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

[kennycryptoitalia]

The current tournament is the last world cup for some senior players including Ronaldo that's why he was very ambition want to help Portugal to won the trophy because this could be a good achivement for Ronaldo before he is retired but indeed there was no official statement from Ronaldo regarding his retirement from football which probably Ronaldo possibly will playing at least for next 2 or 3 years and speaking about Portugal chances currently i was put them into one of my favourite that because Portugal squad is very good quality besides Ronaldo there are some players who possibly will playing well such as Vitinha, Rafael Leao or Joao Neves who just won champion league trophy with PSG

Will Portugal fail to win the World Cup? i don't know, but certainly understood as a team and as a national team it will certainly have the possibility in future years, but what you don't take into account is that there is a certain gentleman called Cristiano Ronaldo who is doing everything to win this trophy and i wouldn't take him for granted.

[m4r1o]

Why would you want to cover your mouth in the first place if you are not saying something bad? I think the rule is fair. Let them say whatever they want to say but let the world see what they said.

I also like that part of players getting punished for time-wasting. Let the football flow.

is that unfortunately there is a lot of rudeness in this sport and no one realizes that this must be a lesson for everyone who watches children, they always have the possibility of teaching many important things and instead they always get lost in a glass of water, they are spoiled kids and there must be stricter rules.

[Oluwa-btc]

Will Portugal fail to win the World Cup? i don't know, but certainly understood as a team and as a national team it will certainly have the possibility in future years, but what you don't take into account is that there is a certain gentleman called Cristiano Ronaldo who is doing everything to win this trophy and i wouldn't take him for granted.

Cristaino Ronaldo has done it all when he was much younger. Right now, he is doing his best but he is no longer as effective and dangerous as he used to be before now.
Portugal has one of the best midfielders and according to PSG manager, if Spain is not winning it, then is should be Portugal and I couldn't even agree more. They can do it but the players need to play as a team every single game. Leave personal glory and play for the glory of the country.

[HajiBagi]

The current tournament is the last world cup for some senior players including Ronaldo that's why he was very ambition want to help Portugal to won the trophy because this could be a good achivement for Ronaldo before he is retired but indeed there was no official statement from Ronaldo regarding his retirement from football which probably Ronaldo possibly will playing at least for next 2 or 3 years and speaking about Portugal chances currently i was put them into one of my favourite that because Portugal squad is very good quality besides Ronaldo there are some players who possibly will playing well such as Vitinha, Rafael Leao or Joao Neves who just won champion league trophy with PSG

Will Portugal fail to win the World Cup? i don't know, but certainly understood as a team and as a national team it will certainly have the possibility in future years, but what you don't take into account is that there is a certain gentleman called Cristiano Ronaldo who is doing everything to win this trophy and i wouldn't take him for granted.

Christiano Ronaldo is not that guy we use to know that turned up any time they need him because of his old age, he is still playing and he can score but Ronaldo is not the same greatest of all time that when he stepped in the field the opponent will be scared of, we can see from his performance in Saudi pro league that he can not press and dribble like before because his body has started showing that he career is coming to an end, what he only want to do is to score goals to reach 1000 goals as he wanted.

Portugal have one of the best players in the world and their midfielders are the best players in the world, they have Vitinha, Joao Neves and Bruno Fernandez that is currently the best player in the premier league this season but breaking the assist record, Portugal have what is takes to win the world and if the players are serious to help Ronaldo win the trophy they are capable of doing it.

[emrecemsan]

Will Portugal fail to win the World Cup? i don't know, but certainly understood as a team and as a national team it will certainly have the possibility in future years, but what you don't take into account is that there is a certain gentleman called Cristiano Ronaldo who is doing everything to win this trophy and i wouldn't take him for granted.

Here is how it looks for Portugal at the World Cup so far.



Their best result since 2000s is just a 4th place... They have 0 World Cup in their history. Of course this doesn't mean that they won't have any in the future.

