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

[Alpha Marine]

I'm sorry that I complained about a missed clear red card when it was clear there should have been a red card

Maybe give the card and no one will complain? It's as easy as that

The thing about you people is that you have selective outrage about stuff. You claim to hate corruption, but you only hate when it doesn't favour you.
Ronaldo got a red card and was supposed to miss the first two games of the World Cup, but FIFA had to step in and show leniency. Nobody said anything about that.


This was Hakimi's challenge againts Vini. Almost same as that of Messi's. He didn't get a red card and nobody rioted. We all took as as one of the many calls or mistakes that officials make.


Here is another one that happened in the USA game, but nobody talked about corruption or favouritism or whatever excuse you people are spinning.
But when it's Messi and Argentina, all of a sudden, everybody has lost their ability to think. I'm not surprised, though. This is normal behaviour for a long time now.

There are other instances I've seen from this tournament alone, but I don't have pictures.
Calls that should be red cards, penalties, foul happen all the time. It's not a new thing for a referee to get a call wrong, so I don't know how people believe there is a conspiracy or something.

[Lembo69]

I will not take any criticism from the coach in this match against Portugal, the reason is that almost all the players of Portugal played according to their own wishes, you may have noticed, Ronaldo was standing almost like a statue on the field, because no one wants to give him the ball, everyone wants to become a legend like Ronaldo. I did not find any hypocrisy among them. This draw between them can be a black mark for the next match. The next match is with Uzbekistan, I hope Ronaldo will show his magic in that match, because a player like Ronaldo has little in common with the players of his own team, as I understand.

[Hvdv]

I will not take any criticism from the coach in this match against Portugal, the reason is that almost all the players of Portugal played according to their own wishes, you may have noticed, Ronaldo was standing almost like a statue on the field, because no one wants to give him the ball, everyone wants to become a legend like Ronaldo. I did not find any hypocrisy among them. This draw between them can be a black mark for the next match. The next match is with Uzbekistan, I hope Ronaldo will show his magic in that match, because a player like Ronaldo has little in common with the players of his own team, as I understand.

I hope Ronaldo gives us a great performance because we've all missed his good play. We saw a beautiful glimpse of Lionel Messi and witnessed the hat-trick performance we've been longing for. Argentina secured a comfortable victory thanks to him. I hope Portugal can achieve a comfortable win in their next match with Ronaldo's help.

[red4slash]

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

After Spain, Belgium and Uruguay now Portugal is in trouble.
Money was lost again in this match even though the momentum was very good for Portugal especially after 1 goal early in the first half but Congo gave a very good fight.
 
Portugal didn't play badly but you have to admit that their finishing in this match was poor and the flow of the ball was too focused on Cristiano although that's good because he's a target man but for me it was a bit forced.

Cheers to all of us who again lost our money in a losing bet for unexpected conditions and 3 days 2 losses felt this is not too good for the bettor's mentality

[Ever-young]

I hope Ronaldo gives us a great performance because we've all missed his good play. We saw a beautiful glimpse of Lionel Messi and witnessed the hat-trick performance we've been longing for. Argentina secured a comfortable victory thanks to him. I hope Portugal can achieve a comfortable win in their next match with Ronaldo's help.

Hopefully they will in their next match, because what I saw today wasn’t what I expected at all. Honestly, I though Congo DR was gonna be an easy victory for them, but I was sooooo disappointed to witness the game ended in a draw, Cristiano Ronaldo couldn’t even score even the slightest goal, it was really disappointing you know. But just like you, I just hope the next games would be better, else I don’t see them Portugal going close to that trophy.

[RaltcoinsB]

One of the best matches of the World Cup is being played right now. This match between England and Croatia is truly enjoyable. Croatia, despite not creating many chances, managed to score two goals. England, on the other hand, had many chances but only scored three. Still, I think that's a very good number, and they're currently leading. It looks like there will definitely be more goals before the end of the match because the excitement continues.

