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

[Pjcr7]

A big congratulations to one of the greatest footballers ever in history, another goal another milestone for himself, this is wonderful. It takes only few players to be on this chat, even Cristiano Ronaldo isn't here which means scoring in the world cup is not a child's play. The record held by the German has been broken by Messi and this is just the group stages, before the end of this world cup Messi will be on 20 plus goals at the tournament. Incredible feat, respect to him, afterall his a legend of the beautiful game of football.

Even if Messi were to score another 200 goals at the World Cup, i will always continue to prefer Cristiano Ronaldo who, in my opinion, is the most complete athlete of all. We all know that the World Cup is a very difficult competition and that not everyone manages to win it. Cristiano certainly feels a lot of pressure and that's why he hasn't broken the deadlock for now.

I think you’re entitled to your opinion and your decision to choose who you love or prefer but you can’t say that C. Ronaldo is better than Messi. That is a statement even the blind will not agree with.
Ronaldo has done so much for the game both club and country, he shouldn’t be feeling pressure whatever pressure he’s feeling is by his own doing.
Portugal have a great team, but he’s not as ferocious as he used to be even Messi has declined but it’s because Messi has the ability of a creator and being a better team player that he’s doing well at his age.

It's still your opinion as well, you saying Messi is better is very much your opinion, so I wonder why you're pissed at another person's opinion when you have yours. Come to think of it and let's be factual, we are calling Portugal today in today's conversation as a footballing because of Ronaldo. Here's the point. Since the existence of the world cup, Portugal has only managed to qualify for the world cup three times, so in all these years before Ronaldo came into limelight, Portugal has managed only to be in the world cup three times. During Ronaldo era, they have qualified six times in a row, only if you know what that means. Let's go to the continental stage, Portugal has only qualified for the Euros three times also but during Ronaldo, they have qualified six times in a row.

I believe you know, Portugal before Ronaldo has zero trophies, but during Ronaldo how many do they now have? You cannot talk of Portugal without mentioning Cristiano Ronaldo in it, this is what every Portuguese knows and that's why his being treated as a God in that country because he brought the name Portugal to limelight in terms of football. I won't even talk about Argentina on this light until you want us to talk about it

[Promocodeudo]

Argentina managed to defeat Austria thanks to goals by Lionel Messi. With his two goals, Messi became the top scorer in the World Cup. Although he missed a penalty in the first half, he still managed to score before halftime. Messi once again decided the outcome of the match, scoring in the final minutes. Argentina has secured its place in the knockout stage. Whether Austria will advance from the group stage will be determined in their match against Algeria.

Manged you said, I'm sure you watched that match and could come up with is that Argentina managed to win is that your judgement, did Austria score any goal, or were they pressing Argentina or Argentina come from the equalizing side, Argentina won convincingly, in the 9th minutes of the match, Argentina missed and that was by Messi if not that penalty miss it would've been a 3:0 win in favour of Argentina, they later had their first goal in the 38th minutes by the same messi, he did it again in the 90+5, I said all these thing things to prove you wrong that they didn't manage to win rather they won the match clearly making them the best team in that match.

[yixichloro2xx]

Argentina managed to defeat Austria thanks to goals by Lionel Messi. With his two goals, Messi became the top scorer in the World Cup. Although he missed a penalty in the first half, he still managed to score before halftime. Messi once again decided the outcome of the match, scoring in the final minutes. Argentina has secured its place in the knockout stage. Whether Austria will advance from the group stage will be determined in their match against Algeria.

Manged you said, I'm sure you watched that match and could come up with is that Argentina managed to win is that your judgement, did Austria score any goal, or were they pressing Argentina or Argentina come from the equalizing side, Argentina won convincingly, in the 9th minutes of the match, Argentina missed and that was by Messi if not that penalty miss it would've been a 3:0 win in favour of Argentina, they later had their first goal in the 38th minutes by the same messi, he did it again in the 90+5, I said all these thing things to prove you wrong that they didn't manage to win rather they won the match clearly making them the best team in that match.

For me I will say after Messi scored the first goal the match became boring because both sides where  just keeping possession and didn't make lots of chances. I understand Austria tactics of not pressing much because of how deadly Argentina is. But I excepted Argentina to play well but it didn't happen. Yes the game could have been 3-0 if Messi had converted the penalty. This game was quite different from that of Algeria where the Argentina squad controlled and created multiple chances.

The whole goal is to get 3 points which they have done, Now they will need to rotate the squad against Jordan in other to rest the main players but I want Messi to start so that he can score. This Golden boot Chase between Halaand, Mbappe and Messi is becoming interesting.

