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

[X-ray]

Argentina vs Austria is gonna happen very soon. I placed my bet for Argentina. I have a simple reason for that. It's all due to Messi. He's still on fire and i guess he may score again in this game. Austria ain't a strong nation. Austria won their last game against Jordan with terrible stats(1 pen, 1 OG, 1 goal).

So i don't see any difficulty for Argentina to lose this game. They may be able to record another big win like they did against Algeria.

Any Argentina bettors here?

[hd49728]

Even though I'm not from that continent, I'm very interested in the performance of African teams in this World Cup. The achievements of these teams are very proud, especially for their countries and their supporters. Cape Verde has successfully recorded an unbeaten record in two games, Egypt leads the group standings, and Morocco is competing tightly to qualify for the knock-out round, I see Morocco chances are still very open because in the last match of the group stage they will face Haiti who has already been confirmed eliminated.

Among the other African teams, Cape Verde was the biggest surprise, they did not look like a debut team at the World Cup because they managed to hold Spain and Uruguay to draws. If they manage to beat Saudi Arabia in their next match and Spain draws against Uruguay, they will officially become the first World Cup debutant to have made it through the group stage without a defeat, a record that will be a source of pride for Cape Verde.

Cape Verde with their first World Cup in history made good impression so far, with two points from Spain and Uruguay. With two points, they can aim at beating Saudi Arabia in a last match and go to a next phase. Uruguay with their last match with Spain, will have to play very careful as if they lose that match, they will not have chance of becoming one of best 8 third teams but beating Spain is not easy for Uruguay.

Cape Verde if can beat Saudi Arabia will control their own opportunity and finish this group with a position at top, and surely will be qualified for a next round. Their task is simple: beating Saudi Arabia, and don't have to concern about result in a match of Spain vs Uruguay.

[Ale88]

I blame Ronaldo for the situation he is creating. And if you don't see that Ronaldo is jeopardizing Portugal's World Cup because he wants to play all the time just because he wants to score more goals, you are part of the problem. We have an entire national team basically playing down to 10 men because Ronaldo barely does anything at this point. He is one of the greatest ever of course but he's not leaving a good memory...

You remind me of what I see in the Real Madrid fandom from those who hate Ronaldo, but when you look at Portugal's lineup, none of the players on the team gave Ronaldo a decent pass, you can't blame Ronaldo.

If Ronaldo were treated like Messi in Argentina, Portugal would be a different team I think Portugal is very envious of Ronaldo, and as long as that exists, Portugal won't progress, Figo and Henry aren't wrong, and Rooney also came to his defense they knew what it was like to play with him. Your opinion is valuable, but consider that.

Again, you do realize we are talking about a 41-year-old player? Don't you think there is a reason Ronaldo ended up in Saudi Arabia? How come not a single European club was interested in him if he was still that good? Simply because he wasn't. He's been one of the greatest in history, but he is human too, no matter how fit he is he can't compete with player who are 15-20 years younger then him. Blaming his teammates because "they didn't give him good passes" is just ridiculous.

[$weetne$$]

It really is an interesting match of this group but not overall because we all know what the result would be. Seeing at the team’s quality in this group then it is by far the most interesting match because these two are arguably strongest teams of the group but if we talk about the quality difference between Argentina and austria then it is huge. Though we will hope it’s an interesting match because many big teams have given upsetting performances and most were draws so hope not this match draws and Argentina wins to go onto advancing the group stage easily.

I am not expecting to count Argentina among one of those teams who has given or will be giving an upsetting performance at the world cup this year,  they will do better in this fixture and I expect to see a combination of brilliance,  and entertainment in this game, so I hope to see it as one I can consider is going to be interesting. Austria does not look like a team that should deny Argentina the points,  although they may challenge them a little but I do not expect them to stop Argentina in this.

[As-Soon-As]

It really is an interesting match of this group but not overall because we all know what the result would be. Seeing at the team’s quality in this group then it is by far the most interesting match because these two are arguably strongest teams of the group but if we talk about the quality difference between Argentina and austria then it is huge. Though we will hope it’s an interesting match because many big teams have given upsetting performances and most were draws so hope not this match draws and Argentina wins to go onto advancing the group stage easily.

I am not expecting to count Argentina among one of those teams who has given or will be giving an upsetting performance at the world cup this year,  they will do better in this fixture and I expect to see a combination of brilliance,  and entertainment in this game, so I hope to see it as one I can consider is going to be interesting. Austria does not look like a team that should deny Argentina the points,  although they may challenge them a little but I do not expect them to stop Argentina in this.