Look, it's only the 63rd minute and England doesn't seem to have any intention of stopping. They're still playing very well. Meanwhile, Croatia is also putting up a great fight.

[xLays]

What happened to these two neighboring countries? We all expected them to win their opening matches, but both ended up with draws.
Spain couldn't even score a single goal against Cabo Verde. Portugal managed to score one, but DR Congo also found the net, resulting in a 1-1 draw. I honestly thought Portugal would score several goals because they got on the scoreboard within the first six minutes of the match. It looked like they were about to dominate, but that early goal ended up being their only one.
Hopefully, they can win their remaining two matches in Round 1. Otherwise, they might end up missing out on the next round, which would be a huge surprise. lol

[Crypto Library]

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.

It was a another match just like the others we saw previous time like Morocco vs Brazil result draw, the result of Spain match draw, and as well the others I couldn't remember right now those.

Even in the beginning we saw very aggressive performance from Portugal and the Congo was playing the defending And when Portugal scored from inside, I thought Portugal might have sent this message, but later on, the Congolese team was able to recover them with a header, where I think both the Portugal defender and the goalkeeper were at fault. And on the other hand I was also disappointed with the Ronaldo performance he did good but was not my expectation level.

[Cryptoprincess101]

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.

They are in the second half, and Jude Bellingham has scored just immediately they returned and the score is 3:2 currently. More goals are still expected because Croatia might equalize or England will score more goals. The first half was very entertaining, besides Croatia is not an easy team because of the likes of Luka Modric and other intelligent players in the squad. Harry Kane scored a brace in the first half; he can likely score a hat trick before the match ends. He is really an underrated player, but he is just a silent achiever that doesn't need so much noise. The problem that England has is their defense, it's too porous that is why they conceded the 2 goals in the first half.

[Zoomic]

All eyes will be on Cristiano Ronaldo today to do something similar to what Lionel Messi did yesterday against Algeria. Messi keeps making history as he once again created the record of the oldest player to score a hat trick in the FIFA World Cup. I know that C. Ronaldo will also aim to register a goal which is why I'm considering betting Cristiano Ronaldo to score, just a moderate single bet. The result of the match will likely be Portugal to win DR Congo.

FT, POR 1 -1 DRC. I think you made the wrong choice by betting on 41 yrs old Ronaldo to score a goal. Ronaldo is more aged than Messi, so I don't think we should keep comparing both of them, Messi can still play for 3 years if he wishes, so we should not expect thesame performance from them. I never expected Ronaldo to start the game today, he is not the young Ronaldo we use to know that can dribble and also produce goals, he should have come from the bench and maybe produce something special.

Messi did not only create a record, he created records like: joining the all time WC scorers, first player to feature 6 world cups, most total goal contribution in WC history, youngest and oldest Argentina scorer, most goals outside the box, and most international assists. Messi is just a complete player and without doubt the best footballer of all time.

[khiholangkang]

One of the best matches of the World Cup is being played right now. This match between England and Croatia is truly enjoyable. Croatia, despite not creating many chances, managed to score two goals. England, on the other hand, had many chances but only scored three. Still, I think that's a very good number, and they're currently leading. It looks like there will definitely be more goals before the end of the match because the excitement continues.

Look, it's only the 63rd minute and England doesn't seem to have any intention of stopping. They're still playing very well. Meanwhile, Croatia is also putting up a great fight.

This match was very hot for both, goal for goal and the best match so far in the world cup in my opinion, look at how Croatia really gave a very hard fight to England, this clearly shows its quality too, but England did not remain silent and he fought back very well, the score is 3-2, temporary advantage for England.
Harry Kane has always been the best goal scorer, and now he's doing the same thing, I think he'll be the main pillar again in this world cup, as his reputation is so good, tonight's match was not boring.

[Furious 7]

The second half I expected more from France because I believe 1x2 they should be able to get 3 points but if that doesn't happen then it will be another disappointment for the favorite team to win.