[letteredhub]

Even if Messi were to score another 200 goals at the World Cup, i will always continue to prefer Cristiano Ronaldo who, in my opinion, is the most complete athlete of all. We all know that the World Cup is a very difficult competition and that not everyone manages to win it. Cristiano certainly feels a lot of pressure and that's why he hasn't broken the deadlock for now.

It's your choice, I respect that. But I would never choose Ronaldo over Messi especially after what I have seen from them both recently.  

For example this World Cup. Ronaldo is useless that's a clear fact. He is even harming Portugal now. He has a great career maybe but his era is completely over.

He is a great athlete but only that... His finishing skills are horrible now.

Portugal are suffering a major setback in this World Cup competition and it's really frustrating on the Portugal point-one Ronaldo but it's just disrespectful to openly call him useless in the Portugal team in this World Cup. His presence is somewhat of an impact to the team, only that they haven't really put their heads together as a team to give perfect game play just as the Argentina team is doing with Messi flying high because of his team robust coordination on the pitch.
Ronaldo or Messi, they're greatest of all time in football history and it's unfortunate how excessive comparison even from people who can't make a precise kick on any round object be calling anyone of them useless due to a single setback outting

[Hypnotizer]

A single player cannot do the work of an entire team, this is such an obvious law that it's almost scary.
It is no coincidence that football, volleyball, basketball and many others are team games where a synergy of actions wins, where a chorus wins and not the soloist
Of course, a soloist can make the difference, but only if he has a team behind him that supports him... obviously

That’s a sure yes! Like I see lots of people completely putting the entire weight or blame of the Portugal team on one player or two whether on Ronaldo or B.Fernades. But football doesn’t work like that and it’s the work of an entire team to make sure they secure a win.

Probably because the strikers are the ones who make finishes and score goals, many people tend to think they’re the ones who win the games for their team but the best team is the one that works collectively, it’s very evident as you can see in the Argentina’s National team…how they worked together and give Messi the ball to finish and score the goals…

Ronaldo will start for Portugal today against Uzbekistan and Joao Felix would also start, Bernardo Silva and Rafael Leao are on the bench for this game. So let’s see what performance the Portugal team would pull today against the Uzbeks.

[JoyceBTC]

It's your choice, I respect that. But I would never choose Ronaldo over Messi especially after what I have seen from them both recently.  

For example this World Cup. Ronaldo is useless that's a clear fact. He is even harming Portugal now. He has a great career maybe but his era is completely over.

He is a great athlete but only that... His finishing skills are horrible now.

Starting poorly, doesn't mean that you will finish poorly. Humans are just quick to judge Ronaldo without giving it a second thought. Don't worry Portugal is playing today and you will see that Ronaldo will make a great impact in today's game and he will definitely find the back of the net to shame all his critics. I am a big time fan for Ronaldo and wouldn't judge him for his weakness because he's not weak

There is always a motivation when n you start very well but that doesn't mean a team that started very poor can not finish well if they put more effort and change their style of play. Ronaldo is been criticized for finishing poor in the game between them and Congo DR because many fans expected him to deliver his country based on his experience but let's not forget that he is not two in the country if he does not perform well in this world cup wl the players should be held responsible because they are not being supportive by giving him all the assistance for him to score. Portugal wil be up against Uzbekistan today if Portugal wants to win the game the players should stop being greedy with the ball and focus on achieving the good result as a team.

[Humblevirus]

Colombia are the strongest team in the group and they will probably win the upcoming match against DR Congo. The pressure is on Portugal after dropping points in the first match. If they do not win against Uzbekistan in the upcoming match, they will not be able to advance to the knockout stage. If they want to reach the next stage, they will have to win today's match. A challenging situation has been created for Cristiano Ronaldo.

Colombia have a high chance of winning the match, but I would not say it's going to be an easy match for them. This World Cup has been giving us surprising results, and Colombia winning their first match does not make them the strongest team in the group because only one match has been played by each team.So, it is possible for them to draw their next match against DR Congo. I am not saying the match will end in a draw, but it is a possibility.

Despite Portugal drawing their first match, I still see them as the strongest team in the group unless I later see otherwise and they fail to top the group at end or lose or drop today's match. In Portugal's next match, they will do everything possible to win, and I have a good level of confidence in them. I am just hoping they can win by a comfortable margin and score many goals.Even Spain drew their first match, but we have seen how they responded in their second match. A poor start does not mean it is the end.

