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

[bastisisca]

In my opinion, better giving chance for David Raya than Unai Simon or Joan Garcia become the first goals keeper at World Cup 2026, however the manager have their own decision to pick who will be number one between three top goal keeper. Lets see in last two friendly matches facing Iraq and Peru who will get first place as goal keeper Unai Simon, David Raya or Joan Garcia?

Haven't decided yet? He could make them play in rotation, so that they are always fresh if all three are strong and he is undecided, they won't fine him if he uses them all in rotation.
I've seen this done in some youth games, which is doable if they're at the same level.

[Frankolala]

In this 2026 World Cup only two players will you want to perform very well because they have never won it in the entire career, these two players are Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar, most especially Neymar who has so plan to return to Europe but he's still injury kept him down, this World Cup remains his last hope because his performance here can determine many clubs queuing for him. Neymar is still very young to retire from football but I hope he return to Europe.

1000 goals are never achieved under any circumstances, for some players they are unthinkable figures, but he will do it and he has done very well in this last period, i am happy that a player like that is still so prolific now, the right ending would be winning the World Cup.

He just won the title in SPL, and I believe that will be a good motivation for him to display his best in the world cup because this was how Al Nassr has consitently fighting to win the title before they finally got it this season. I believe that Ronaldo can achieve his 1000 goals benchmark before he retires from football. Let's see how many he will score in addition to his 973 goals that he has scored already.

[Arenga pinnata]

In my opinion, better giving chance for David Raya than Unai Simon or Joan Garcia become the first goals keeper at World Cup 2026, however the manager have their own decision to pick who will be number one between three top goal keeper. Lets see in last two friendly matches facing Iraq and Peru who will get first place as goal keeper Unai Simon, David Raya or Joan Garcia?

Haven't decided yet? He could make them play in rotation, so that they are always fresh if all three are strong and he is undecided, they won't fine him if he uses them all in rotation.
I've seen this done in some youth games, which is doable if they're at the same level.

The national team is actually very fortunate because I think all three of these goalkeepers are equally good and have their own strengths. David Raya, Unai Simon, and Joan Garcia are all on the same level in my opinion. although, for now, it’s reported that Unai Simon will be the starting goalkeeper, I’m sure there will be some rotation.

Personally, I also prefer David Raya as the starting goalkeeper. It’s just that the coach seems to feel Unai Simon is a better fit. and well, that’s not a problem at all because Unai Simon is indeed quite good. He does fit the strategy the Spanish national team always uses. It’s just that when it comes to making saves under pressure from the opponent, David Raya has an edge in handling those situations.

[Uruhara]

The friendly match between Spain and Iraq will be held today. although I’m usually not very interested in friendly matches, as the World Cup approaches, I’ve become quite curious about the performance of the various teams that will be competing in the World Cup. Through friendly matches, we can sometimes get a glimpse of the strategies a team might use, and we can also see the potential a team might have based on their abilities.

[snipie]

The friendly match between Spain and Iraq will be held today. although I’m usually not very interested in friendly matches, as the World Cup approaches, I’ve become quite curious about the performance of the various teams that will be competing in the World Cup. Through friendly matches, we can sometimes get a glimpse of the strategies a team might use, and we can also see the potential a team might have based on their abilities.

I might take on consideration few friendlies but definitely not these ones played few days before the World Cup. Teams are trying to keep some forms and do some testing before the official games rather than trying their best to qualify.
If we take seriously these results then teams like Netherlands doesn't look as fit as that to progress which is not the case in my opinion.

[free-bit.co.in]

The friendly match between Spain and Iraq will be held today. although I’m usually not very interested in friendly matches, as the World Cup approaches, I’ve become quite curious about the performance of the various teams that will be competing in the World Cup. Through friendly matches, we can sometimes get a glimpse of the strategies a team might use, and we can also see the potential a team might have based on their abilities.

I am interested in watching this match. Spain has built a great squad. There is a  bunch of young talent in the squad. The most important  thing is that Spain's teamwork is amazing. They are very strong as a team. The players  have a good understanding and strong bonding. We saw  this in the last Euros. Spain has the potential to be world  champions in this world cup as well. Iraq is not a very strong team. Spain is  probably going to win this warm-up  match easily.

