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

[Btcdeybodi]

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.

Germany doesn't have a strong attacking formation and am worried that they have played 30 minutes without scoring a goal against Paraguay. From the last 2 matches of Germany we can see that their strikers are very lazy to score and the reason why they scored up to 7 goals in the first match was because they played against an unpopular team. If they are not careful what happened to them against Ecuador might happen in this match against Paraguay.

Edit: While i was typing i didn't know that Paraguay has scored already in the 42nd minute. Danger looms for Germany because if Paraguay succeeds in scoring a second goal they will find it difficult to get equalize and get a comeback. This is what happens when the strikers are too reluctant to put pressure in their opponents defense, i don't know what Kai Havertz and Deniz Undav are doing in this match.

[retreat]

Japan did lose this match, but based on what they showed earlier in the game, they managed to make many Brazilian fans nervous because they scored a surprise first goal and continued to play with tight defense. It wasn't until the second half that Casemiro scored for Brazil, tying the score at 1-1, which held until the 90th minute. Then, in stoppage time, Martinelli scored, bringing the final score to 2-1. Japan managed to make it difficult for the Brazilian players to break through their defense, but no matter how good their defense is, they can still concede a goal if they make a mistake, and that's exactly what happened. Still, Japan put on a solid performance, even though the final result was disappointing.

[programmer3666]

As soon as Japan scored, something just told me it wasn't over. Brazil is one of those teams that no matter how bad they play, they always find a way back. It's like they have that winning DNA. Japan played well, but Brazil's experience and mentality just showed in the end. When it comes to big tournaments, some teams just know how to grind out results and Brazil proved that again. Don Carlo is still doing his thing with the boys.

[Hyphen(-)]

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 .

Regardless of any pattern Japan used for Brazil, they really wanted to give us an offset tonight to defeat Brazil that was why they were trying to defend the one goal they scored in the first half, but they are playing against Brazil of all people, they could not resist the pressure and finally lost the game at the stoppage time.

We still have to appreciate the fact that we enjoyed watching football today, a team we never think will gave Brazil tough time, they wanted to eliminate Brazil but were unlucky to lose to Brazil.

Japanese players were crying after the match, they really gave it all to win the match, but were unlucky that was why their fans were clapping for them because they have made them proud.

[red4slash]

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.

Germany doesn't have a strong attacking formation and am worried that they have played 30 minutes without scoring a goal against Paraguay. From the last 2 matches of Germany we can see that their strikers are very lazy to score and the reason why they scored up to 7 goals in the first match was because they played against an umpopular team. If they are not careful what happened to them against Ecuador might happen in this match against Paraguay.

First goal for Paraguay. Damn it I was too confident betting a goal for Germany but they were not that good in this first half.

How can they be this bad for the world cup when their condition in terms of player quality is very good but this is what happened. The first half should have belonged to Paraguay but this could be a new spark for Germany so that they can bounce back in the second half.
Naglessmaan will have to come up with a new scheme so that they can avoid defeat and make a comeback in this match because it will be uninteresting if a top club like them has to be eliminated in the last 32 phase.

[Lembo69]

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.

This effort by Japan is really commendable, the Japanese goalkeeper made some amazing saves, with a little bit of creativity, the Brazilian players would have scored many goals in the net of the Japanese goal post. It is not a shame for Japan to lose by only 2-1, but Japan tried their best, they fell behind due to lack of time, I think if Japan had a little more time, they would have scored the goal given by Brazil and drawn the match.

Brazil came in at the last minute and proved that they are not the kind of players to give up. Every Brazilian player and the Brazilian fans were disappointed that they might not be able to score the goal again. At the last minute, they earned their place that Brazil deserves.

[Majestic-milf]

 There's something similar from the Brazil game that's happening in the Germany game and that's the fact that the favorites went behind in the first half. I'm wondering if this is as a result of underestimation or they are still finding themselves because it's games like these you show your dominance first.
 The way I'm seeing the Paraguayan team, they could be ready to defend their lone win just to frustrate Germany in the second half so the Germans have to bring all their wit else they could get booted out here if they slack.

[Davidvictorson]

Japan did lose this match, but based on what they showed earlier in the game, they managed to make many Brazilian fans nervous because they scored a surprise first goal and continued to play with tight defense. It wasn't until the second half that Casemiro scored for Brazil, tying the score at 1-1, which held until the 90th minute. Then, in stoppage time, Martinelli scored, bringing the final score to 2-1. Japan managed to make it difficult for the Brazilian players to break through their defense, but no matter how good their defense is, they can still concede a goal if they make a mistake, and that's exactly what happened. Still, Japan put on a solid performance, even though the final result was disappointing.

