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

[Fiatless]

Congratulations Turkey finally qualified for the World Cup after a long wait, victory is always thin but this is sure they continue to defend it until the end --- I did not watch this match but watched another match but Turkey's struggle was not in vain now they have many great players who are ready to perform later.

I will be supporting Turkey in the World Cup because my homeboy Victor Osimhen plays in that country. He had received the support and love from Galastaray, and I cannot take it for granted. I am happy they qualified and hope that they will go far. Vincenzo Montella would have to go back to the drawing board to develop strategies for this competition. Turkey will have to be ready to face the best teams.

[ILuckyGuyI]

Turkey's group in the World Cup consists of:

• USA
• Paraguay
• Australia

Our only tough fixture is against USA here. We should be able to handle the other 2 teams by benefiting from the serious quality gap.

USA are the hosts at the same time. This makes it even harder!    They are currently shown a little bit more favourite for finishing as group leader in odds.

[execijutiere]

Bosnia and Herzegovina pulled off an upset and earned a spot in the World Cup by defeating Italy in a penalty shootout. With the match ending in a 1-1 draw after regulation and the score remaining unchanged in extra time, the game went to a penalty shootout. Edin Džeko, who played the full 120 minutes, truly deserves a huge round of applause. He is nearly 40 years old, yet he managed to fight against Italy until the very last minute for his country. We can also say that Italy receiving a red card and being reduced to ten men was a key factor in the match reaching this stage.

[tbterryboy]

I am sure Italy's performance surprised everyone. Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup. Italy was one of the strongest teams in Europe. But their overall condition has been getting worse day by day in the last few years. It is a great shame for Liverpool not to qualify for the World Cup.

This was Bosnia's home match. The match ended 1-1 after 90 minutes. Neither team could score in extra time. Bosnia won 4-1 in the penalty shootout

One of the best teams in soccer history failed to qualify for the third time. It's a huge disappointment for them and their fans as well because they were doing a decent job in the qualifiers. In this game, they had an early lead, but the 42nd-minute red card was a big turning point that allowed Bosnia to have a better chance of qualification. Even though they lost and are now out of the World Cup, still their performance was much better. Now they have to wait for the 2030 World Cup.

Other games also had good fights, but Turkey and Sweden were better sides. They had wins in regular time, and Denmark had another big upset. They were two times behind but brought themselves to level, but sadly failed to keep things on level in the shootout. This gave them a setback and an exit.

[ndutndut]

Bosnia and Herzegovina pulled off an upset and earned a spot in the World Cup by defeating Italy in a penalty shootout. With the match ending in a 1-1 draw after regulation and the score remaining unchanged in extra time, the game went to a penalty shootout. Edin Džeko, who played the full 120 minutes, truly deserves a huge round of applause. He is nearly 40 years old, yet he managed to fight against Italy until the very last minute for his country. We can also say that Italy receiving a red card and being reduced to ten men was a key factor in the match reaching this stage.

Italy finally failed to qualify for the World Cup again. After winning the 2006 World Cup Italy became a mediocre team. After that, they consistently fell in the group stage in 2010 and 2014. Furthermore, they failed to qualify for the World Cup in 2018, 2022 and now in 2026. This failure can be attributed to Italy's few top-level players, many of whom are mediocre and unable to make a difference. Donnarumma couldn't even save a single penalty against Bosnia.

Bosnia and Herzegovina played very well; they deserved to win. It's also very encouraging to see a country like Bosnia and Herzegovina qualify for the World Cup. Their promising squad makes the World Cup even more exciting. Bosnia and Herzegovina boasts players like Dzeko, Demirovic, Tabakovic, and Vasilj, who are reliable in penalty shootouts, and youngsters like Dedic, Muharemovic, and Bajraktarevic also have potential. So with the squad Bosnia and Herzegovina has, it's perfectly reasonable that they can thwart Italy. Congratulations to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

[LUCKMCFLY]

All teams are well prepared; this will make things challenging, but I am expecting Italy, Sweden, Denmark, and Turkey to be winners of their respective games. In the other two games, Iraq and DR Congo are also looking like favourites to win games.

I would love to see these teams. I don't see Bolivia doing well in the World Cup; for me, they're candidates to be eliminated in the first round. But I would like to see an Iraq team that could surprise everyone. In fact, I like the style of teams like Iraq and Uzbekistan; they're consistent, solid, and wellrounded, and I like how they play a style of football where you don't see any mistakes. It would be great to see them in the World Cup, well, just Iraq and DR Congo.