[TastyChillySauce00]

As i predicted Spain is still leading to be the most favorite nation to win the Worldcup this year. It's okay to have France in 2nd because France was also able going to the final in the last Worldcup. However, it feels weird to see England to be placed at 3rd.
IMO, England feels overpriced. They have never been doing well when they play at the World Cup.

I'd rather to replace England with Argentina. It's weird England is always getting overpriced in any of WC. Is it a premier league effect?  

[yixichloro2xx]

The friendly match between Spain and Iraq will be held today. although I’m usually not very interested in friendly matches, as the World Cup approaches, I’ve become quite curious about the performance of the various teams that will be competing in the World Cup. Through friendly matches, we can sometimes get a glimpse of the strategies a team might use, and we can also see the potential a team might have based on their abilities.

Spain will surely win this match but they won't put a lot of seriousness into it, in order to prevent any sort of injuries or muscle fatigue before the world cup. This match will just be used to warm the players legs  as a preparation. This Spain squad is good and if you check their squad list they called lot of midfielders. So I think they main strategy for this world cup will be on their midfielders. Moreover the group that they were placed in shouldn't be difficult for them to take first position, the only team I know they will have some issues with is Uruguay.  But this Spain team should be able to beat them, Spain are one of the main favorites in this world cup. This friendly match between Iraq will end 3-0 .

[SquirrelJulietGarden]

As i predicted Spain is still leading to be the most favorite nation to win the Worldcup this year. It's okay to have France in 2nd because France was also able going to the final in the last Worldcup. However, it feels weird to see England to be placed at 3rd.
IMO, England feels overpriced. They have never been doing well when they play at the World Cup.

I'd rather to replace England with Argentina. It's weird England is always getting overpriced in any of WC. This is a premier league effect? 

Even I think Spain and France national teams are very strong and competitive, I feel like it's time for England to lift a trophy. England national team are strong too and they have maintained high competitiveness during latest World Cup and Euro. Together with their history of no title won since World Cup 1986 in England, life will not be like too harsh with them and I believe this World Cup 2026 can be their time.

I believe so because Harry Kane is reaching to last best years in his career, even he can play in Euro 2028 and World Cup 2030, I see this World Cup is a best chance for him.

[IjawMan]

In my opinion, better giving chance for David Raya than Unai Simon or Joan Garcia become the first goals keeper at World Cup 2026, however the manager have their own decision to pick who will be number one between three top goal keeper. Lets see in last two friendly matches facing Iraq and Peru who will get first place as goal keeper Unai Simon, David Raya or Joan Garcia?

Haven't decided yet? He could make them play in rotation, so that they are always fresh if all three are strong and he is undecided, they won't fine him if he uses them all in rotation.
I've seen this done in some youth games, which is doable if they're at the same level.

If I were the coach I will chose between David Raya and Joan Garcia ahead of Unai Simon based on their individual performances for their respective clubs this season,

David Raya won the english premier league with Arsenal this season and was instrumental in the club's historic title win this season while Joan Garcia was outstanding for Barcelona this season and helped the club win the la liga not withstanding suffering an injury within the season,

But Unai Simon was not any where to be found and I do not see how he could be the first choice for Spain.

[Salahmu]

Haven't decided yet? He could make them play in rotation, so that they are always fresh if all three are strong and he is undecided, they won't fine him if he uses them all in rotation.
I've seen this done in some youth games, which is doable if they're at the same level.

The coach will not be rotational on them but the way he could do it to make sure they have the right goalkeeper among them is giving them different match, for instance Raya will keep the first match and the second time the second goalkeeper while the third time he also allowed the last goalkeeper and after the last one the team would have known the goalkeeper in there mind. Goalkeepers are not only liked by the players because they are saving goals but other things put together is why clubs respect a goalkeeper, because some goalkeepers is always very indecisive when in possession of the ball, while smart goalkeepers before the ball is on there hand they have seen the striker with an advantage against there opponent.