[sotelorene]

The way Argentina and France are performing this world cup someone can be tempted to say that they both will still play the finals and it can be possible the way things are going currently. Lionel Messi and Mbappe has started competiting with goal now, Lionel Messi has 5 goals in two matches and Mbappe has 4 goals in two matches too and I think Erling Haaland has same goals with Mbappe.
 Lionel Messi would have been leading with two goals now but he missed the penalty kick.

[Antotena]

Manged you said, I'm sure you watched that match and could come up with is that Argentina managed to win is that your judgement, did Austria score any goal, or were they pressing Argentina or Argentina come from the equalizing side, Argentina won convincingly, in the 9th minutes of the match, Argentina missed and that was by Messi if not that penalty miss it would've been a 3:0 win in favour of Argentina, they later had their first goal in the 38th minutes by the same messi, he did it again in the 90+5, I said all these thing things to prove you wrong that they didn't manage to win rather they won the match clearly making them the best team in that match.

Nobody is delusional like Ronaldo fans, like they know how to gas light and at the same time avoid healthy arguments. He said manage but Ronaldo hasn't scored 1 goal from this group tournament, Messi has 5 goals already since it started. If the 2 goals he scored yesterday is what Ronaldo has scored so far, they wouldn't let us rest since last week but you know how they like to support their goats, they will want to make him relevant even if he is sleeping.

Argentina finishing was amazing, I was devastated at first when Messi lost that penalty, like it shouldn't be that moment when we were at the edge waiting for him to break the record but he didn't just later score goal, he had the first one at a very attentive moment and then the last one was the one that broke the camel toe, you could see the excitement on everyone faces except the Ronaldo fans that has refused to accept that yesterday match was really great.

[xLays]

Does anyone know here sportsbook that offers market for Cristiano Ronaldo not to score any goal against Uzbekistan today?
I only see the usual Cristiano Ronaldo Anytime Goalscorer market with around 1.40-1.5 odds on most sites. Since Portugal are heavy favorites and many bookmakers seem to expect Ronaldo to score, I'm curious what the odds would be on the opposite side if the market is available.
I know No Goalscorer isn't the same thing because other Portugal players can still score. I'm specifically looking for Ronaldo Under 0.5 Goals or Ronaldo Not to Score market. Has anyone seen it offered anywhere?

[Adbitco]

I still not believe with the result from VAR decision in Tunisia vs Japan match, indeed Japan succeed to win this match, but no goal decision from VAR is really controversial. For some people view, it already pass goal line, even I personally judge this already pass the line, because bottom part of the ball already inside. However, it seems the judgment is ball body not fully pass the goal and considered not goal. what do you think, is this should be goal?

If that's the last image of the ball before it was either cleared by the defender or saved by the goalkeeper, then it's not a goal as seen, the ball hasn't clearly gone past the line which means game is still in play. I remember the incident that happened in the 2010 world cup were England scored but because the ball hit past the line and came out, the referee didn't see it and eventually awarded no goal, this made them to work and introduce the goal line technology.

The problem with most people is that no matter how hard you make an explanation, if they choose to pretend not to understand you, use instances of things they can see and touch if you want, they will always end up saying the same thing-- The game was rigged, the ball was over the line, but it seems the VAR was bribed by Tunisian president.

The rule is simple--- Until the ball goes TOTALLY over the line, it is still ACTIVELY in play. FIFA went miles ahead to perfect that rule by introducing several technologies, even after the goal-line tech was brought. In Japan's case, the ball was few inches still on the line!

Lol, this gat be laughing though, that just it, some of us will still choose to think and feel what we want even after the obvious is there right in our faces, this isn't even about opinion based because the facts are there. If you talk about referee or VAR decisions those can be on different opinions but this is different and I'm glad you said it the way it is, some people are not even aware that it's not just goal line technology that's in play here, they don't know that there a chip inside the world cup ball that monitors everything that's going on around it ranging from players being offside to when the ball is out of play. For me I'm open to learning and when someone talks about what I don't know, I acknowledge it and search about it if need be, I'm a football fan, I try to update myself on the game as well.

[l99l]

Today is the Portugal vs. Uzbekistan match. There are already tons of posts about Ronaldo.
This one caught my attention Ronaldo's goals, and only penalty goals. 
After what Messi has done, they're trying even harder to bury Ronaldo. That's the difference between talent and hard work. I respect Ronaldo for still working hard, but his training is limited now because of his age. Messi doesn't have that problem.