[Mustang Shelby]

All teams are well prepared; this will make things challenging, but I am expecting Italy, Sweden, Denmark, and Turkey to be winners of their respective games. In the other two games, Iraq and DR Congo are also looking like favourites to win games.

I would love to see these teams. I don't see Bolivia doing well in the World Cup; for me, they're candidates to be eliminated in the first round. But I would like to see an Iraq team that could surprise everyone. In fact, I like the style of teams like Iraq and Uzbekistan; they're consistent, solid, and wellrounded, and I like how they play a style of football where you don't see any mistakes. It would be great to see them in the World Cup, well, just Iraq and DR Congo.

Congo and Iraq are in a tough group. Therefore, it will be very difficult for them to advance from these groups. However, I would love for them to surprise everyone and qualify. Right now, I see Japan as the strongest team from Asia. In their last friendly match, they beat England away. Perhaps they can perform very well again in the World Cup. Curaçao, Cape Verde, and Panama are considered the weakest teams in this tournament. The match between Germany and Curaçao could be a high-scoring one.

[Jaycoinz]

All teams are well prepared; this will make things challenging, but I am expecting Italy, Sweden, Denmark, and Turkey to be winners of their respective games. In the other two games, Iraq and DR Congo are also looking like favourites to win games.

I would love to see these teams. I don't see Bolivia doing well in the World Cup; for me, they're candidates to be eliminated in the first round. But I would like to see an Iraq team that could surprise everyone. In fact, I like the style of teams like Iraq and Uzbekistan; they're consistent, solid, and wellrounded, and I like how they play a style of football where you don't see any mistakes. It would be great to see them in the World Cup, well, just Iraq and DR Congo.

Congo and Iraq are in a tough group. Therefore, it will be very difficult for them to advance from these groups. However, I would love for them to surprise everyone and qualify. Right now, I see Japan as the strongest team from Asia. In their last friendly match, they beat England away. Perhaps they can perform very well again in the World Cup. Curaçao, Cape Verde, and Panama are considered the weakest teams in this tournament. The match between Germany and Curaçao could be a high-scoring one.

Some of these teams aren't actually there to even cause any harm or damage as most of them are just for the sport feeling to get the best feeling of the participating in the highest competition that the game of football has to offer, I mean the adrenaline rush with lots of fans and supporters chanting, trust me it's one hell of an experience and especially for the players as most of them actually get spotted in competition like this.

[Wake Up]

All teams are well prepared; this will make things challenging, but I am expecting Italy, Sweden, Denmark, and Turkey to be winners of their respective games. In the other two games, Iraq and DR Congo are also looking like favourites to win games.

I would love to see these teams. I don't see Bolivia doing well in the World Cup; for me, they're candidates to be eliminated in the first round. But I would like to see an Iraq team that could surprise everyone. In fact, I like the style of teams like Iraq and Uzbekistan; they're consistent, solid, and wellrounded, and I like how they play a style of football where you don't see any mistakes. It would be great to see them in the World Cup, well, just Iraq and DR Congo.

Congo and Iraq are in a tough group. Therefore, it will be very difficult for them to advance from these groups. However, I would love for them to surprise everyone and qualify. Right now, I see Japan as the strongest team from Asia. In their last friendly match, they beat England away. Perhaps they can perform very well again in the World Cup. Curaçao, Cape Verde, and Panama are considered the weakest teams in this tournament. The match between Germany and Curaçao could be a high-scoring one.

Some of these teams aren't actually there to even cause any harm or damage as most of them are just for the sport feeling to get the best feeling of the participating in the highest competition that the game of football has to offer, I mean the adrenaline rush with lots of fans and supporters chanting, trust me it's one hell of an experience and especially for the players as most of them actually get spotted in competition like this.

If we consider the European teams, many of them are already above average in quality. As Turkey, we will participate in the World Cup in Group D after beating Kosovo. Our opponents are the United States, Paraguay, and Australia. Looking at the FIFA rankings, the United States is ranked higher than us, but even though we came through the playoffs, I think we are currently the strongest contender for first place in this group.

The World Cup is not just about showing beautiful football, it's a tournament that aims to create new bonds and new excitement with every country and every person. Therefore, we need to enjoy watching every team participating. The only problem for us will be the time difference between us and USA. Because when the matches are played there, it will be night in Turkey. As a solution to this, we will have to stay awake at night. Nevertheless, it's all worth it to watch these matches.