That's why I believe that Argentina will definitely win, in today's match, Argentina will definitely win to go to the next round. Because Austria is not that strong, their performance is weak, so I bet on Argentina to win today's match. Because Argentina will create pressure from both the defender and the offensive department.
As a result, I think Argentina will definitely be able to win this match by a large margin.
And today, Lionel Messi has the potential to score a hat-trick, because he is an experienced and complete player, so I think he will definitely score a hat-trick in today's match.

[*Ace*]

I’ve read some unbelievable insinuations about the Netherlands’ 5–1 victory over Sweden
– that the Dutch scored all those goals to help Curaçao progress, even as one of the best third-placed teams.
It’s incredible how people can’t even do their sums properly.
Although the Netherlands won 5–1, they did not do Curaçao any favours, as Curaçao have a goal difference of -6 and are highly unlikely to progress as one of the best third-placed teams.
I’m actually wondering why Curaçao, which is part of the Netherlands, finds itself in the same group as the Netherlands?

[Sandra_hakeem]

Yesterday, Cabo Verde ended the game with a tie against Uruguay. A loss would have been the worst to happen, but they would rather it ends in a draw. Just when they lost hope on their team's capability to score any more goals, in the second half, Uruguay's defender made what appears to be a mistake in front of the keeper's box. Instead of the goalie to stay relaxed and allow the defenders retify their mistakes and regroup, he left his post at a very wrong timing and pace, without any defensive close in, the Cabo Verdean stole that opportunity and scored in an empty net.

Cape Verde if can beat Saudi Arabia will control their own opportunity and finish this group with a position at top, and surely will be qualified for a next round. Their task is simple: beating Saudi Arabia, and don't have to concern about result in a match of Spain vs Uruguay.

They at least need to finish against Saudi with a draw. A lose will get them eliminated. This is about to get even more interesting.

[Rabata]

Argentina is aiming for a perfect record in Group J. In addition to winning, the Argentine squad will set up scoring opportunities for their captain, Lionel Messi, so that he can become the top scorer at the 2026 World Cup—considering that in 2022, Messi trailed Kylian Mbappé by one goal.
Austria will face Argentina in the group’s second match. On June 17, Austria won 3-1 against a relatively easy opponent, and Argentina also defeated Algeria.
The Argentina vs. Austria matchup is the most intriguing in this group, featuring players we know from top leagues.

Argentina has a better team than Austria, so I see Argentina having more winning Advantage over Austria, depending on how  Messi plays. Every Austria player focus will be on Messi and looking for  possible ways to stop from causing trouble in their own half. This will give the rest of Argentine players to attack Austria. I won't underestimate Austria but I will give the win to Argentina

It is not possible to lose a match by pressing Messi. Starting from the last World Cup until now, all the players of Argentina have played with Messi as their idol, and they are all good experienced players. If Austria thinks that it is possible to defeat Argentina by just pressing Messi, then their idea will be very wrong. Unless Messi is directly fouled, the pressure of the defense cannot prevent him from scoring. Messi's dribbling, pressing and assists often defeat the defenders of the opposing team. So I can see a clear victory for Argentina in today's match. But Austria will try their best to make the match very competitive.

[Olatundespo]

Argentina is the favourite so I think there will not be much competition in the match. Argentina team will win easily and will go to the next round as group champion. Messi scored a hat-trick in the last match and Austria team will have to be strategic to stop him but I think it is not that easy to stop this talented player of the world from scoring. If every player of Austria is targeted to stop Messi it will not be very effective because Argentina team has several young players who are good at playing and scoring goals. The match will definitely be interesting and I am almost sure that Argentina will win.

Austria shouldn’t be as weak as Algeria. I know Argentina will be the favorite in this group with much better player quality. The odds for betting on Argentina are around 1.44, not bad for a team that we really dominate. Let’s just hope there are no surprises in the match later, like Belgium vs Iran.

You are right. Austria is not that weak a team but it is true that Argentina is the favourite in the match and their chances of winning are very high. There is a lot of excitement surrounding this match and Argentina is ahead in every statistic. Since Argentina has a large number of fans, they will bet on their favourite team. The result of the Iran-Belgium match is unexpected but it may not be fair to call it an accident because Iran's goal was not to concede goals in the match and to take their defence to a strong position. In the first match, the Iranian team drew 2-2 with New Zealand and they were aware of the strength of Belgium so they were not very aggressive.

[Ochan_yazo_tochant]

Algeria will be looking for a win against Jordan. Since Argentina will be facing Austria, we can say that Algeria will gain a significant advantage if they secure three points from this match. Since their final match is also against Austria, advancing from the group is entirely in their own hands. First and foremost, they must secure a win against Jordan. I believe they have the strength to defeat Jordan. Jordan may score in this match, but I expect it to be a game where Algeria can score at least two goals.