[blomen]

[quote author=giorgione link=topic=5431360.msg66793253#msg66793253 date=1780483947
I believe that Ronaldo has an incredible team that can compete a lot in this World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo is clearly the most valuable piece in that team, given his experience he can take this team very far in the World Cup, clearly it is too early to say if they will be able to win it.
[/quote]

ronaldo fans are a joke. the guy was absolutely terrible at the 2022 world cup, and you’re making excuses to avoid facing the truth. “ronaldo is the most valuable piece on the team”? ronaldo might not be the worst player on the team, but he could very well be the one causing the most damage. we’ll see that even more clearly at this world cup. when portugal gets eliminated, you’ll understand why it would be better for cristiano not to be on the team. until then, keep praising him.

just because someone has played soccer for many years doesn’t make them any better. do you buy the fruit that’s been sitting on the shelf the longest, or the fresh ones?

[Obim34]

ronaldo fans are a joke. the guy was absolutely terrible at the 2022 world cup, and you’re making excuses to avoid facing the truth. “ronaldo is the most valuable piece on the team”? ronaldo might not be the worst player on the team, but he could very well be the one causing the most damage. we’ll see that even more clearly at this world cup. when portugal gets eliminated, you’ll understand why it would be better for cristiano not to be on the team. until then, keep praising him.

just because someone has played soccer for many years doesn’t make them any better. do you buy the fruit that’s been sitting on the shelf the longest, or the fresh ones?

Your quote is broken. Meanwhile, for the Portugal squad in the World Cup tournament, the most important player is Bruno Fernandez, Portugal success in the competition is heavily tied to Bruno performance and how well his team mates will make use of the chances created.

Ronaldo has aged and that will definitely limit his contribution to the team, the same also for Messi, Modric, Neymar and the rest players players that has gone past their football age, we will no longer see the best of them.

[Hirose UK]

As i predicted Spain is still leading to be the most favorite nation to win the Worldcup this year. It's okay to have France in 2nd because France was also able going to the final in the last Worldcup. However, it feels weird to see England to be placed at 3rd.
IMO, England feels overpriced. They have never been doing well when they play at the World Cup.

I'd rather to replace England with Argentina. It's weird England is always getting overpriced in any of WC. Is it a premier league effect?  

Abundance of talented players has earned it spot among the top team despite many doubters about its chances at every World Cup.
Furthermore, England can be formidable team, having reached the semifinals in 2018 and the quarterfinals in 2022, so it is only natural.

[savetheFORUM]

Spain can be the best team or just one of the best teams in World Cup 2026 but being the best team is not enough to win World Cup 2026. They must perform as best as they can, and win matches including the final match for lifting a trophy. A World Cup champion does not always need to be a strongest or most impressive team, they only need go far to the final match, and win it.

Spain are strong but there are other strong national teams like France, Portugal, Germany, England and Brazil that are all ambitiously aiming at the title, so they will not let Span easily win this World Cup trophy.

Currently, a few teams are considered to be favourites for the event. Spain is a hot favourite while France and Argentina are following because these teams have enough potential to go through and stay till the end for the title. After these three, a few more are good, but they are not good enough.

England and Portugal are surely on a good level, while Brazil is doing well under Carlos Ancelotti, but if they are able to make it into the top 8, this could be a big success for them. Who is going to be the winner? It's never been easy. Argentina can defend their title. It's looking possible, but they have to give their best like they did in the last World Cup. Few European teams are looking not good on paper, but they always have enough to show and win. Morocco from Africa also has good performance; they can give a surprise.

[Out of mind]

In this 2026 World Cup only two players will you want to perform very well because they have never won it in the entire career, these two players are Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar, most especially Neymar who has so plan to return to Europe but he's still injury kept him down, this World Cup remains his last hope because his performance here can determine many clubs queuing for him. Neymar is still very young to retire from football but I hope he return to Europe.

1000 goals are never achieved under any circumstances, for some players they are unthinkable figures, but he will do it and he has done very well in this last period, i am happy that a player like that is still so prolific now, the right ending would be winning the World Cup.

He just won the title in SPL, and I believe that will be a good motivation for him to display his best in the world cup because this was how Al Nassr has consitently fighting to win the title before they finally got it this season. I believe that Ronaldo can achieve his 1000 goals benchmark before he retires from football. Let's see how many he will score in addition to his 973 goals that he has scored already.

Cristiano Ronaldo has already won the SPL title and it was really great for him. Since he will be playing in the World Cup, he will definitely play at his best and he can lead the team well to put it in the best position. Of course, it is true that Ronaldo will touch his 1000th goal mile before he retires from football and this will be a record for his career. Although he is already at the top of the list of highest goals with 973 goals, he will definitely achieve this great milestone. Moreover, I think he will definitely play at his best for Portugal in this World Cup and will be the favorite to win the World Cup.

