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

[sotelorene]

England's great performance which gave them a 4-2 win over Croatia and they managed to collect three points. England team is in quite good form especially their star players played well, Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Rashford they all scored goals. If they can maintain their strength in this World Cup, then they can compete strongly for the World Cup. I think England team has enough good players if they can play well and play strategically then they will definitely be in a good position. However Croatia team's performance was not very good due to which they lost but they will win the next matches and they can survive in the group stage.

The England and Croatia match was more entertaining for me, especially the England team was very consistent and every player played responsibly. The attacking players' aggressiveness and goal-scoring attitude destroyed the Croatian defence. The Croatian players were also confident and were desperate to score more goals, but the English defence handled the situation skillfully. Jude Bellingham, Rashford and Harry Kane played impressively and if they can maintain their consistent performances, they can reach the second round unbeaten in the group stage.

England has a very strong team and Croatia also has a very strong team but it can not be compared with that of England though the possession difference was not much but they did well and england has  more expected goals and the attempts was also numerous and I'm sure if not for a team like England, the Croatian would have won yesterday. Winning the first leg is always good and it gives teams advantage and hope.

[AprilioMP]

Source: https://www.pdiperjuanganbali.id/portugal-ditahan-imbang-rd-kongo
The Portugal vs. Congo match ended in a 1-1 draw. Joao Neves scored Portugal's first goal, while Yoane scored for Congo. They each earned one point, and both must work hard to have the potential to advance to the next round and avoid another loss or draw I lost my bet on this match because I thought Portugal would win, but they lost. Did you also lose your bet on this match?

The role of Portugal’s central midfielder was often left vacant during the match. It was unexpected that João Neves’s goal was equalized, even though it could have provided the Portuguese team with extra motivation to double their lead.
I liked the motivational message Cristiano Ronaldo shared after Portugal drew with Congo. Ronaldo noted that a draw wasn’t the desired result in the opener, but this is just the beginning—they still have a long journey ahead to prove themselves.
Keep your heads up and stay focused on the next match. That’s what he said on his Instagram.

When Argentina beat Algeria 3-0—with all three goals scored by Messi—that’s actually when the pressure really set in, in my opinion.

[Barcode_]

At the age of 41, its seems that it would be tough for Cristiano Ronaldo to shoulder the huge responsibility of scoring crucial goals for Portugal anymore. I believe if Cristiano Ronaldo were 10 years old younger, maybe he could truly wreck havoc onto the D.R. Congo backline with his fast dribble ability and the explosive of sprinting needed at the frontline for Portugal, it was so sad to see Cristiano Ronaldo not performing at his peak moments anymore due to his age. I believe Portugal will still progress forward from the group stage with the numbers of high quality players in the squad as Group K is quite an easy group with just Colombia remaining the only threat for Portugal.

[davis196]

It seems that Portugal had underestimated D.R Congo. I also wasn't expecting the African team to show us stable performance in defense against such a strong team full with world class players like Portugal. It's easy to put the blame on Ronaldo, but the rest of Portugal's offensive players didn't create any goal opportunities. I don't know what happened to Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes and even Rafael Leao.
Maybe there is a problem between the players and Roberto Martinez. Perhaps Martinez is too scared to leave Ronaldo outside the lineup.
England was brutal against Croatia. I'm surprised that Luca Modrich and Ivan Perisic are still playing for Croatia. Having so many old players in the lineup(and no good substitutes) definitely showed up at the last 30 minutes of the game.

[Razmirraz]

At the age of 41, its seems that it would be tough for Cristiano Ronaldo to shoulder the huge responsibility of scoring crucial goals for Portugal anymore. I believe if Cristiano Ronaldo were 10 years old younger, maybe he could truly wreck havoc onto the D.R. Congo backline with his fast dribble ability and the explosive of sprinting needed at the frontline for Portugal, it was so sad to see Cristiano Ronaldo not performing at his peak moments anymore due to his age. I believe Portugal will still progress forward from the group stage with the numbers of high quality players in the squad as Group K is quite an easy group with just Colombia remaining the only threat for Portugal.

Ronaldo 90-minute performance against Congo was anything but what was expected, and indeed, age has taken its toll on his abilities. Nothing went right for Ronaldo during the match, 0 goals/Assists, 0 successful dribbles, 0 shots on goal, 0 successful crosses. Hopefully things will change in the next few games because Ronaldo absolutely did not deserve memories like this from his last World Cup.
I still have hope that Portugal can advance to the knockout stages, but if the expectation is to win the World Cup trophy, I think that will be very difficult to achieve, especially since Ronaldo is no longer able to contribute as much as he used to.