But I mean they've been much better in Euros. Even if they win a World Cup as well later on I don't think it'll happen in presence of Ronaldo.

[aipercoin]

Anyone can improve, in this case for Yamal I wouldn't call improvement, but simply balance, it's true he dribbles a lot and he knows how to do it well, but that's because he has talent.
However, these plays affect the risk of injury, loss of possession and consequently reduced teamwork in many ways.
He doesn't just have to improve in performance, but above all in being in the team.

Yamal is clearly improving, but he is still young and there are many possibilities for him, when you have all eyes on him the most difficult part to train is his mind, without that there is no hope for him, he has to keep his feet on the ground and not do bullshit because then he will come out badly, it's a moment to lose everything he has done up to now.

[SquallLeonhart]

There are plenty of logical reasons for Messi to move to MLS. First of all, MLS paid a huge amount to Messi. Maybe his wages are not very high, he used to get bigger amount wages in Saudi. But besides wages, other incomes abound in America. Also you mentioned the future of his children. This is also probably an important factor. Also, Messi is getting a lot of facilities in America from Saudi Arabia. Also, America is undoubtedly a better place to live than the Middle East. Another important reason is that MLS is not a competitive league. Messi is not under any pressure here.

If wage was the only reason, Saudi League was ready to pay him nearly ten times more than what MLS is paying him. In fact, MLS does not even pay him a lot, they give him cut from the revenue, so in theory, if the revenue was low, then Messi would have been paid very little, but from the reports I see, it's a good chunk of money. Saudi would be the smart way to go if the entire reason was money.

However, no matter how much Islamic world hates to hear this, some people just do not want to live in an Islamic nation. I know Muslims love to live in Christian nations, but Christians mostly do not want to live in Islamic nations. So a player like Messi not preferring to go to Saudi Arabia, is not really that shocking to me.

[YUriy1991]

World Cup 2026 edition will be so different than previous editions since it is scheduled to take place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It will be the first time that the World Cup will be held in three countries in my opinion it will attract more football fans to at least watch one of the 80 matches in stadium.
It's also a chance for more teams that had no chance before to participate in this big football event. The final match of this event is scheduled at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the stadium has a great style for fans and gives them a better watching experience. I'm already excited for it to be honest and hopefully i would get a chance to watch the finals

Besides playing in 3 countries which I think are very far apart so that supporters from all over the world will have difficulty accessing matches directly at the stadium. in contrast to the holding of the World Cup in the EUROPE continent where access to stadiums near fans can easily access all matches directly, The 2026 World Cup this time is also very different from the ongoing war conditions in the Middle East where countries that are at war are actually competing in the World Cup match. We know the United States as the host and Iran acts as a guest team in this event. this is a very rare situation, Hopefully football will be a bridge for peace for the world.

[Rruchi man]

Portugal has one of the best midfielders and according to PSG manager, if Spain is not winning it, then is should be Portugal and I couldn't even agree more. They can do it but the players need to play as a team every single game. Leave personal glory and play for the glory of the country.

If Ronaldo can have this approach as the leader of the team, the other players will follow. If they see that Ronaldo is not on an agenda to continue on his personal record of trying to get to 1000 goals and actually chooses to play as a leader, giving opportunity to the other talents in the team to have the spotlight as Messi does, giving assists instead of trying to spam shots like he was still his younger self, the other players will blend in, and with their talented players, they can really go far.

[Oluwa-btc]

Football Fun Fact;

The opening fixture during the 2010 FIFA World Cup Competition in South Africa was between Mexico and South Africa with the final result being a draw as both sides shared the spoils  ( 1-1 ).

This year, the same fixture will he held and Mexico will be the host here this time around for the opening game which will be played next week Thursday.

[changaa]

These rules are taking the beauty of the game away, this is a sport for crying out loud and not some movie script. We definitely miss the good old days. In this World Cup and next season we will definitely record a high number of red card.