I don't think so, honestly. Algeria is in for a really tough test against Jamal Sellami. He knows North African football inside out. It's going to be a tactical chess match from both sides, definitely a must-watch. I can see a couple of goals happening, so my money is on a 1-1 draw

[blomen]

almost everyone i’ve seen has bet on argentina to win tonight and for there to be a lot of goals. argentina is a completely different team in the world cup, but austria isn’t a team that concedes a lot of goals. i don’t think either argentina or austria will score many goals in this match. besides argentina isn’t a team that plays to run up the score. if there’s one match where goals are likely, i think it’s the france - ıraq match. france has an incredibly strong offense, and there is nearly not a single moment when they aren’t creating scoring opportunities. it’ll be a real treat to watch france’s game after the argentina match.

[KingsDen]

Argentina is the favourite so I think there will not be much competition in the match. Argentina team will win easily and will go to the next round as group champion. Messi scored a hat-trick in the last match and Austria team will have to be strategic to stop him but I think it is not that easy to stop this talented player of the world from scoring. If every player of Austria is targeted to stop Messi it will not be very effective because Argentina team has several young players who are good at playing and scoring goals. The match will definitely be interesting and I am almost sure that Argentina will win.

Austria shouldn’t be as weak as Algeria. I know Argentina will be the favorite in this group with much better player quality. The odds for betting on Argentina are around 1.44, not bad for a team that we really dominate. Let’s just hope there are no surprises in the match later, like Belgium vs Iran.

I honestly want Austria to stop this Argentina team by getting at least a draw or ultimately winning the game but looking at the quality of players in the Argentina team, I think it'll be extremely difficult to stop them. Argentina scored 3 goals against Algeria and all three goals were scored by Lionel Messi. Against Austria today, I expect Argentina to record three or more goals. Remember, Lautaro Martinez is yet to score his first goal of the tournament, I expect him to get at least a goal today. The best result Austria will get today is a draw and that will only happen if Argentina players fail to play at their best.

[WatChe]

Cape Verde with their first World Cup in history made good impression so far, with two points from Spain and Uruguay. With two points, they can aim at beating Saudi Arabia in a last match and go to a next phase. Uruguay with their last match with Spain, will have to play very careful as if they lose that match, they will not have chance of becoming one of best 8 third teams but beating Spain is not easy for Uruguay.

Cape Verde if can beat Saudi Arabia will control their own opportunity and finish this group with a position at top, and surely will be qualified for a next round. Their task is simple: beating Saudi Arabia, and don't have to concern about result in a match of Spain vs Uruguay.

If Cabo Verde can manage to play a draw against top teams like Spain and Uruguay then it won't be a big challenge for them to beat Saudi Arabia in there last game. While the game between Spain and Uruguay will be interesting because both teams are among top teams and they both will do their best to win the game. Spain can still qualify if they were able to draw that game but Uruguay must win that game to make it to the next round.  If Uruguay and Cabo Verde wins there last games then Spain will be eliminated.

[Sandra_hakeem]

Argentina is aiming for a perfect record in Group J. In addition to winning, the Argentine squad will set up scoring opportunities for their captain, Lionel Messi, so that he can become the top scorer at the 2026 World Cup—considering that in 2022, Messi trailed Kylian Mbappé by one goal.
Austria will face Argentina in the group’s second match. On June 17, Austria won 3-1 against a relatively easy opponent, and Argentina also defeated Algeria.
The Argentina vs. Austria matchup is the most intriguing in this group, featuring players we know from top leagues.

Argentina has a better team than Austria, so I see Argentina having more winning Advantage over Austria, depending on how  Messi plays. Every Austria player focus will be on Messi and looking for  possible ways to stop from causing trouble in their own half. This will give the rest of Argentine players to attack Austria. I won't underestimate Austria but I will give the win to Argentina

It is not possible to lose a match by pressing Messi. Starting from the last World Cup until now, all the players of Argentina have played with Messi as their idol, and they are all good experienced players. If Austria thinks that it is possible to defeat Argentina by just pressing Messi, then their idea will be very wrong. Unless Messi is directly fouled, the pressure of the defense cannot prevent him from scoring. Messi's dribbling, pressing and assists often defeat the defenders of the opposing team. So I can see a clear victory for Argentina in today's match. But Austria will try their best to make the match very competitive.