[@nn@_pen9]

Source

I really didn't expect Congo to put up such a strong fight against Portugal in this match. At the start of the match,, I thought Portugal would win by a large margin, as they had already scored a goal through Neves. That's why I thought Portugal would win easily. But it turned out all my assumptions were wrong,, as Congo was able to block all of Portugal's attacks and even managed to score.

It was completely beyond my expectations,, and it was a complete shock to me, as I was hoping Portugal would win. But it turned out Portugal could only manage a draw. So,, what can I do? Portugal has to play well in their second match. Because if they get another bad result in their second match,, it's clear that their chances of advancing to the next round will be slim. So, after watching some of the big, surprising matches,, I can now conclude that we can't underestimate any team right now, because they're all very strong right now.

We are all certainly disappointed by the final result of the match between Portugal and Congo. I also anticipate much like you, that Portugal will win by a margin of more than one goal, with a goal scored in the opening minutes. Congo employed a defensive strategy in yesterday's match because the coach recognized that the opposing team possessed superior individual skills compared to his own squad; the players demonstrated the ability and discipline to adhere to the coach's instructions, maintaining a solid defense while also executing effective attacks characterized by accurate passing. Congo showed great patience in building their attacks, focusing largely on defense; however, whenever they gained possession and spotted an opening, they constructed their play effectively and ultimately, the long awaited goal arrived for the nation.

Spectators and supporters have no control over the matches Portugal plays that responsibility rests squarely on Roberto Martínez. This draw is undoubtedly an embarrassment for Portugal and a harsh wake up call for Martínez, given their failure to secure a win. I believe winning future matches will be much more difficult as we know, Uzbekistan and Colombia possess considerable strength and should not be underestimated. Portugal has no other option but to win those two matches to advance to the next stage; if they draw against these opponents, their chances of progressing will become significantly more precarious.

[Nahl]

The result from Congo is very dissapointing because, this is a good chance for Portugal to earn 3 points but unfortunately, even against weak team Portugal cannot win which this result make them more difficult to advances to the next round.

Besides that i think someone should be said to the coach that he should be put Ronaldo into the bench for upcoming game that because, i feel like Ronaldo is spend and it's time to other player to replace him into the team because, world cup is important tournament and the coach should be dare to make urgent decision although probably some fans will be dissapointing to see their favourite player in the bench.

From the squad quality Portugal has the ability to ended group phase with first place but seems the factor always pushed to playing Ronaldo for each games makes the coach cannot maximize team potention.

[HajiBagi]

Portugal drew today against a weaker opponent, even though they had scored early. Neves scored in the 6th minute. Portugal dominated possession throughout the match. Democratic Republic of Congo only had a couple of shots on goal before scoring the equalizer. Ronaldo was heavily criticized perhaps he played one of his worst games. I'm not sure if he'll be in the starting lineup next time. He needs to bench himself.

If Portugal loses match or draw the match Ronaldo will be the one to blame, why some people are so delusional? I know those people who are saying that are Messi fans and some of them don’t know football, all they know is to banter because they hate Ronaldo, anyone who watch Portugal game against Dr Congo and still blame Ronaldo did not know football because he is not the only one in the field, how many chances did Portugal create? Bruno himself did not create a single chance in the 90 minutes of the game, he only created chance in 92 minutes and that shows you how bad those Portugal midfield are, Vitinha, Joao Neves and Bruno Fernandez can not create any chances for Ronaldo to score in the game and they called themselves the best midfielders in the world.

One of the Portugal problems is the coach, from day one i did not believe in the coach because he has coached prime Hazard, De Bruyne and other top players at Belgium and he refused to win a World Cup, he did not know the players that can win games for him, Bernardo Silva should not be starting some games for the team because he is not a winger and starting him as a winger will slow down the attack, using young talent players will be the best but the coach want to play his favorite players he will never win the trophy and Ronaldo will end up without a World Cup trophy in his career.

[EarnOnVictor]

At the age of 41, its seems that it would be tough for Cristiano Ronaldo to shoulder the huge responsibility of scoring crucial goals for Portugal anymore. I believe if Cristiano Ronaldo were 10 years old younger, maybe he could truly wreck havoc onto the D.R. Congo backline with his fast dribble ability and the explosive of sprinting needed at the frontline for Portugal, it was so sad to see Cristiano Ronaldo not performing at his peak moments anymore due to his age.

Nothing to be sad about, as he had contributed his quota to the world of football and the imprinted marks can never be removed anymore. At his age, no one should expect the utmost performance from him, plus the fact that he is playing in SPL. There's no way such will not weakens him even if no one is talking about it. More challenges in football are elsewhere, not in SPL, though the money is there. I also don't like the attacking formation used by the coach, he shouldn't have left only C. Ronaldo at the forefront.

