit now, and I say that as Italian, but putting on the same level Italy and Saudi Arabia makes no sense at all. Do you really think the two national teams are at the same level? Do you think if Italy would play against Saudi Arabia the odds would be 50:50? Because if you think it for real maybe you should check the last results of both teams. Italy a few years ago won the Euro Cup and in the Nations League they obtained good results playing against better teams; Saudi Arabia can't even obtain a decent result in the Asian Cup...

I think what he meant was that Italy’s chances of winning the World Cup are so slim that they’re comparable to Saudi Arabia winning the World Cup – in other words, truly slim. And that’s true: we don’t stand a chance of winning! (We’d have to qualify first, for a start.)
But I’d say the comparison with the national teams he mentioned is completely off the mark.

[pewboy]

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

yes exactly, the national football team was truly incredible, they performed very well and are very focused on the goal, this makes everything easier, i was really happy to have seen a cohesive group, they are also winning because they are very united, and this is what really matters.

[Velvet78]

This is my potential 4-leg multi for the final games. Total odds: 4.10

I didn't want to take a bigger risk by betting on any team to win in regular time honestly. Because it is a really serious risk considering these are decider games.

Even this multi carries big risks though.    I believe all of my picks are more likely to advance not only because of being shown favourites but also for being stronger so far.

[B-BossMan]

With all the things happening around the world, all the bombing, I am actually worried if the FIFA 2026 World Cup going to happen or not. USA has been doing some really dangerous things. They have gone to a war with Iran just because Israel said so. They probably thought it is going to be another Venezuela. But isn't it turning out to be another Afghanistan or maybe even worse than that?

Whatever, I'm pretty sure everyone will fingering Israel should not be allowed to play in the World Cup, as Russia was also not allowed to play, very disappointing.

It's going to be a weird one especially Trumps reply to the Iranian about the potential involvement and the risk of playing the World Cup at the United States and that shows the level of uneasiness when that time will come for other teams to get on the stage, and honestly, I wonder what the FIFA body will do to fill up this spaces left by conflicting teams.

Nice one, if actually the situation persists and the war between the iran, Israel and the United States continues, then honestly the most responsible decision FIFA should take would be suspending the World Cup or rather postpone the World Cup for while. Football aren't meant to harm each other 9r taking people's lives, its meant for bringing togetherness or peoples together, not something of putting lives at risks, so if really they host this globally event in the meddle of the war or not yet negotiation that was being done among the countries, definitely the war tension could exposes the players, the fans if each particular countries and the officials of the FIFA World Cup at large. Nevertheless FIFA need to take action against this present situation in order to have a safety across the nation.

[8rch7]

I think what he meant was that Italy’s chances of winning the World Cup are so slim that they’re comparable to Saudi Arabia winning the World Cup – in other words, truly slim. And that’s true: we don’t stand a chance of winning! (We’d have to qualify first, for a start.)
But I’d say the comparison with the national teams he mentioned is completely off the mark.

Italy one step closer get back participants at World Cup after missing two edition in a row at World Cup 2018 at Russia and World Cup 2022 at Qatar. The World Cup Qualifier final match against Bosnia and Herzegovina who success eliminating favorite national team Wales trough penalty kick and its difficult games for Italy not the same when eliminating the North Ireland last match. Edin Dzeko as most experienced player become the most influence players for Bosnia and Herzegovina last match when beating Wales and I think Italy's defense players must be high pressure for him.

Two days later has several important of FIFA World Cup European qualifiers match and its the last match for qualifying to World Cup 2026 as Europe continent, here the final of qualifier match

1. Swedn vs Poland
2. Czechia vs Denmark
3. Kosovo vs Turkey

[Hyphen(-)]

This is my potential 4-leg multi for the final games. Total odds: 4.10

I didn't want to take a bigger risk by betting on any team to win in regular time honestly. Because it is a really serious risk considering these are decider games.

Even this multi carries big risks though.    I believe all of my picks are more likely to advance not only because of being shown favourites but also for being stronger so far.