I complete agree. They were a very solid team and put out their best performances. However in these types of games mistakes are not forgiven and that was what happened that gave Brazil the winning goal. In this type of knockout games, you do not play tik-tack football in your 18 box which was what the Japanese side did. If they had shot the ball out of their 18 box, it may have given them a fighting chance in the extra time. And who knows, Brazil may have been the ones going home and not them.

[CLS63]

Brazil did a good job by not letting it go to extra time. But it was a very challenging match for them. If they are struggling this much against Japan then I can't imagine the performance against bigger opponents.


I can't say Germany have been able to produce much of a nice goal opportunity. They just had a 79% ball possession and that was it. But I expect them to make a comeback anyway. It is just weird to see them having big issues even in this match.

[BIT-BENDER]

Just like the Brazilian game, Germany has gone doiby one goal in the first half but I don't know if the Germans will have the same zeal the Brazilians entered with in the second half.
It is disappointing that Enciso one of the smallest man on the pitch got the header to score the goal, the German players went off and even when it seems the danger was averted they let the Paraguayans recycle the ball to create another chance that the converted.

[abhiseshakana]

There's something similar from the Brazil game that's happening in the Germany game and that's the fact that the favorites went behind in the first half. I'm wondering if this is as a result of underestimation or they are still finding themselves because it's games like these you show your dominance first.
 The way I'm seeing the Paraguayan team, they could be ready to defend their lone win just to frustrate Germany in the second half so the Germans have to bring all their wit else they could get booted out here if they slack.

Germany dominated the match, but unfortunately this was not reflected in the few  chances they managed to create and instead, Paraguay, who had been under pressure throughout the first half , actually managed to break the deadlock. There is still the second half to come, but if Germany don’t improve , it looks as though they will still find it difficult to break down their opponents’ defence. Creativity needs to be improved , and I think players like Musiala could make the difference in the second half.

[EL MOHA]

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.

I think you wanted to say elite country and not club.

Let’s actually get this straight, just like Brazil, Germany are no longer at that top level again ever since that World Cup win in 2014. It’s even worse now we can say that the generation players are already gone and right now they just have two to three elite players in the team with others just above average level. Seriously I don’t think they can actually offer better options in the first eleven than what they currently have, this is the strongest starting eleven that the German machines currently have they just need to actually find a way to get themselves into this game.

They have been dominating ever since the start of the match but nothing to show for it. Just like we have watch throughout the tournament, an underdog actually takes the lead as Paraguay are leading thanks to a brilliant Julian enciso goal. Are going to see another comeback or a late minute drama again today

[SmartCharpa]

Germany doesn't have a strong attacking formation and am worried that they have played 30 minutes without scoring a goal against Paraguay. From the last 2 matches of Germany we can see that their strikers are very lazy to score and the reason why they scored up to 7 goals in the first match was because they played against an unpopular team. If they are not careful what happened to them against Ecuador might happen in this match against Paraguay.

Edit: While i was typing i didn't know that Paraguay has scored already in the 42nd minute. Danger looms for Germany because if Paraguay succeeds in scoring a second goal they will find it difficult to get equalize and get a comeback. This is what happens when the strikers are too reluctant to put pressure in their opponents defense, i don't know what Kai Havertz and Deniz Undav are doing in this match.

Maybe the Germany national squad lacks a good left wing. Wirtz has been the player playing as a winger since the beginning of the World Cup. I think that’s why their attacking line is very poor. They were lucky to win against weak team, win with a late minute goal and Ivory Coast, and lost the third game against Ecuador. Germany have not put too much effort into the World Cup. Undav has scored three goals in this tournament, he’s very underrated player.

Germany is losing in the first half, Germany looks very terrible in this first half. It’s very embarrassing for Germany to the first half again Paraguay. I throught it would be a game where Germany would win without conceding a single goal. Let’s see what happens in the next 45 minutes, whether they can turn it around because Paraguay will like to defend for the rest of the game.

[Sexylizzy2813]

Germany dominated the match, but unfortunately this was not reflected in the few  chances they managed to create and instead, Paraguay, who had been under pressure throughout the first half , actually managed to break the deadlock. There is still the second half to come, but if Germany don’t improve , it looks as though they will still find it difficult to break down their opponents’ defence. Creativity needs to be improved , and I think players like Musiala could make the difference in the second half.

The funny part is that Paraguay was just there doing nothing special not until they have that opportunity to get forward and it happened that they got a better chance to score while Germany was all over the field running, crossing the ball pressuring to get goal but yet no shot on target, nothing is happening for Germany like before. If they feel they can come and start touching the ball again in the second half and get an easy win then they should have a rethink. If they don't score before the water break then I see Paraguay defending more than we saw in the  first half.