[Hvdv]

Turkey's group in the World Cup consists of:

• USA
• Paraguay
• Australia

Our only tough fixture is against USA here. We should be able to handle the other 2 teams by benefiting from the serious quality gap.

USA are the hosts at the same time. This makes it even harder!    They are currently shown a little bit more favourite for finishing as group leader in odds.

I think the match between the USA and Turkey will determine the group leader. However, it's not right to speak definitively because the situation there is important. Now, with the World Cup just around the corner, if Arda Güler or Kenan Yıldız get injured and miss the tournament, we know that we won't have much hope for Turkey in this tournament. Therefore, considering the ideal squad, I think we can beat the USA. Hopefully, we will have a tournament where our good players don't get injured on the way to the World Cup.

[retreat]

Frankly speaking I am not that surprised to see Italy failed to qualify to the 2026 WC. I do not see something special in this team even since the group round when they lost 2x against Norway. I think the main problem with Italy is that the players regeneration is not that good. They have no special players like few decades back, I can even say that the current Italian team is just like a group of mediocre players. Failed to qualify 3 times in a row is absolutely a nightmare for a team like Italy, 2 times in a row was already bad for them but now it is 3x.

I just didn't expect that they would fail to qualify for the World Cup because they couldn't beat a team like Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even with the quality of players they have now, it shouldn't be this bad - they were truly embarrassed by failing to qualify for this World Cup. This should be a major lesson for them that they need to start a regeneration process immediately. Since they are a country that should be a favorite to qualify based on their football history, seeing their current position is quite sad, it's like they are throwing away everything they have built over the years.

[DiMarxist]

This group is going to be tough because looking at the teams on the group it's going to be tough for turkey. No team  in this group is a work over because, Paraguay, USA and Australia are teams that will be easy for turkey to play against. Maybe the only hope for the united states is that they will be playing at home if not, looking at the strength of the each team on the ground it will be difficult to predict how the table will go.

[CLS63]

Congratulations to Turkey. They deserve the victory. It was a well-contested game that any team could have won it. Hoping to see Turkey make an impact in the World Cup. 24 years is a long time, congratulations to you all again.

Thank you mate. I'm really proud of our players to have this achievement. I believe in our manager Montella more day by day. First reaching quarter finals in Euro 2024 and now this.

Our group isn't that tough to me to be honest. We can defeat Paraguay and Australia both. I believe we are actually a better team than USA as well. But they will have a home advantage. We will aim to finish the group as the leader.

Meanwhile, Italy is still fighting to get a place in the World Cup. The match between Gli Azzurri and Bosnia and Herzegovina is 1-1. Alessandro Bastoni's red card has put Gennaro Gattuso's side under pressure.  I hope Italy makes it to the competition.

I'm afraid Italy couldn't make it again. This their 3rd time in a row. Bastoni had a huge role in the loss with that red card. I believe it was a big mistake.

[allfriends88]

This group is going to be tough because looking at the teams on the group it's going to be tough for turkey. No team  in this group is a work over because, Paraguay, USA and Australia are teams that will be easy for turkey to play against. Maybe the only hope for the united states is that they will be playing at home if not, looking at the strength of the each team on the ground it will be difficult to predict how the table will go.

There may be errors in what you wrote, but I can understand, honestly for me the ones that are quite difficult for Turkey to face are the USA and Paraguay, two teams with strengths that can be considered equal to Turkey, especially Paraguay and the strength of the USA is their motivation because they are playing as hosts. Australia on the other hand has not shown the strength like previous years, but I believe Turkey can get through this group D by becoming the top of the standings, they have quality players that can be relied on.

[Shadiq]

I just didn't expect that they would fail to qualify for the World Cup because they couldn't beat a team like Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even with the quality of players they have now, it shouldn't be this bad - they were truly embarrassed by failing to qualify for this World Cup. This should be a major lesson for them that they need to start a regeneration process immediately. Since they are a country that should be a favorite to qualify based on their football history, seeing their current position is quite sad, it's like they are throwing away everything they have built over the years.

