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

[abhiseshakana]

The game has ended, and from all indications, Portugal will have to be more serious. The defense performance that Congo showed today was really impressive; even though it was not easy for them, the defense was so hard for Portugal to break. I was not expecting such a result in this game. I was expecting to see Portugal win the game, but we ended up seeing a draw. Funny enough, Portugal only had one shot on target, that shows how active Congo was in defense.

It's not about Congo defense doing well, I don't think that's the case at all, the fact is that Portugal performance was so poor that they could only manage one shot on target and had to share the points. I wonder why Cristiano Ronaldo wasn't replaced in the second half and kept on until the end of the match? he was quite slow, Portugal could be a team that won't last long in this tournament if they play like this.

Another surprise has popped up , and this time it’s Portugal that’s on the getting end of it. To be honest , I didn’t  expect Portugal to perform this badly in their first match .... It was as if they were playing with only 10 men,  because the one at the front seemed to be making absolutely  no contribution at all, but strangely enough, the manager didn’t dare to substitute him and even let him play the full 90 minutes.

I don’t think Portugal can carry on like this because, after this, they’ll be  facing Uzbekistan and Colombia, who, incidentally, are ranked higher than Congo. Unless there’s a change and for that to happen , the manager must have the courage to take  decisive measures.

[Muba20]

Portugal were held to a 1–1 draw by DR Congo, and the two teams shared the points.

Everyone expected Portugal to win. I thought they would score in the second half as well, but despite dominating possession and creating pressure, they couldn't find the winning goal.

It was an excellent start for DR Congo, as they managed to take a valuable point against one of the tournament favorites.

Although Portugal is the favorite, no one expected it to draw a match with a team like DR Congo. It is difficult to predict the current performance of any team based on its past performance. Big favorite teams are drawing matches most of the time in the group stage games of this World Cup. Different favorite teams often draw matches due to unexpected performance of the opponent team. The attack of the drawn matches is not very strong. Portugal is no exception. This World Cup is Ronaldo's last World Cup. And Ronaldo is in very good form. If the rest of the team players thought about the team and relied on Ronaldo to assist, then the result of the match might have been different. At different times, world-class players should not only put pressure on the opponent, but also show their true skills. Portugal should practice team play more.

[uray]

Thanks Portugal.

Just f*ck up my parlays 🤣 to be honest these World Cup are really unpredictable. The match each of them ended with Draw, I think so many people got rekt on these Fifa World Cup 🤣

I also one of them Parlay with Portugal.

There are many that got rekt betting on this World Cup. Spain Vs Cape Verde, who would have thought about that result. Brazil, Uruguay, Netherlands and Belgium all ended up in draws.

With all their ball possession, Spain could not score a goal. Brazil also struggled and was disappointing, Belgium was able to escape defeat only because of an own goal by Egypt

[Obim34]

I agree with your view that  Ronaldo did not perform well in this match. He was not involved in playmaking and was stood isolated without the ball and he was too slow in responding and reacting to the crosses that came his way.

The Portugal defense was also not that great either. They need to change their game plan completely if they want to be successful in this competition.

The England vs Croatia match is underway and Harry Kane has just scored a penalty.

I hope the coach learnt his lessons, repeating the same thing might be what will hinder them from progressing from the group stage, having another draw in their next game is not what they need to qualify, winning the next two matches is compulsory if they have interest in playing another round of the tournament.

Gone into the second half, both sides are 2-2 on the score line.

[Yabani]

Croatia is not backing down. After falling 1-0 behind, they equalized with a beautiful goal, but this year's breakout star scored with a header to make it 2-1. I thought England would win, but Croatia scored in the last minute of the first half, and the kickoff wasn't even taken after that goal. The first half ended 2-2. I don't think Croatia will lose.

[Tungbulu]

Croatia actually scored a goal, and the match is currently tied. Croatia scored through Baturina, a player Como brought to Italian football. He also scored in the World Cup. Croatia found the equalizer in a match where they were trailing. If they surprisingly score another goal, the match will take a very different turn. An unexpected situation from England.