At the moment I'm noticing that all the big national teams are suffering a lot in this World Cup, which obviously reassures me a bit given that even my national team: Italy, hasn't even participated in 3 competitions.
I say this with regret but also with the hope of seeing new nations become strong.

For France there were no obstacles in the second half although for the first half they looked struggling but the second half they showed the quality that should be there but this is bad for Portugal today they followed in the footsteps of the favorite club to draw in today's match.

Even though their performance was quite good but the quality of attack they had and Congo's defense which was quite good made them lose full points and even though 1 point is owned but for me this is still a loss for Portugal.

This match was very hot for both, goal for goal and the best match so far in the world cup in my opinion, look at how Croatia really gave a very hard fight to England, this clearly shows its quality too, but England did not remain silent and he fought back very well, the score is 3-2, temporary advantage for England.
Harry Kane has always been the best goal scorer, and now he's doing the same thing, I think he'll be the main pillar again in this world cup, as his reputation is so good, tonight's match was not boring.

Agreed and I hope this result is a draw although the chances are a little slim but the hope is still there for Croatia.
They weren't given much space by England in this match but if they can make the most of the little chances I feel in the remaining time anything can happen and it will be interesting if the score is 3-3 for this match as they are the 2 qualifying clubs in group L.

[uneng]

One of the best matches of the World Cup is being played right now. This match between England and Croatia is truly enjoyable. Croatia, despite not creating many chances, managed to score two goals. England, on the other hand, had many chances but only scored three. Still, I think that's a very good number, and they're currently leading. It looks like there will definitely be more goals before the end of the match because the excitement continues.

Look, it's only the 63rd minute and England doesn't seem to have any intention of stopping. They're still playing very well. Meanwhile, Croatia is also putting up a great fight.

England was the favorite, but Croatia tried the hardest they could to play from equal to equal. I guess the match was quite balanced until 84 minutes of gameplay, but once England scored the 4th goal, then it was over for Croatia... I truly enjoyed the first half more than the second half and would like to have seen Croatia overcoming England, but it didn't happen this time.

[LUCKMCFLY]

France played very  badly in the first half. They could not attack strongly. But in the second half  we saw a completely different scene. The coach was able to identify the weaknesses of Senegal's defense well. And in the 66th minute of the second half, france secured the  lead with a goal from Mbappe. After that, the match became very competitive. Both teams were able to attack a lot. But in the end , france secured the victory with a score of 3-1 . This was  one of the most competitive matches I have seen in this world cup. Both teams played very well.

I saw that France was lacking something; I didn't like their style of play. Thanks to their stars, they were able to pull through. There's no denying they have quality players; personally, I can say they're very good. But the team's overall style of play didn't convince me. It's a shame Senegal couldn't maintain their organized defense, but if the team improves its concentration and control, they can become a very strong team.

[khiholangkang]

This match was very hot for both, goal for goal and the best match so far in the world cup in my opinion, look at how Croatia really gave a very hard fight to England, this clearly shows its quality too, but England did not remain silent and he fought back very well, the score is 3-2, temporary advantage for England.
Harry Kane has always been the best goal scorer, and now he's doing the same thing, I think he'll be the main pillar again in this world cup, as his reputation is so good, tonight's match was not boring.

Agreed and I hope this result is a draw although the chances are a little slim but the hope is still there for Croatia.
They weren't given much space by England in this match but if they can make the most of the little chances I feel in the remaining time anything can happen and it will be interesting if the score is 3-3 for this match as they are the 2 qualifying clubs in group L.

But if the result is a draw again it will make a lot of bettors lose because I think most of them will choose England for victory in this match, the hope is too small to return to equalize because now the score is 4-2 before a few minutes of the match, Marcus Rashford again added to England's lead, and in this round of extra time there is no time for Croatia, so they have to accept defeat with laughter that Croatia for the time being cannot beat England, but to get out of the group phase it is not a difficult thing for them because Ghana and Panama are not difficult.