[Rabata]

Starting poorly, doesn't mean that you will finish poorly. Humans are just quick to judge Ronaldo without giving it a second thought. Don't worry Portugal is playing today and you will see that Ronaldo will make a great impact in today's game and he will definitely find the back of the net to shame all his critics. I am a big time fan for Ronaldo and wouldn't judge him for his weakness because he's not weak

Other games aside, this time Portugal has to prove themselves, same goes for Cristiano Ronaldo. I am talking about a victory by 3 goals difference at least and yeah Cristiano Ronaldo should score at least one.
Uzbekistan is a weak team. They took 3-1 from Colombia and today it will be hard for them too.

Uzbekistan is a weak team, so Portugal will win today's match by a big margin. But, the question is, will Ronaldo be able to score today too? All the current players of Portugal are very good in their own position. For them, a weak team like Uzbekistan is not much of a concern. Football is never based on one player. Portugal's attack is enough to confuse any defense line. Because Portugal never depends on one person to finish. If the defense is busy stopping Ronaldo, then others move forward to score. So, although Portugal has a high chance of winning today, it is a bit difficult to say whether Ronaldo will get a chance to score.

[Nightwatchmare]

Portugal is, of course, the heavy favorite against Uzbekistan, and they need to realize that they must win this match no matter what. They need to apply pressure from the first half onward, take the lead with an early goal, and extend their lead. We can’t say they played very well against Colombia, but they still managed to score a goal. I don’t think they’ll be able to score against Portugal, but they’ll still try to put up a fight—at least to secure a draw.

One thing I have come to understand about this World Cup is that favourites are one overrated feeling, I feel it has to do with the form of the time and the tactical presence of the manager of the team and Portugal looks that they lack the coordination that would build there form and don't get me started on there manager. But still Portugal has to win because they have everything to lose in losing this

Portugal's chances of winning the championship will be significantly reduced if they drop points in this match, as they haven't even faced strong opponents yet. They are the strongest team in their group, but they drew their first match, and if they lose points in this one, they will be in trouble. Therefore, I think Portugal will get three points in this match.

Colombia are the strongest team in the group and they will probably win the upcoming match against DR Congo. The pressure is on Portugal after dropping points in the first match. If they do not win against Uzbekistan in the upcoming match, they will not be able to advance to the knockout stage. If they want to reach the next stage, they will have to win today's match. A challenging situation has been created for Cristiano Ronaldo.

Since Portugal could not defeat DR Congo to top group K and Colombia won Uzbekistan and top group K at the moment, you should not allow yourself to be deceived that Colombian are the strongest team in the group because Portugal is the strongest in the group. Even if Portugal dropped points against DR Congo, the pressure is not on Portugal because they can still reach the next stage of the world cup. Portugal will play against Uzbekistan and they are going to win Uzbekistan today. They will top group K after defeating Uzbekistan, and if Colombia fail to beat DR Congo they will remain at the top of the group until they face Colombia.

[Gost ms]

Argentina managed to defeat Austria thanks to goals by Lionel Messi. With his two goals, Messi became the top scorer in the World Cup. Although he missed a penalty in the first half, he still managed to score before halftime. Messi once again decided the outcome of the match, scoring in the final minutes. Argentina has secured its place in the knockout stage. Whether Austria will advance from the group stage will be determined in their match against Algeria.

Manged you said, I'm sure you watched that match and could come up with is that Argentina managed to win is that your judgement, did Austria score any goal, or were they pressing Argentina or Argentina come from the equalizing side, Argentina won convincingly, in the 9th minutes of the match, Argentina missed and that was by Messi if not that penalty miss it would've been a 3:0 win in favour of Argentina, they later had their first goal in the 38th minutes by the same messi, he did it again in the 90+5, I said all these thing things to prove you wrong that they didn't manage to win rather they won the match clearly making them the best team in that match.

For me I will say after Messi scored the first goal the match became boring because both sides where  just keeping possession and didn't make lots of chances. I understand Austria tactics of not pressing much because of how deadly Argentina is. But I excepted Argentina to play well but it didn't happen. Yes the game could have been 3-0 if Messi had converted the penalty. This game was quite different from that of Algeria where the Argentina squad controlled and created multiple chances.

The whole goal is to get 3 points which they have done, Now they will need to rotate the squad against Jordan in other to rest the main players but I want Messi to start so that he can score. This Golden boot Chase between Halaand, Mbappe and Messi is becoming interesting.