Croatia isn’t going down without some serious fight here, and England on the other hand isn’t ready to lose this game, the game so far is really thrilling I must confess. If Croatia keeps up with this vibe, they just might be able to finish the game with a draw or who knows possibly a win, they’ve got a good team and I just wouldn’t be surprised if they pull through with a win.

[Hvdv]

Croatia is not backing down. After falling 1-0 behind, they equalized with a beautiful goal, but this year's breakout star scored with a header to make it 2-1. I thought England would win, but Croatia scored in the last minute of the first half, and the kickoff wasn't even taken after that goal. The first half ended 2-2. I don't think Croatia will lose.

After Croatia scored, for a moment I thought they were offside. After the goal was given, we can almost certainly say that we'll be watching a much more enjoyable match in the second half. The England-Croatia match is proving to be exciting and high-quality, just as we expected. Neither team intends to give up, and both are playing to win. Croatia showed us a magnificent team effort in their second goal.

[Adiljutt156]

Spain vs Cape Verde match was one of the biggest surprises of this World Cup that we ever imagined. People generally expected Spain to dominate and score some goals against their opponent as Cape Verde supposed to be weaker item. but Cape Verde incredible discipline and defensive strength totally destroyed people's hope. Spain usually controlled the ball most of the time & they had many chances, but unfortunately they failed to find the finishing touch. The other three matches ending with draws on the same day which were also unexpected. Teams that were expected to win, struggled to secure the draw lol. It shows that no team can be underestimated in this World Cup

The defense system of both teams was great in this match as no team could do any goal in this match.  Both teams players were in excellent form but they should try to attack on the opponent team but they could not do any goal till end . Gavi should take responsibility of that but he did no effort in this match and his team lose the match at the end. Livramento should try to attack in the first half of the match but he could not try because his effort was less in this match.  That was a match of FIFA World Cup 2026 and both teams want to get upper position on the table but both teams got 1, 1 point in this match

[MK-74]

The match between England and Croatia has been very entertaining. The first half ended 2–2, with Croatia scoring a stoppage time equalizer.
In my opinion, Croatia have been the better side overall.
England have struggled to impose their game and haven’t been able to control the match.
I also expect at least a few more goals in the second half.

[Cassius55]

Incredible that the Portugal don't win against Congo because they have some of the better players in Europe, like Vitinha, Neves, Ruben Dias. I watch the match and the ball is ever in the feet of portugal players, a real difficult passing network but no one goal arrived by this type of game but with a classic assist from the third quarter field.

[Adbitco]

I see absolutely nothing special about this Portugal team, people keep on saying they have lots of stars and just laugh. Do they have better stars than England, France or even Spain in Europe. The answer is no, in as much as I love Ronaldo, the truth is, Portugal isn't going far in this world cup, look at the nonsense they just did against DR Congo, a team that's coming to their second ever world cup and they couldn't win. Just one shot on target in the whole game. Look at their so called midfield, a midfield that's supposed to be a link between the defence and the attack, do your job as midfielders by opening play and creating chances for your attack but instead you want to score. It's even the defence that were trying to create chances. If this Portugal meets England in the Round of 32, they would go home easily. Even Croatia will beat them with this nonsense they did today.

[Phoenix Anka]

The match between England and Croatia has been very entertaining. The first half ended 2–2, with Croatia scoring a stoppage time equalizer.
In my opinion, Croatia have been the better side overall.
England have struggled to impose their game and haven’t been able to control the match.
I also expect at least a few more goals in the second half.

Despite his age, Luka Modrić still manages the team like a maestro. That's why having him play in Croatia is a great opportunity for the Croatians. Perhaps Real Madrid shouldn't have let him go. They're still getting top-level midfield performance from him. He also had a very good season at Milan. He's putting up a great fight against a physically strong and fit team like England. Right now, four goals have been scored in the first half, and I expect even more in the second half.

[Slow death]

Well, Portugal disappointed in their first game. To be honest, I'm not surprised by this result. They've had serious problems in attack, and this coach can't seem to create a better formation with the right starting players. For example, he benched João Félix, Francisco Trincão, and Rafael Leão, and the result was very disappointing. This draw could have serious consequences in the future. They'll need to hope that the other teams in the group lose so that they don't lose in their next two games.

