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

[Unsoldier]

Very disappointing game from Japan. I mean they have been the underdog for a reason but playing this weak was something I didn't expect for sure. Only 5 shots, very low possession and basically just standing deep waiting for Brazil to attack. Even a surprise lead didn't help them, they were just WAY to passive to win anything here. Once the equalizer was scored the writing was on the wall that this game will not go Japan's way. Of course it's kinda unlucky the way it ended conceding a goal that late in injury time, but they kinda deserved it for the way the played.
Well, just 1 team left to support and they might fly out in 3 hours as well, laaaaame.

Let me guess.. Paraguay? If yes you’re probably the first Paraguay supporter I’m seeing on this thread. There’s nothing way they are beating Germany unless some miracle happens.. then people will make decent profit of it but with the odds I doubt people will risk anything meaningful.

Japan wasn’t that impressive tonight, they tried to use same method Arsenal used against PSG in UCL that didn’t work and Martinelli was like “I’ve seen this before”

I wouldn't say that Paraguay has no chance against Germany. The German national team only had an easy game against Curacao; after that, they struggled to beat Ivory Coast, and in the third group match, they lost to Ecuador. And even though Paraguay advanced to the knockout stage from third place thanks to the new system, it seems to me that Germany definitely won't have an easy walk. As we saw today, even Japan, being the underdog, managed to take the lead against Brazil, but they fell just a bit short of taking the match into overtime. So if the Paraguayans find Germany's weaknesses, they will have a chance to win too. But that is unlikely; betting on a Paraguay victory is too risky.

[Mahiyammahi]

I feel sorry for Japan. They couldn't hold onto their 1–0 lead and were eliminated despite a strong performance.
They fought hard throughout the match, but you can't rely on defending alone to win games.

Strong performance? I wouldn't say it , I watched the full matched. It's true that as a rising star Japan played really well . Specially their GK saved two crucial goals that could have scored brasil. The last one that GK saved and hit the bar didn't scored a goal vini even started to celibrate but how unfortunate it was not a goal.

Japan shifted their play towards Defensive mode after half time . After half time Brasil charged one after another. It was like Japan didn't even have the ball on their feet for the entire time. That last minute goal was something else from Martinelli. Damn this match so much unpredictable. Really enjoyed it.

In round of 16 there's high possibility Brasil will face Norway. It won't be any easy match .

[ASloveapg]

What do you guys think about the next game? Does Germany bounce back, or are we looking at a massive upset here?

On paper, Germany should roll right through with Musiala and Wirtz, but that 2-1 loss to Ecuador proved they can completely switch off. Also, losing Schlotterbeck to that ankle injury hurts their backline.

Paraguay is pure grit. They literally played with 10 men against Turkey and still held onto a 1-0 win. If Germany doesn't score early, I can easily see Paraguay locking it down, frustrating them, and making it into the Round of 16.

I am definitely optimistic for Germany in this match, Germany will not make the same mistake as the Ecuador match at this time, because losing now means the end of all hope and journey, so Germany will definitely not lose easily. However, looking at Paraguay's 4-5-1 lineup, it seems very good that they will try to play defensively. Now let's see, Germany will definitely be much stronger than Paraguay in terms of attack, but it is a matter of seeing how much they are able to break their defense and score goals, and Germany will definitely have to win the match.

[pewboy]

South Africa was among the 9 Africa team remaining in the group stages, but the last night match even though their did so well happens to end on a 1 goals defeat for them, well Canada have a team that is correctly putting up their best foot and at the same time, making steady push to strike at any possible chances like what happens last night.

and in the end Canada obviously managed to make a splash, South Africa unfortunately wasn't able to do it, but in any case they reached a good point
clearly he only lost by 1 goal, in reality he could have done it, in my opinion he lacked that extra mental sprint: the mentality of champions.

[xLays]

Brazil really gave all the Brazil fans and bettors a scare.
But honestly, Japan played a great match despite the loss. They looked exhausted in the second half and that last goal came from a costly mistake. I honestly thought the game was headed to a penalty shootout, but Brazil managed to get the job done in stoppage time.
I was even expecting Neymar to come on, but he never did maybe if in 80 mins score still 1-0 maybe they will sub in Neymar.