It is a shame for Italy, the best football team in history, to fail to participate in the World Cup 3 times in a row. Especially this time they should have qualified, but their defeat against Bosnia was a shame. The 4-time World Cup winning football team has been absent from the World Cup for the last 3 seasons, they will have to try for the 4th time, whether they will succeed in that attempt or not is doubtful. Despite having a good team, they have failed to use that opportunity, they will have to enjoy the World Cup as spectators in front of the television again. If they had not lost on penalties, they might have performed on the field and the Bosnian football team would have watched the game as spectators. But the situation is the opposite now, Italy will have to reorganize the team, if they fail to qualify for the fourth time, nothing will be more shameful.

[Taricoins]

The various teams that have qualified for the World Cup 2026, so far the group that looks tough it terms of similar strength, is Group F with Japan, Netherlands and Sweden being the biggest contenders, but I really can't underestimate Tunisia too.

[BIT-BENDER]

I just didn't expect that they would fail to qualify for the World Cup because they couldn't beat a team like Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even with the quality of players they have now, it shouldn't be this bad - they were truly embarrassed by failing to qualify for this World Cup. This should be a major lesson for them that they need to start a regeneration process immediately. Since they are a country that should be a favorite to qualify based on their football history, seeing their current position is quite sad, it's like they are throwing away everything they have built over the years.

It is a shame for Italy, the best football team in history, to fail to participate in the World Cup 3 times in a row. Especially this time they should have qualified, but their defeat against Bosnia was a shame. The 4-time World Cup winning football team has been absent from the World Cup for the last 3 seasons, they will have to try for the 4th time, whether they will succeed in that attempt or not is doubtful. Despite having a good team, they have failed to use that opportunity, they will have to enjoy the World Cup as spectators in front of the television again. If they had not lost on penalties, they might have performed on the field and the Bosnian football team would have watched the game as spectators. But the situation is the opposite now, Italy will have to reorganize the team, if they fail to qualify for the fourth time, nothing will be more shameful.

Since the have failed to qualify for the world cup three times in a row they stopped being considered amongst the best team in the world for me. Italy last generation that had any ability in them ended at the Euros that they won after that Italian as a footballing country stopped being one of the best.
It may be shameful that they did not qualify but it would have been more shameful to qualify and maybe not make it out if the group stage.

[katanic97]

Despite a tough match against Kosovo, we finally secured our spot in the World Cup. It’s been 24 years since our last appearance when we came in third in the world. I’m confident we’ll bring some real excitement to the tournament in the US. Come on Türkiye!

Plus, I'm thrilled to see Bosnia and Herzegovina making it to the World Cup after knocking out Italy.

Turkey is a really solid team,we’ll see what they can do at the World Cup. I think they’ve got a strong squad overall, so hopefully they can make it out of the group stage.As for Bosnia, honestly a big surprise, but also a disappointment for Italy. I expected a much better performance from them, but in the end Bosnia showed more desire and fully deserved their spot at the world cup

[Asiska02]

This group is going to be tough because looking at the teams on the group it's going to be tough for turkey. No team  in this group is a work over because, Paraguay, USA and Australia are teams that will be easy for turkey to play against. Maybe the only hope for the united states is that they will be playing at home if not, looking at the strength of the each team on the ground it will be difficult to predict how the table will go.

Does playing at home really favours and work for teams in the World Cup? They will have the fans advantage but as long as they’re not playing optimally to the best, they can be defeated by any team. Remember in the 2010 World Cup hosted by South Africa, they were only able to play in the group stage and got eliminated. They had the game played in their home stadiums, they had the fans and still they failed to book a spot in the round of 16. So USA shouldn’t be so confident because they hosted the competition, anything can happen if they don’t play to their best.

[IjawMan]

Bosnia and Herzegovina pulled off an upset and earned a spot in the World Cup by defeating Italy in a penalty shootout. With the match ending in a 1-1 draw after regulation and the score remaining unchanged in extra time, the game went to a penalty shootout. Edin Džeko, who played the full 120 minutes, truly deserves a huge round of applause. He is nearly 40 years old, yet he managed to fight against Italy until the very last minute for his country. We can also say that Italy receiving a red card and being reduced to ten men was a key factor in the match reaching this stage.

Italy national football team had me disappointed with this match how they let it end in a draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina that can not pride itself of some quality star players.

Do not give the excuse with the red card mate, the Italian team has come to it waterloo and the team needs to be purged for new hungry fresh bloods to wear the national shirt and give it their very best if they wish to play the 2030 world cup.

This is three world cups tournament for Italy to be absent in a streak. After the 2014 participation they have not made it again to the tournament.