These games looks like you have won already because they are teams with good players in their squad, you dont need to worry anymore unless if you are not lucky in this game because these teams you picked are likely to all win their respective matches because choosing them based in the number of goals to score in the match will be too risky because you can’t predict how the game is ending, but these selections is a bit ok and can happen because the odds is not high and all these teams really wants to win their respective matches.

[Oluwa-btc]

With all the things happening around the world, all the bombing, I am actually worried if the FIFA 2026 World Cup going to happen or not. USA has been doing some really dangerous things. They have gone to a war with Iran just because Israel said so. They probably thought it is going to be another Venezuela. But isn't it turning out to be another Afghanistan or maybe even worse than that?

Whatever, I'm pretty sure everyone will fingering Israel should not be allowed to play in the World Cup, as Russia was also not allowed to play, very disappointing.

In few months time we will see what happens. Time will most definitely tell. Mind you, FIFA has become a lot political and no longer trust worthy.
They're mute about Trump kidnapping a sovereign president Maduro, they're mute with Trump killing 176 elementary girls school in iran. They're mute with Israel committing another Genocide in Lebanon killing innocent Lebanese. They're mute with Trump suffocating and killing the Christians in Cuba. All these are not different from whatever Russia did with Ukraine. Why not have them banned? I agree with you and the world cup in America should be boycotted if the war on Iran affecting the world is not put to a stop.

[leea-1334]

Dude, I understand Italy are shit now, and I say that as Italian, but putting on the same level Italy and Saudi Arabia makes no sense at all. Do you really think the two national teams are at the same level? Do you think if Italy would play against Saudi Arabia the odds would be 50:50? Because if you think it for real maybe you should check the last results of both teams. Italy a few years ago won the Euro Cup and in the Nations League they obtained good results playing against better teams; Saudi Arabia can't even obtain a decent result in the Asian Cup...

I think what he meant was that Italy’s chances of winning the World Cup are so slim that they’re comparable to Saudi Arabia winning the World Cup – in other words, truly slim. And that’s true: we don’t stand a chance of winning! (We’d have to qualify first, for a start.)
But I’d say the comparison with the national teams he mentioned is completely off the mark.

@Ale88 If you are interested every year we have a pool running on this forum with paid sponsorship prizes,,, you pay a small fee (which is usually paid back to you just by scoring the highest every week) but get the chance to play for bigger prizes,,, you should join Serie A!

@*Ace* Yes that is the issue! Italy chances are NOT comparable to Saudi Arabia 

Lets take an objective view from MGM odds or JB odds: https://www.justbookies.com/world-cup-odds/
Italy is between 25x to 33x
Saudi Arabia is 1000x.

That is about 30 times more unlikely! How is this comparable?

[m4r1o]

I think what he meant was that Italy?s chances of winning the World Cup are so slim that they?re comparable to Saudi Arabia winning the World Cup ? in other words, truly slim. And that?s true: we don?t stand a chance of winning! (We?d have to qualify first, for a start.)
But I?d say the comparison with the national teams he mentioned is completely off the mark.

I think that the chances are never zero, however let's remember that there are players who are excellent and who have also played in Champions League finals and played in and won very important competitions, so i can't say that if Italy qualifies they will never be able to win the World Cup, anything can happen.

[shinratensei_]

We know that under Montella's management, Türkiye clearly wants to have possession of the ball. Montella wants to play this way because the squad is suited to it. However, the decisive factor will be the reaction to balls played behind the defense. The Kosovo national team, with its compact playing style, forces its opponents into mistakes and is effective with quick counter-attacks. The balance established in the midfield will determine the fate of the match. Turkey will want to be the controlling side, while Kosovo will wait and see if the right moment is right. Individual quality should be a key factor for our national team in this match.

Turkiye 1.97
Kosovo 4.33

It makes sense. I was watching Turkey last game against Romania, and they got saved due to the Arda's individual brilliance. If they repeat the same performance against Kosovo, i won't be surprised if they will fail to qualify. I know Turkey is basically a possession team, but it won't help a lot when it's against a team that puts everyone inside the box.
So, it's my expectation to see Turkey will struggle, though they have most of possession. Meanwhile, Kosovo is gonna be fully defending while waiting golden momentum to counter attack.