And surprisingly, Vinicius Junior didn't score today. Better luck next time to everyone who has Vini Jr. in their World Cup Fantasy team. lol

[EarnOnVictor]

The Japanese team has evolved over the years and it's not a surprise with what they have been doing in there years, they don't usually go far in the competition but they always make their presence felt against the big footballing countries. Last world cup it was Germany and I think they even beat them. When Belgium was the world's number one team back in 2018, they were a terror to the Belgium defence, just today we saw how they were a hard nut to crack against one of the most formidable teams in world football. Brazil had to bail themselves out today, Japan put them on the edge and they played their game and fought for the victory.

Nice reference to Belgium being the number one football team in the world in 2018. This reminded me "how" they even attained that level, and more reason why they could be dragged by Japan. That's by the way. Japan is a good team, but averagely good, and they should improve. The dominance of Brazil was too obvious, especially in the second half. While Japan was trying to defend, Brazil was trying to score, and such in the world of football often produces another goal, especially if the defence is not as good as thought. Well, they have done their bit in this year's world cup again. Just like the last 2 world cups, they were knocked out at the first knockout stage like this, which has been their highest climb in their world cup history. Nothing surprising at all.

[BIT-BENDER]

Germany vs Paraguay is another dicy match which will require the Germans to be at their best, to everyone Germany is expected to win this and the predictions coming in proves that.
Germany hasn't been at their best and has even lost to a South American team recently, that loss to Ecuador could be the courage booster the Paraguayan team needs to go into this match.
Although my prediction for this match is a win for Germany.

[Out of mind]

Brazil did what they needed to do in the last minute and managed to score their second goal. I think they're still not ready for the World Cup, they're still not playing as well as they'd like. Japan isn't a very strong team, but even against them they struggled to score.
Their next opponent won't be very strong either, they'll advance another round, but we'll see what they can do then

Brazil was really lucky in the match, which is why they scored a great goal in the last minute and won in the 90+5th minute. It is true that the game that Brazil showed in the knockout stage of the World Cup against a team like Japan, despite being strong, is not a strong preparation for the World Cup. Since the next opponent will not be very strong, I think it is more likely that they will face Norway, so this match may be difficult for Brazil. However, Brazil's game needs to be strengthened and their defense needs to be improved. The finishing line also needs to be improved. If Brazil does not accept to strengthen them for the next match, they may not be able to go very far.

[skarais]

Germany vs Paraguay is another dicy match which will require the Germans to be at their best, to everyone Germany is expected to win this and the predictions coming in proves that.

If we talk about gambling, then every game certainly has risks even if we can easily determine who the favorite is. Germany were the favourites in that game and I agree with that, but Paraguay won't give up without a fight. The probability of Germany winning is very reasonable, of course it is supported by their performance in the previous 3 matches. Germany have scored 10 goals in 3 games, their performance is very slick although we find them losing the game against Ecuador.

Although my prediction for this match is a win for Germany.

I think Germany will win the game, they will qualify for the last 16 although it may not be as easy as some people say. The game has started, but I don't expect any surprises from Paraguay for this game.

[Franctoshi]

I feel sorry for them too. Always so close yet so far. I feel it's because Japan lost concentration that's what put them in this mess cause if they had maintained the pressure of the first half, it would have been quite difficult for Brazil to secure this win.

Japan played well in the match but unfortunately they couldn’t get a win in the match, I didn’t even expect such a brilliant performance from them, I was thinking the match was going to be easy for Brazil, but Japan gave them difficult time, and unfortunately they couldn’t maintain the 1 goal lead which they had in the first half of the match. Brazil scored their second goal towards the ending of the second half which is just kind of painful because Japan played well in the match. Brazil have been promoted to the next round of the competition, congratulations to them.

In the phase Brasil is you can never expect a easy win from Brasil especially for a team like Japan

You would only rest more assured that Brasil will win against weaker teams like Curaçao or South Africa

But Japan played very well and tied with Netherlands and in the friendly matches it won against England

I would say Brazil escaped defeat after conceiving that goal in the first half, Brazil never thought Japan would have shown this level of performance against them. Brazil won because of the quality of players and the coach they have, Carlo Anceloti, else the game would ended in either that they lose or end a penalty shout out.

[Stavri]

Brazil really gave all the Brazil fans and bettors a scare.
But honestly, Japan played a great match despite the loss. They looked exhausted in the second half and that last goal came from a costly mistake. I honestly thought the game was headed to a penalty shootout, but Brazil managed to get the job done in stoppage time.
I was even expecting Neymar to come on, but he never did maybe if in 80 mins score still 1-0 maybe they will sub in Neymar.