[eightdots]

The match between England and Croatia has been very entertaining. The first half ended 2–2, with Croatia scoring a stoppage time equalizer.
In my opinion, Croatia have been the better side overall.
England have struggled to impose their game and haven’t been able to control the match.
I also expect at least a few more goals in the second half.

We've started to see some good matches in the tournament. This match was truly enjoyable to watch. Both teams managed to score and will try to score even more in the second half. I couldn't decide if England's performance was at a sufficient level. Croatia, on the other hand, gave the impression of being a team that knows what it wants to do.

I think the second half will be better. Both teams seem evenly matched in terms of strength, and free kicks will be very important in this match.

[Judith87403]

Croatia is not backing down. After falling 1-0 behind, they equalized with a beautiful goal, but this year's breakout star scored with a header to make it 2-1. I thought England would win, but Croatia scored in the last minute of the first half, and the kickoff wasn't even taken after that goal. The first half ended 2-2. I don't think Croatia will lose.

I think Croatia came quite prepared for this game, they’re not even giving England the chance to stay ahead in this game, I think if Croatia manages to score another goal before England does, then they just might stand a chance to win this game. This here the chance for both team, any team that manages to score now would most likely switch to defensive gameplay which might make it almost impossible for the other to equalize again.

[BIT-BENDER]

Honestly what's was Roberto Martinez trying to prove still leaving Cristiano Ronaldo on the field. On the big stage as the world cup the coach is meant to make the hard decision.
I think starting him is enough respect you can give to a legend of Portugal and the football game but age isn't on his side so he should not be playing 90minutes especially when the team needed to score.
I will take nothing away from Drc Congo because they played well and they deserved to get the point.

[coinlary]

DR Congo made history by scoring an equalizer at the end of the first half. Disappointingly, the Portugal defense was pathetic and no one was marking the players, which provided DR Congo with enough space to score the equalizer easily.

I really hope Portugal cleans up their act in the second half.

Unfortunately, they didn't. They held the draw for the entire 50 minutes(including additional time) and the match ended the same way.

The defence wasn't pathetic to me. I think they played better than DR Congo's defence, but both sides had solid defensive setups.

The reason for the small rating difference( with DR Congo taking the better ratings) was because Portugal's attacking side had poor finishing. Not that the defence wasn't solid either. But with Portugal's dominance, they were supposed to score more goals, atleast that's what I expected for the second half.

[Mayor of ogba]

Thanks Portugal.

Just f*ck up my parlays 🤣 to be honest these World Cup are really unpredictable. The match each of them ended with Draw, I think so many people got rekt on these Fifa World Cup 🤣

I also one of them Parlay with Portugal.

A friend of mine bet 1,000, 000 Nigeria Naira on Portugal to win DR Congo but Portugal did the unthinkable thing today against DR Congo they played a 1-1 draw and cut my friend's bet ticket. Since Portugal could not win the match everyone was expecting them to win easily they should be serious in their remaining two matches if they wish to qualify for the next round of the World Cup.

[Hvdv]

Honestly what's was Roberto Martinez trying to prove still leaving Cristiano Ronaldo on the field. On the big stage as the world cup the coach is meant to make the hard decision.
I think starting him is enough respect you can give to a legend of Portugal and the football game but age isn't on his side so he should not be playing 90minutes especially when the team needed to score.
I will take nothing away from Drc Congo because they played well and they deserved to get the point.

DRC Congo, with their physically demanding style of play, gave Cristiano Ronaldo and the Portuguese no opportunities. Portugal actually scored an early goal, but couldn't do more. Congo managed to stop them precisely by using their physicality. They fought very well, and therefore deserved the point. Portugal, on the other hand, showed that they are not a championship contender. I would have expected a better performance from them.

[*Ace*]

Portugal v DR Congo 1-1

Incredibly, Portugal have also stumbled in their opening match!
Almost all the European national teams have disappointed in their first match.
They too will now have to get the best possible results in their next two matches, or their campaign will be in jeopardy