Beside that the odds is only slightly favored Turkey to win the game. It means if this is gonna be a fun game aka a competitive game that is hard to predict. Even if Turkey will able to take the lead, but Kosova can comeback at the late game. So i think btts must be a sense bet to pick.
I know pickign Turkey sounds a bit safe, but i'm not a fan of it due to the risk. It's caused by i rated Kosovo is almost as strong as them now.

Nevertheless, i know many of people here in favor of Turkey due to the one of football house country. It also has one of popular league in EU. Yet, i don't think it wll affect the outcome.

[Agbamoni]

I think what he meant was that Italy’s chances of winning the World Cup are so slim that they’re comparable to Saudi Arabia winning the World Cup – in other words, truly slim. And that’s true: we don’t stand a chance of winning! (We’d have to qualify first, for a start.)
But I’d say the comparison with the national teams he mentioned is completely off the mark.

He exaggerated the comparison because the Italian team I know is far better than the national teams he mentioned for comparison. The Italian team was not fortunate to qualify during the group stage, but I know they will qualify after the playoffs. Historically, since the intercontinental playoff was introduced, no team has ever won the World Cup after qualifying through a playoff. A few teams can go through the playoffs and did well, so im not disputing the fact that Italy are capable of doing well in the World Cup if they qualify.

[Italian Panic]

I think what he meant was that Italy?s chances of winning the World Cup are so slim that they?re comparable to Saudi Arabia winning the World Cup ? in other words, truly slim. And that?s true: we don?t stand a chance of winning! (We?d have to qualify first, for a start.)
But I?d say the comparison with the national teams he mentioned is completely off the mark.

I think that the chances are never zero, however let's remember that there are players who are excellent and who have also played in Champions League finals and played in and won very important competitions, so i can't say that if Italy qualifies they will never be able to win the World Cup, anything can happen.

I think it’s already a miracle that Italy have managed to qualify for the World Cup after all this time, given the lack of quality players they have. In my personal opinion, winning is practically impossible; we should consider simply taking part a great achievement, and getting through the group stage the best we can hope for, but the first time they face top-class teams like Germany, France, Argentina or Brazil, they won’t stand a chance.

[MK-74]

Kosovo have promised a $1 million victory bonus to their players.
If they qualify for the World Cup, each player will receive $1 million.
This is a very good way to motivate the players.

For Turkiye, it will be a somewhat difficult match.
Turkiye are the favorites, but we know that Kosovo are also a tough opponent.
Hopefully, Turkiye will be the winning side and we will qualify for the World Cup after a long absence.

[Pumared]

With all the things happening around the world, all the bombing, I am actually worried if the FIFA 2026 World Cup going to happen or not. USA has been doing some really dangerous things. They have gone to a war with Iran just because Israel said so. They probably thought it is going to be another Venezuela. But isn't it turning out to be another Afghanistan or maybe even worse than that?

Whatever, I'm pretty sure everyone will fingering Israel should not be allowed to play in the World Cup, as Russia was also not allowed to play, very disappointing.

It's going to be a weird one especially Trumps reply to the Iranian about the potential involvement and the risk of playing the World Cup at the United States and that shows the level of uneasiness when that time will come for other teams to get on the stage, and honestly, I wonder what the FIFA body will do to fill up this spaces left by conflicting teams.

There has been instances in history in which world cup tournaments were canceled because of war. There were not big international tournaments after World war tow broke out. The economical and political cost of cancelling the event at this state would be huge for the presidency of the FIFA an also for the hosting nations in north America.

The biggest fear Mexico, Canada and USA need to keep in their mind is keeping people save, as I don't have any doubt there will be attempts to attack players and fans during the matches in the USA, and perhaps in Canada.

Furthermore, if Trump loses this World Cup at this point, his disapproval rating for the election will simply increase significantly, causing him to lose. And I'm sure that's not in his plans. If this were years ago, perhaps there would be enough pressure for that. But there isn't.