And surprisingly, Vinicius Junior didn't score today. Better luck next time to everyone who has Vini Jr. in their World Cup Fantasy team. lol

Japan was tipped to be the surprise package of the tournament. However, their second half collapse, combined with a brilliant Brazil saw them eliminated. it was the classic Japan in the first half but an absolute trainwreck in the second...

[abhiseshakana]

Brazil really gave all the Brazil fans and bettors a scare.
But honestly, Japan played a great match despite the loss. They looked exhausted in the second half and that last goal came from a costly mistake. I honestly thought the game was headed to a penalty shootout, but Brazil managed to get the job done in stoppage time.
I was even expecting Neymar to come on, but he never did maybe if in 80 mins score still 1-0 maybe they will sub in Neymar.

And surprisingly, Vinicius Junior didn't score today. Better luck next time to everyone who has Vini Jr. in their World Cup Fantasy team. lol

To be honest, I didn’t expect Brazil to have such a tough time against Japan. Whats more it was actually quite a nail-biter when Japan even took the lead in the first half and , for some reason, Brazil seemed to be struggling to break through the opposition’s defence, without many chances to speak of, and they were effectively relying solely on long range shots. In the second half, Brazil stepped up the pressure on Japan and, thanks to their persistent efforts , they eventually managed to equalise when Casemiro scored in the 56th minute.

I did think for a moment that this match might go into extra time , but it turned out that Brazil managed a dramatic comeback ... just as Vini and Cunha had failed to score , Martinelli stepped up as the hero as the match was drawing to a close.

[pawel7777]

I expected Japan to pull up a good fight against Brazil and the game was indeed quite dramatic. Japan's Sano scored the opener in the 29th minute. It was an incredible goal and I believe it was his first international goal.
But I think Japan made a bit of a mistake limiting themselves to mostly defending the score, rather than being more daring in trying to score another one. I can't blame them, but this approach backfires badly more often than not, especially when the first goal is scored early in a game.

Similar to Brazil, Canada also needed a stoppage time winner to secure their place in the final 16. Lets see if Germany Vs Paraguay will be any different. So far, both teams are tied 0-0 after 22 minutes.

[Felicity_Tide]

Brazil did what they needed to do in the last minute and managed to score their second goal. I think they're still not ready for the World Cup, they're still not playing as well as they'd like. Japan isn't a very strong team, but even against them they struggled to score.
Their next opponent won't be very strong either, they'll advance another round, but we'll see what they can do then

I actually expected a tough game because Japan has been fantastic in this competition. Of course, there was no way the odds was going to favour them because we all know who the better team is, but an upset won't have been a bad idea either. I didn't watch the first half, but I was told that Japan played better and should have even won the game in the first half. I started with the second half, and Brazil were all over the place. They weren't causing too many harms in th final third because Japan stood their ground with a crazy level of low block football. Congrats to Brazil, and I'm proud of Japan's performance in the WC, best of luck to them.

[MorganaX]

Brazil did what they needed to do in the last minute and managed to score their second goal. I think they're still not ready for the World Cup, they're still not playing as well as they'd like. Japan isn't a very strong team, but even against them they struggled to score.
Their next opponent won't be very strong either, they'll advance another round, but we'll see what they can do then

I actually expected a tough game because Japan has been fantastic in this competition. Of course, there was no way the odds was going to favour them because we all know who the better team is, but an upset won't have been a bad idea either. I didn't watch the first half, but I was told that Japan played better and should have even won the game in the first half. I started with the second half, and Brazil were all over the place. They weren't causing too many harms in th final third because Japan stood their ground with a crazy level of low block football. Congrats to Brazil, and I'm proud of Japan's performance in the WC, best of luck to them.

Kudos to Brazil because in the end what matters is who actually won the game and nothing more because that's the most important thing of all even if they struggled before getting the win. What they would need to do now is to adjust and make for all the areas that they have under performed so that they won't get this sort of difficulty in the next knock out round which is the round of 16.

[Stavri]

Portugal is ranked 5th in the FIFA rankings and Colombia is 13th. this match was surprisingly the first time these two teams have ever faced each other. btw Colombia might be the physically fittest team in the tournament. Everyone is genuinely running. Portugal couldn't respond to this at all. Honestly, it's a miracle this match ended 0-0. imo Colombia could have easily won by a large margin.