[m4r1o]

surely this is one of those fundamental things, i don't understand why you have to play friendlies when you have the possibility of doing huge damage to these players who then cause serious damage, obviously not playing in a competition that you have waited for all your life is a very serious thing.

Exactly, this is something i don't understand, but it may also be useful for teams that don't spend much time together to actually understand their value on the pitch and who is better placed to play matches, certainly a test bed to try to find the right team that can always do better in official matches.

[alankasman]

...

Nothing to be sad about, as he had contributed his quota to the world of football and the imprinted marks can never be removed anymore. At his age, no one should expect the utmost performance from him, plus the fact that he is playing in SPL. There's no way such will not weakens him even if no one is talking about it. More challenges in football are elsewhere, not in SPL, though the money is there. I also don't like the attacking formation used by the coach, he shouldn't have left only C. Ronaldo at the forefront.

This is extraordinary and very true. There are several factors that we should acknowledge and respect Ronaldo. Throughout Portugal's history he has contributed so much to his country. This may be his last World Cup. He's now 41 meaning he still wants to contribute to his homeland. We need to appreciate his struggles especially his current performance as he still wants to give his best for his country. He shouldn't fail to deliver a victory in the first match as some will immediately criticize him and the other players.

The players' motivation lies in the support of their fans, who provide this support. They will also consider giving their loyal supporters a victory. However in the match against Congo they weren't lucky enough to dominate possession. This scoreline serves as a valuable assessment for the next match against Uzbekistan where they lost giving Portugal an advantage in securing their first victory in this World Cup.

[Swordsoffreedom]

England has a very strong team and Croatia also has a very strong team but it can not be compared with that of England though the possession difference was not much but they did well and england has  more expected goals and the attempts was also numerous and I'm sure if not for a team like England, the Croatian would have won yesterday. Winning the first leg is always good and it gives teams advantage and hope.

I thought I would see a fiercely competitive match. Because both England and croatia had very strong  squads. But England performed  excellently in this match. The dominance of england players was  visible throughout the match. Even then , the match was quite enjoyable.

We saw 4 goals in the first half. Both teams were excellent. They scored two goals each. The first  goal of the match was scored by Kane from a penalty. We saw  3 goals in the last 10  minutes of the first half. But the croatian players could not do as well as expected in the second half. England scored  two goals in the second half and won 4-2 . England, Argentina and Germany performed excellently in their first matches.

[SquallLeonhart]

It's so funny to see Ronaldo fans trying to justify how Messi scored a hattrick and Ronaldo did not. I mean isn't it already time to accept that while Ronaldo was of course an unbelievable player, and even go as far as say that he is the second best player in HISTORY of football, he is just... not first.

Messi just won the game of football as they say, there is no way of comparing these two and never made sense on stat sheet but now it's looking even worse because Ronaldo is aging like crazy now. Lets be real, Messi is just another level. However, Ronaldo is also not a bad player, he is just a great player that got old and now he can't do what he used to do and keeping him in the game all that time is just hurting the team.

[Arenga pinnata]

England has a very strong team and Croatia also has a very strong team but it can not be compared with that of England though the possession difference was not much but they did well and england has  more expected goals and the attempts was also numerous and I'm sure if not for a team like England, the Croatian would have won yesterday. Winning the first leg is always good and it gives teams advantage and hope.

England has always had good squad depth. But this time, I feel this team is better than ever. although England has never really had much luck at the World Cup, things might be very different this time around. their style of play is anything but boring. Every minute that passes brings England closer to creating scoring opportunities. So the victory over Croatia was actually predictable based on how England played from the very start. Croatia is also a good team, but to be honest, they’ve declined a bit compared to the previous World Cup.

Croatia made it quite far in the previous World Cup, but I’m skeptical about their chances this time around. That said, Croatia seems incredibly fortunate to still have Modrić on the team, even though he’s already 40 years old, his play doesn’t reflect his age. He’s still performing at a high level.

[BlackBoss_]

England has always had good squad depth. But this time, I feel this team is better than ever. although England has never really had much luck at the World Cup, things might be very different this time around. their style of play is anything but boring. Every minute that passes brings England closer to creating scoring opportunities. So the victory over Croatia was actually predictable based on how England played from the very start.

England is stronger than Croatia and a win for England was a most favorite result in predictions of many people. The match actually did not go too smooth for England, even they scored goals and led the match two times because Croatia quickly equalized 1 - 1, then 2 - 2. England only managed to finalize the match after scoring their third goal, and Croatia tried hard but could not equalize the match again till a fourth goal of England.

Croatia is also a good team, but to be honest, they’ve declined a bit compared to the previous World Cup.