You're right warrior, is not a nice gesture and too many rules take away the beauty of the game.
This thing certainly has a lot of influence with the red cards and the players who have to adapt to these rules.
They definitely take away the fun but at least the players behave like professionals.

[Zlantann]

If wage was the only reason, Saudi League was ready to pay him nearly ten times more than what MLS is paying him. In fact, MLS does not even pay him a lot, they give him cut from the revenue, so in theory, if the revenue was low, then Messi would have been paid very little, but from the reports I see, it's a good chunk of money. Saudi would be the smart way to go if the entire reason was money.

However, no matter how much Islamic world hates to hear this, some people just do not want to live in an Islamic nation. I know Muslims love to live in Christian nations, but Christians mostly do not want to live in Islamic nations. So a player like Messi not preferring to go to Saudi Arabia, is not really that shocking to me.

I just checked how much Ronaldo and Messi earn in their current clubs and saw that the Portuguese captain earns double of what the Argentine player gets in Inter Miami. It is reported that Ronaldo makes around $235 million to $245 million annually, which includes earnings from commercial deals. Messi on the other hand, gets an annual income of about $130 million to $135 million. This includes income from profit-sharing agreements and partnerships with Apple and Adidas.

Islamic societies are difficult to live in for people of other culture or religion. It forbids some of the behaviours that are accepted in other countries. Messi might also put this under consideration because he needs to ensure that his family members are comfortable.

[Alpha Marine]

Will Portugal fail to win the World Cup? i don't know, but certainly understood as a team and as a national team it will certainly have the possibility in future years, but what you don't take into account is that there is a certain gentleman called Cristiano Ronaldo who is doing everything to win this trophy and i wouldn't take him for granted.

Portugal has a very good team; they have a team that can win the World Cup if all of them lock in, but I am not convinced about their attack.
An attack of Neves, Ronaldo, and Leao/Felix is not a very good one if we are being honest. There are too many inconsistent players in the lineup. And we must know that Ronaldo is no longer the player he used to be. He is no longer a player who can pull the team alone. He has not been able to do it before; I doubt he would be able to do it now. To me, that is the only part of Portugal's team that I'm not convinced of.

Their midfield and defence are very solid. A midfield of Bruno, Vintinha and Neves is a very balanced one. Mendes Cancelo and Dias as starting defenders.
The way I view football, the midfield and attack should be the strongest part of the team if they want to win a tournament. They are the players who score goals, and you need goals to win. For Portugal to win, their attack needs to be at its absolute peak.

Football Fun Fact;
The opening fixture during the 2010 FIFA World Cup Competition in South Africa was between Mexico and South Africa with the final result being a draw as both sides shared the spoils  ( 1-1 ).

"...It's a really good ball... It's Tshabalala!!!!
Goal Bafafa Bafana!!"
I had a lot of memories in that 2010 World Cup. It was the first World Cup I actually watched and was invested in. Since then, I've always had a lot of memorable moments in the World Cup. The 2018 World Cup in Russia was the only one I didn't enjoy that much.
I'm going to try to enjoy this one to the fullest. Football brings out emotions in me I don't even know I have.

[Italian Panic]

Their best result since 2000s is just a 4th place... They have 0 World Cup in their history. Of course this doesn't mean that they won't have any in the future.

But I mean they've been much better in Euros. Even if they win a World Cup as well later on I don't think it'll happen in presence of Ronaldo.

I agree with you; they’ve got some excellent players and sooner or later they’ll win the World Cup, just like Spain, who’ve always been a good team but didn’t win their first World Cup until 2010 with incredible midfielders like Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets, combined with a style of play that was unstoppable.
Portugal are following in their footsteps; they have top class midfielders in Vitinha and Joao Neves, but they always struggle a bit in attack  if Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t there, they start to struggle to score. The next World Cup could be their time.

And what if Cristiano Ronaldo’s son were to win it?

[chinhar]

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.