I don't really understand this world cup because it's going different Direction anytime they played, unlike the previous ones you can confidently choose a team that will win but take a look at how they are behaving as if no one want to give up, it has become very tough to me to predict any match most especially this Portugal and Colombia, it really shocked me because I was not expecting to end in that manner.

If you are calculating based on the FIFA ranking I think you should have been bothered with Spain and Cabo Verde, but take a look at how things went this team handle Spain as if they are in form for a very long time. With a lot of things that have learned, I found out that underestimating any team is a very wrong move. Right now I don't even know which team to support but with the look of things Argentina are still going very well, let us see how it going to end.

this is shaping up to be an amazing world cup. That Brazil-Japan match was an instant classic that will be talked for a while. Let's see if the Netherlands-Morocco game can match that level of intensity  

[katanic97]

Brazil really gave all the Brazil fans and bettors a scare.
But honestly, Japan played a great match despite the loss. They looked exhausted in the second half and that last goal came from a costly mistake. I honestly thought the game was headed to a penalty shootout, but Brazil managed to get the job done in stoppage time.
I was even expecting Neymar to come on, but he never did maybe if in 80 mins score still 1-0 maybe they will sub in Neymar.

And surprisingly, Vinicius Junior didn't score today. Better luck next time to everyone who has Vini Jr. in their World Cup Fantasy team. lol

I don't think Neymar was ever going to come on today. I watched him in his last game, and you can tell he's struggling to breathe and move around. At this point, i think he's more useful for set pieces and taking penalties.Vinicius had a really tough time today as well. He's usually impossible to stop, but Japan showed exactly how to defend against a player like him. Overall, the favorite got the job done, but it's a shame Japan is heading home. As for Brazil, i still think they've got a very good chance of going all the way.

[promise444c5]

I wouldn't say that Paraguay has no chance against Germany. The German national team only had an easy game against Curacao; after that, they struggled to beat Ivory Coast, and in the third group match, they lost to Ecuador. And even though Paraguay advanced to the knockout stage from third place thanks to the new system, it seems to me that Germany definitely won't have an easy walk. As we saw today, even Japan, being the underdog, managed to take the lead against Brazil, but they fell just a bit short of taking the match into overtime. So if the Paraguayans find Germany's weaknesses, they will have a chance to win too. But that is unlikely; betting on a Paraguay victory is too risky.

They haven’t been impressive so far, I will see you after 2 goals   but you could be right tooo.

[red4slash]

I am definitely optimistic for Germany in this match, Germany will not make the same mistake as the Ecuador match at this time, because losing now means the end of all hope and journey, so Germany will definitely not lose easily. However, looking at Paraguay's 4-5-1 lineup, it seems very good that they will try to play defensively. Now let's see, Germany will definitely be much stronger than Paraguay in terms of attack, but it is a matter of seeing how much they are able to break their defense and score goals, and Germany will definitely have to win the match.

If Germany still want to be seen as one of the top clubs then they should try to do something different unlike what they did against Ecuador in the last match of the group stage.

I always like Germany's defense but I don't really like their midfield and attack because in the last few matches they didn't even improve well.
30 minutes after kick off, Germany's midfield and attacking line looks the same, although they got the ball early on but I still can't see any good movement especially from Kai as the targetman at the moment even if we see Paraguay's on target is superior in this first 30 minutes.

[Ryu_Ar1]

Brazil came from behind to beat Japan 2–1 after trailing 1–0 at halftime.
With this victory, Brazil advanced to the Round of 16 and will now wait to find out their next opponent.

I feel sorry for Japan. They couldn't hold onto their 1–0 lead and were eliminated despite a strong performance.
They fought hard throughout the match, but you can't rely on defending alone to win games.

Brazil's dominance and Ancelotti's scheme of keeping the game fast and high pressing in the second half kept them from losing and what hurts is that the last 32 for the first 2 matches ended with goals in extra time.
Yesterday we saw Africa losing at 90+2 and today we saw Germany going out at 90+6.

Japan didn't play badly and they can still be appreciated even though the game was completely controlled by Brazil but their focus was very good but the disaster came when their concentration ran out and left Martinelli unmarked because they wanted to secure the area but their marking became slack. This was a bit regrettable as there were several Japanese defenders there but the miscommunication turned into a fatal ending for Japan in this match.