Croatia made it quite far in the previous World Cup, but I’m skeptical about their chances this time around. That said, Croatia seems incredibly fortunate to still have Modrić on the team, even though he’s already 40 years old, his play doesn’t reflect his age. He’s still performing at a high level.

Croatia is actually weaker than in previous World Cups because many players in the squad now are older but by equalizing two times in this match, Croatia still shows very good quality and they can go far in this World Cup.

[Arenga pinnata]

England has always had good squad depth. But this time, I feel this team is better than ever. although England has never really had much luck at the World Cup, things might be very different this time around. their style of play is anything but boring. Every minute that passes brings England closer to creating scoring opportunities. So the victory over Croatia was actually predictable based on how England played from the very start.

England is stronger than Croatia and a win for England was a most favorite result in predictions of many people. The match actually did not go too smooth for England, even they scored goals and led the match two times because Croatia quickly equalized 1 - 1, then 2 - 2. England only managed to finalize the match after scoring their third goal, and Croatia tried hard but could not equalize the match again till a fourth goal of England.

The match was indeed quite intense. However, it was very clear, especially in the second half, that the English team’s defense had adapted well to stop Croatia’s attacks. Conversely, Croatia actually conceded a goal earlier in the second half, in the 47th minute, which indicated that they had let their guard down slightly.

Croatia is also a good team, but to be honest, they’ve declined a bit compared to the previous World Cup.

Croatia made it quite far in the previous World Cup, but I’m skeptical about their chances this time around. That said, Croatia seems incredibly fortunate to still have Modrić on the team, even though he’s already 40 years old, his play doesn’t reflect his age. He’s still performing at a high level.

Croatia is actually weaker than in previous World Cups because many players in the squad now are older but by equalizing two times in this match, Croatia still shows very good quality and they can go far in this World Cup.

Well, not many new star players have emerged from the Croatian team, so they’re still relying on players who are already getting on in years. but even so, they’re still one of the best teams. They were just unlucky to be in the same group as England.

[Yabani]

First matches are over. In my opinion, the biggest disappointments were Spain and Turkey. The weakest team was Curacao (actually there are 2-3 teams, but I said Curacao because they conceded 7 goals to Germany).
The most remarkable player was Messi. He scored 3 goals. I don't know about previous years, but Messi might be the oldest player to score a hat-trick. Ronaldo was a huge disappointment in the first match. I think his staying on the field for 90 minutes harmed Portugal.

[m4r1o]

How could a foul like that not result in a red card? Messi stepped on the opponent's calf and didn't even receive a yellow card. The referee's and VAR's decisions were completely outrageous and terrible. For a foul like that, any player would have been shown a red card for that tackle. But Messi got away with it.

i are not a referee and i are not a match coach, in my humble opinion a yellow card was more than enough, the red card perhaps too exaggerated.
Do you think it's a favoritism towards him too? i don't think so, maybe they didn't see the foul as an offensive gesture? i don't know, but human error is no longer considered? Let's not fall into the error of comparing with other players, the focus falls on Messi just because it's him, maybe another player we wouldn't even notice.

[Die_empty]

England vs. Croatia match was a very enjoyable and high-quality game. Croatia, after twice falling behind, managed to equalize and finished the first half 2-2. Bellingham made it 3-2 at the start of the second half. Croatia then fought for an equalizer, but their defense was exposed, and England capitalized on this to make it 4-2.

England will finish as group leaders, but I think Croatia will also advance to the next round. Croatia's squad is largely composed of older players, which is their biggest handicap.

Regardless of the loss, I think Croatia has a good team. They came back each time England scored the first two goals. However, we observed that England had a sound tactical team. Thomas Tuchel knew what to do to keep pushing for goals. Croatia might qualify if it can beat Ghana in its third Group game. No disrespect to Panama but I think Croatia has what it takes to beat them in their next fixtures.

It was good to see Rashford scoring in the World Cup. At least it will help him overcome the uncertainty about his transfer challenges. Higher-quality performance can lead to more offers from more clubs.

[Cityhunter34]

England has a very strong team and Croatia also has a very strong team but it can not be compared with that of England though the possession difference was not much but they did well and england has  more expected goals and the attempts was also numerous and I'm sure if not for a team like England, the Croatian would have won yesterday. Winning the first leg is always good and it gives teams advantage and hope.

One thing I don't usually like about England is that they always start with massive performances, but before you know it they no longer maintain the same performance. But let's keep watching, because it seems like this 2026 World Cup will be different. They've easily secured their three points against a big opponent, which I was thinking Croatia would play draw with them.

Anyway, let's see how it goes because the competition isn't easy at all.