[Mayor of ogba]

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.

The last time Cristiano Ronaldo was benched in the World Cup and Portugal was knocked out of the 2022 World Cup, Portugal coach was blamed for that because he didn't start Cristiano Ronaldo against Morocco in Portugal quarter final match against Morocco in the 2022 World Cup, so I believe Robert Martinez doesn't want to bench Cristiano Ronaldo or sub him off when Portugal is searching for a win so that he won't be blame if exit the World Cup. The only way Portugal would have play without Cristiano Ronaldo in this World Cup was if Roberto Martinez didn't named him in the Portugal World Cup squad but since his name is there, Roberto Martinez have no choice but to play Cristiano Ronaldo always.

[pawel7777]

A flawless performance by Messi. I have to say I didn't expect him to score a hat-trick and be the star of the game at the age of almost 39. All that exactly 20 years to a day from his World Cup debut. Speaking of round numbers, the game against Algeria was his 200th international game. He is now a lone leader in the World Cup top scorers rank, as so far no one else has managed to score a hat-trick.
He became the first player to play in 6 World Cup tournaments, but today Cristiano Ronaldo achieved the same.
Messi already held a record for Argentina’s youngest World Cup scorer and now also snatched a record from Cristiano Ronaldo for the oldest World Cup hat-trick scorer. Ronaldo didn't score any today and his team delivered a disappointing result, a 1-1 draw against Congo.

[katanic97]

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.

The last time Cristiano Ronaldo was benched in the World Cup and Portugal was knocked out of the 2022 World Cup, Portugal coach was blamed for that because he didn't start Cristiano Ronaldo against Morocco in Portugal quarter final match against Morocco in the 2022 World Cup, so I believe Robert Martinez doesn't want to bench Cristiano Ronaldo or sub him off when Portugal is searching for a win so that he won't be blame if exit the World Cup. The only way Portugal would have play without Cristiano Ronaldo in this World Cup was if Roberto Martinez didn't named him in the Portugal World Cup squad but since his name is there, Roberto Martinez have no choice but to play Cristiano Ronaldo always.

And he should keep using him. Ronaldo is the captain and Portugal's best player. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to score in this match. DR Congo showed their strength and deservedly earned a point. Ronaldo should definitely continue playing because his quality will surely shine through, just as Messi's does

[Floczy]

It’s a real shame because the match is about to end, but the score is still tied at 1-1. Congo’s defense is incredibly tight, making it difficult for the Portuguese players to get near the penalty box. And it looks like this match will indeed end in a 1-1 draw. And well, a draw would certainly be quite disappointing. But in the World Cup, this sort of thing is quite common. Teams like Spain have experienced the same thing, and now it’s happening to Portugal as well.

And it seems Portugal hasn’t been able to create many chances in this match either. They’ve maintained possession but keep hitting a wall when building their attacks. On the other hand, Congo always has quick counterattacks.

While I watching the match I observed that the Congo fans where celebrating so hard for a draw lol, while the Portuguese fans where looking so disappointed.

This is understandable because Portugal isn't a small team, and for Congo to draw with them is something worth celebrating, Nevertheless Congo isn't a small team as well.

[Majestic-milf]

While I watching the match I observed that the Congo fans where celebrating so hard for a draw lol, while the Portuguese fans where looking so disappointed.

This is understandable because Portugal isn't a small team, and for Congo to draw with them is something worth celebrating, Nevertheless Congo isn't a small team as well.

You would celebrate if you were in their shoes because the last time they participated in WC competition was decades ago( 5 decades ago to be precise) so they should celebrate. To be honest, if they were another team, they should have punished Portugal for their poor performance and infact had Cedric Bakambu taken his chance in the dying minutes, the scoreline should have been in the favor of DR Congo so a draw is also a worthy scoreline. You say Portugal isn't a small team, is it because Ronaldo is in the team or what because if it's in terms of achievement, they don't have much to speak of.