[Adbitco]

Paraguay scoring first against Germany in the knockout stages of the world cup, not just scoring but winning at halftime against one of the big teams, just unbelievable. Earlier today we saw Japan pulled a strong one on Brazil but the Brazilian had to finish it off late in the game to advance to the next round, I was thinking that won't happen with Germany, my initial thoughts was that of Germany scoring and winning in both halves but as it stands now, Germany has to come from behind if they have any intentions of moving to the next round. It's still shocking to me, it seems like this world cup teams are really prepared for the big teams.

[ASloveapg]

We thought Germany was more likely to score first, but Paraguay scored the first goal, meaning Germany 0 and Paraguay 1 in the first half, it was like the Brazil-Japan match, now the main thing is for Germany to come back, they should now equalize the score somehow, but if Paraguay score another goal before that, then it will be a lot more pressure for Germany. So Germany should score a goal as soon as possible to equalize the match first. I think it will be like Brazil, meaning Germany may win the match by 1 goal margine, but now since Paraguay is leading by one goal, so now Germany has to equalize the match first.

[coinlary]

I can't say Germany have been able to produce much of a nice goal opportunity. They just had a 79% ball possession and that was it. But I expect them to make a comeback anyway. It is just weird to see them having big issues even in this match.

They did buy won't stop raising the ball  . They deserve to be one goal down before the first half ends so they can get back to their senses cuz wtf iswrong with thir legs ? They just keep the ball to GK and it's quite annoying. When you try something 3 to four times and it's not working,  shouldn't you try some different approach? Germany is not seeing anything wrong with that and they could head back home tonight

[GbitG]

Brazil just struggled too much! More than they could have in fact... But the main reason behind is really not having great players mostly in the squad I believe. So I agree with those people thinking like this.

Their next competitor is likely to be Norway if they don't fail against Ivory Coast. I doubt Brazil against Norway already.    Norway are much stronger than Japan in offense.

If Norway beats Ivory Coast, Brazil will have a very tough time. Norway's attack led by Haaland looks more impressive than Japan's which also caused problems for Brazil's defense. considering that Norway's defense isn't the most reliable either this could be a very entertaining match. I think that football icons Ronaldinho and Ronaldo who watched this match from the stands aren't impressed with the current Brazil team's performance.

Well, I am super excited to see their faces on field.....

After today match I just got own thing that Brazil defensive driving is bit sloppy like Japan utilize little effort and got lead. So what if they host against Holland...... Not only Holland there is also many other players who also have a good attacking approach. So Brazil defensive really need to be prepared for the challenging core.

Besides that I seeing a lot of lacking in the Brazilians team because form today match I just noticed that they have a poor combination between each other even their midfield didn't have a ability to distribute the ball passion or even made a long ball build up for counter attack. So if they want the title then definitely upgrades will the necessary quote.

[Donneski]

Paraguay scoring first against Germany in the knockout stages of the world cup, not just scoring but winning at halftime against one of the big teams, just unbelievable. Earlier today we saw Japan pulled a strong one on Brazil but the Brazilian had to finish it off late in the game to advance to the next round, I was thinking that won't happen with Germany, my initial thoughts was that of Germany scoring and winning in both halves but as it stands now, Germany has to come from behind if they have any intentions of moving to the next round. It's still shocking to me, it seems like this world cup teams are really prepared for the big teams.

Paraguay won the first half not because they were the better team in that half but because they were clinical enough to score when the opportunity came. Germany since the second half have been asking questions in Paraguay's penalty box and as I type, Kai Havertz have scored to draw Germany level with Paraguay.
With more than 30 minutes to play before the and of normal time, I think it's safe to say that Germany are most likely to score more goals. It's currently 1:1 after 58 minutes.

[icebar]

Japan did lose this match, but based on what they showed earlier in the game, they managed to make many Brazilian fans nervous because they scored a surprise first goal and continued to play with tight defense. It wasn't until the second half that Casemiro scored for Brazil, tying the score at 1-1, which held until the 90th minute. Then, in stoppage time, Martinelli scored, bringing the final score to 2-1. Japan managed to make it difficult for the Brazilian players to break through their defense, but no matter how good their defense is, they can still concede a goal if they make a mistake, and that's exactly what happened. Still, Japan put on a solid performance, even though the final result was disappointing.

Yes, Japan showed strong performance. But Japan's defensive play for so long annoyed me a lot. Brazil had a better chance of winning today, but the match should have ended in a stronger fight. The aggressive attitude with which Japan started the game at the beginning meant that Japan's victory was almost certain. But one wrong decision by them changed the whole game. After scoring a goal, Japan started playing completely defensively. This is the most difficult strategy I have ever seen. Japan knows that Brazil is a strong team, but Japan did not understand their own strength properly. Japan's attack after the match started confused Brazil a lot. But after half time, Brazil started attacking. Because they believe that attack is the best defense. But Japan realized this too late. Japan got so busy defending that all the pressure fell on the goalkeeper. And Brazil did not miss those opportunities.