[Joca97]

As i predicted Spain is still leading to be the most favorite nation to win the Worldcup this year. It's okay to have France in 2nd because France was also able going to the final in the last Worldcup. However, it feels weird to see England to be placed at 3rd.
IMO, England feels overpriced. They have never been doing well when they play at the World Cup.

I'd rather to replace England with Argentina. It's weird England is always getting overpriced in any of WC. Is it a premier league effect?  

I think that the predictions are about right. These are the favorites and i think the order is about right with the quality of the teams on paper and overall. Spain and France are the main favorites and England and Portugal are the backup favorites from the shadows to win the title other teams i dont expect to have a shot especially Brazil. But still we always see some surprises. England has a good team but they can never reach the final or win the world cup at all. I think Argentina dosent have the team to win this time there are a lot better teams now

[letteredhub]

In this 2026 World Cup only two players will you want to perform very well because they have never won it in the entire career, these two players are Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar, most especially Neymar who has so plan to return to Europe but he's still injury kept him down, this World Cup remains his last hope because his performance here can determine many clubs queuing for him. Neymar is still very young to retire from football but I hope he return to Europe.

1000 goals are never achieved under any circumstances, for some players they are unthinkable figures, but he will do it and he has done very well in this last period, i am happy that a player like that is still so prolific now, the right ending would be winning the World Cup.

He just won the title in SPL, and I believe that will be a good motivation for him to display his best in the world cup because this was how Al Nassr has consitently fighting to win the title before they finally got it this season. I believe that Ronaldo can achieve his 1000 goals benchmark before he retires from football. Let's see how many he will score in addition to his 973 goals that he has scored already.

The World Cup isn't about individual performances but rather a thing of collective effort and team work and if non of these qualities is found in the teams where both of these players are found then it doesn't matter how much personal efforts they put in respectively, it would surmount to nothing, one of the reasons why Argentina won the last World Cup wasn't because of Lionel Messi's efforts alone but because the Argentine team were committed.

[Ale88]

Messi mainly moved to the MLS because he likes the city and he is friend with Beckham, who is the owner of the club. Basically he was looking for a nice place to spend his last years without even the need to learn another language considering the amount of Latinos living in Miami. He doesn't care about the records, the numbers, he's never been obsessed with those things, unlike Ronaldo who lives to beat records over records.

I don't know but I don't think so and it's only my thinking and my guess on possible reasons why Messi decided moving to the USA and MLS rather than Saudi Arabia and Saudi Professional League. I, of course, am not sure about this, as I can not step in Messi's shoes to know his reasons, but at his age and his role as a Dad, it was time for him to think carefully about future of his children as well as where his children will live, grow up and get education. These concerns if are actually his biggest concerns, would possibly result in the USA as a better destination for his family, especially his children, than the Saudi Arabia.

With Messi, he is very good adaptive and can play in any domestic league, so reasons for his decision can be something else with above reasons are most possible ones in my opinion.

What I said are things confirmed directly by Anmar Al Haili, president of Al-Ittihad, in an interview where he explained he would have paid Messi any amount of money but Messi declined because he chose to prioritize his family’s well-being in the United States, you can check out this article: https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/confirmed-saudi-arabia-messi-offered-162200041.html?guccounter=1

Ronaldo, on the other hand, wanted to be the most paid football player in the world, just to beat another record. Probably he would have played without any problem in China, Uzbekistan or Thailand had he received the right offer.

[Danica22]

The World Cup isn't about individual performances but rather a thing of collective effort and team work and if non of these qualities is found in the teams where both of these players are found then it doesn't matter how much personal efforts they put in respectively, it would surmount to nothing, one of the reasons why Argentina won the last World Cup wasn't because of Lionel Messi's efforts alone but because the Argentine team were committed.

This is a very important point. If you want to be a world champion, you have to play well as a team. It is not possible  to win the World Cup if it depends on the performance of a specific player. We  saw Spain become the champion in the last Euro. but, France's squad was the strongest. Argentina did not depend on Messi at all in the last world cup. All the players  fought hard to bring Messi a world cup. The bonding between the players was on another level. That is why they were able to become champions.