That's not even the case. Everyone can decide to man-mark Messi, but it's a foul knowledge to think that, because Messi scored a hat-trick in their last match, the team relies on him for goals. Julian Alvarez can score, Martinez can score, Thiago Almada won't waste any chances either. I don't want to assume Messi is still the same way he was 10 years ago, which is why I'll debunk the theory of "nobody can defend against Messi" ah player! Enough of the talking, let's wait and see what happens in a few hours.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

almost everyone i’ve seen has bet on argentina to win tonight and for there to be a lot of goals. argentina is a completely different team in the world cup, but austria isn’t a team that concedes a lot of goals. i don’t think either argentina or austria will score many goals in this match. besides argentina isn’t a team that plays to run up the score. if there’s one match where goals are likely, i think it’s the france - ıraq match. france has an incredibly strong offense, and there is nearly not a single moment when they aren’t creating scoring opportunities. it’ll be a real treat to watch france’s game after the argentina match.

Still have have to stay real here, it's Austria and not some top football nation. Every team that want's to be a contender in this world cup can't have any issue beating this Austrian team, not even close. Sure, often enough anything is possible, this WC already has shown us plenty of surprises and so on, but a team of this Caliber cannot be afraid of a lower/mid tier European team.
Personally, I hope that Argentina loses of course cause I don't like their guts and think they are overhyped. But hey, what do I know right?  

[MK-74]

I watched the Belgium vs. Iran match yesterday, and it was one of the games I enjoyed the most.
Despite all the difficult circumstances surrounding them, Iran are showing that they belong in this tournament.
They avoided defeat against a strong Belgium side, defended their goal brilliantly, and their goalkeeper delivered an outstanding performance.
Iran even found the back of the net, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Congratulations to Iran, they are giving everything they have every time they step onto the pitch.

[shinratensei_]

almost everyone i’ve seen has bet on argentina to win tonight and for there to be a lot of goals. argentina is a completely different team in the world cup, but austria isn’t a team that concedes a lot of goals. i don’t think either argentina or austria will score many goals in this match. besides argentina isn’t a team that plays to run up the score.

1.40++ for money line Argentina looks so tempting. The chance to win is pretty high. It makes sense when many people here are in hopium Argetina to win. It's okay to argue Austria ain't a team that conceded so many goals. However, it's happening when they fight weaker opponent compared to Argentina.  

[eaLiTy]

~
That's why I believe that Argentina will definitely win, in today's match, Argentina will definitely win to go to the next round. Because Austria is not that strong, their performance is weak, so I bet on Argentina to win today's match. Because Argentina will create pressure from both the defender and the offensive department.

I believe that Argentina can win the match tonight. However, you cannot underestimate Austria. If you watch all of their matches, all of the goals they have scored in their recent history are through corners and penalties.

As a result, I think Argentina will definitely be able to win this match by a large margin.
And today, Lionel Messi has the potential to score a hat-trick, because he is an experienced and complete player, so I think he will definitely score a hat-trick in today's match.

I do not believe that Lionel Messi can score another hat-trick tonight. If Messi scores a goal tonight, he will become the highest goal scorer in World Cup history, and I truly want to see that happen tonight.

~
I watched the Belgium vs. Iran match yesterday, and it was one of the games I enjoyed the most.

I missed the match, since you mentioned it was a great match, so I have to watch the highlights. 👍

[Velvet78]

I watched the Belgium vs. Iran match yesterday, and it was one of the games I enjoyed the most.
Despite all the difficult circumstances surrounding them, Iran are showing that they belong in this tournament.
They avoided defeat against a strong Belgium side, defended their goal brilliantly, and their goalkeeper delivered an outstanding performance.
Iran even found the back of the net, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Congratulations to Iran, they are giving everything they have every time they step onto the pitch.

Despite all the problems they have had to deal with because of Trump, Iran are really doing a pretty good work. Maybe they are playing with even an extra motivation now. 

Belgium look finished and it isn't the first time we see it though... They have been like this for a long time. They couldn't achieve anything with their best era players and now there isn't much of an expectation left from them.

[longyenthanh]

I watched the Belgium vs. Iran match yesterday, and it was one of the games I enjoyed the most.
Despite all the difficult circumstances surrounding them, Iran are showing that they belong in this tournament.
They avoided defeat against a strong Belgium side, defended their goal brilliantly, and their goalkeeper delivered an outstanding performance.
Iran even found the back of the net, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Congratulations to Iran, they are giving everything they have every time they step onto the pitch.

I totally agree with you, the game yesterday was amazing to watch!
Iran team have so much heart and they proved that they can play with the best countries in this World Cup.
Nobody expected they can take points from Belgium, but they fighted until the last minute and defended like heroes.
Their goalkeeper was absolutely unbelievable, he made some crazy saves that saved the draw.
It is a big shame that the VAR canceled their goal for offside, because they really deserved to win this.In conclusion, Group G is very crazy right now and everything is open. If Iran plays like this in the next matches, they definitely have a big chance to qualify for the next round.