The match was very tense for both teams. We can't just say that Argentina dominated the match just because they won. Argentina certainly played well and everyone expected a little more from them. However, Austria played very well, if we consider Austria's defense, we can see how well they played and Argentina didn't let them break the defense easily. Both teams tried hard to keep the ball in their possession.

[yudi09]

Today is the Portugal vs. Uzbekistan match. There are already tons of posts about Ronaldo.
This one caught my attention Ronaldo's goals, and only penalty goals. 

Ronaldo will be the player in the spotlight. Portugal’s wins and losses are always linked to him. This is only natural, as Ronaldo is currently a global soccer icon with a fierce rivalry with Messi.
Uzbekistan failed to earn any points against Colombia, so when they face Portugal shortly, they’ll try to avoid another loss. But Portugal has a greater desire to win.

After what Messi has done, they're trying even harder to bury Ronaldo. That's the difference between talent and hard work. I respect Ronaldo for still working hard, but his training is limited now because of his age. Messi doesn't have that problem.

That’s not the point, though, because that would be too harsh a goal to set. Argentina’s goal is to win every match in the knockout stage and reach the final—not to take down Ronaldo.

[SFR10]

Today's game is very important to all sides. England and Ghana would be seekig for automamtic quakification. While Panama and Croatia would be fighting to survive since they don't have any point.

Regardless of the winner qualifying for the knockout stages, I think apart from Panama, we can expect the other three to feature in the round of 32 and the interesting part about tonight's game is that Thomas Partey is finally available for Ghana and this makes me believe it's going to be a match with a lot of goals for both sides ^{[perhaps something similar to England's opening game against Croatia (the three lions are the favorite, but considering that there might be some suprises, the safest bet is probably BTTS)]}.

[Donneski]

Does anyone know here sportsbook that offers market for Cristiano Ronaldo not to score any goal against Uzbekistan today?
I only see the usual Cristiano Ronaldo Anytime Goalscorer market with around 1.40-1.5 odds on most sites. Since Portugal are heavy favorites and many bookmakers seem to expect Ronaldo to score, I'm curious what the odds would be on the opposite side if the market is available.
I know No Goalscorer isn't the same thing because other Portugal players can still score. I'm specifically looking for Ronaldo Under 0.5 Goals or Ronaldo Not to Score market. Has anyone seen it offered anywhere?

I haven't seen such option in the few sports betting sites I know but if there's anything of such nature, I expect the odds to be high because Cristiano Ronaldo against Uzbekistan is game that the Portuguese superstar is expected to find the back of the net. So if you are asking because you want to bet that he'll not score, I think you should better go for the option that he'll get at least a goal today.

[Stavri]

yeah, it looks like if Mbappe wins another world cup and breaks the goal scoring record, he’s going to reignite the goat debates. ok he can be selfish and arrogant at times but he is an absolute beast on the pitch. when he’s in form, he’s simply unstoppable.

I still wonder where and how some you get these kind of thoughts from? I still wonder where this word arrogance is coming from. You just stay and start cooking up certain things in your head. How's Mbappe arrogant, that's what I'm still trying to phantom in my head. You guys think when a player is being himself, you guys mistake it for arrogance. I don't even want to talk about this other one of you saying his selfish. A clinical forward that has 139 assists and counting is selfish to you guys.

you couldn't have heard this for the first time...
for a long time at Real Madrid, there were talks about how his selfishness did more harm than good to the team. this is true but it was already obvious that he was like this ever since his PSG days.

on paper, Mbappe is currently the world's most successful center forward, especially with his goal per match ratio. However, these numbers do not directly reflect his actual contribution to the team. When you watch Mbappe's playstyle, you see an extremely selfish forward. in positions where passing to his teammate would result in an easy goal, he constantly tries to score himself and repeatedly squanders the opportunity.

[sergiorus]

Does anyone know here sportsbook that offers market for Cristiano Ronaldo not to score any goal against Uzbekistan today?
I only see the usual Cristiano Ronaldo Anytime Goalscorer market with around 1.40-1.5 odds on most sites. Since Portugal are heavy favorites and many bookmakers seem to expect Ronaldo to score, I'm curious what the odds would be on the opposite side if the market is available.
I know No Goalscorer isn't the same thing because other Portugal players can still score. I'm specifically looking for Ronaldo Under 0.5 Goals or Ronaldo Not to Score market. Has anyone seen it offered anywhere?

Polymarket.

"No" shares for Ronaldo scoring at least 1 goal are currently at 41 cent or so. Will resolve at $1 if he doesn't score.

Liquidity is not very great for this one though.