I also hope Neymar can reach this milestone, and with the World Cup approaching, winning the SPL title will be more than enough motivation, and he'll battle it out with Ronaldo to see who reaches 1,000 goals first. As for the World Cup, I have much higher hopes for Neymar than Ronaldo, but we'll see how things go.

[Loyang]

The current tournament is the last world cup for some senior players including Ronaldo that's why he was very ambition want to help Portugal to won the trophy because this could be a good achivement for Ronaldo before he is retired but indeed there was no official statement from Ronaldo regarding his retirement from football which probably Ronaldo possibly will playing at least for next 2 or 3 years and speaking about Portugal chances currently i was put them into one of my favourite that because Portugal squad is very good quality besides Ronaldo there are some players who possibly will playing well such as Vitinha, Rafael Leao or Joao Neves who just won champion league trophy with PSG

Will Portugal fail to win the World Cup? i don't know, but certainly understood as a team and as a national team it will certainly have the possibility in future years, but what you don't take into account is that there is a certain gentleman called Cristiano Ronaldo who is doing everything to win this trophy and i wouldn't take him for granted.

There is currently no certainty that Portugal will win the World Cup, or which team will win. However, compared to all the other strong teams, I think Portugal's chances of winning are much lower. There are many strong teams, we can never say that they will win based on just one player. If we could see some more good players in the Portugal team like Brazil, then maybe we could say that Portugal can win this World Cup.

[welovebit]

There is currently no certainty that Portugal will win the World Cup, or which team will win. However, compared to all the other strong teams, I think Portugal's chances of winning are much lower. There are many strong teams, we can never say that they will win based on just one player. If we could see some more good players in the Portugal team like Brazil, then maybe we could say that Portugal can win this World Cup.

Still a few days left in the start of the FIFA World Cup too many strong countries with good depth and coordination. Just because of this prediction, it is not easy about winner ,  A few countries surely have much better chances than Portugal just Ronaldo can't do anything. They needed a good combination between a few players to have better players.
Spain, Argentina, and France are looking much better but who is going to be the winner? It's still hard with Portugal and England fighting hard for a semifinal spot. If no surprises happen, then these teams will stay till the last four, but the FIFA World Cup is always about surprises and upsets. This increases fans desire to watch all games and have enough entertainment.

[Volgastallion]

I think one of the biggest failures of the Cristiano Ronaldo career is the performance of Portugal in the world cup, he do a majestic job with them in the eurocup and other european tournaments across his career but in world cup they always fail and in some world cups they fail in a big way.Now this is for real his final chance but he is really old, he is gonna nedd much more from the team.

[DanWalker]

Will Portugal fail to win the World Cup? i don't know, but certainly understood as a team and as a national team it will certainly have the possibility in future years, but what you don't take into account is that there is a certain gentleman called Cristiano Ronaldo who is doing everything to win this trophy and i wouldn't take him for granted.

Portugal's squad is undoubtedly one of the strongest among the squads in this world cup. They have a lot of talented and star players. Portugal's defense, midfield and attack are all strong. But we still don't know what the  relationship between the players is like. We know that Ronaldo will try his best to win the world cup. If portugal can perform well as a team, then they have a chance to win the World Cup. Fans have high hopes for Portugal in this World cup.

[LUCKMCFLY]

It's very possible because the next World Cup will bring Ronaldo's age to 44 years, and equally, looking at the kind of physical fitness he has, he's a kind of player that loves to keep fit. Unlike before, it's recently that we're beginning to see players retiring so early. Back in the days when I was growing up, I watched many players then, and the number of old, experienced players we had then can no longer be compared with what we have presently.

It all depends on the possibilities. If CR7 maintains his high level, he would be one of the first players who, despite his age, can withstand high-level competition. That would unleash the envy of many of his detractors, but I would love to see the beast playing and playing until he's exhausted. Watching the toxicity of his detractors is something to enjoy while eating popcorn.