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

[Yabani]

Austria wasn't quite a match for Spain.
Although Austria managed to create chances here and there, I noticed they lacked a true out-and-out striker.
Spain, on the other hand, has a player like Oyarzabal—who possesses exceptional finishing ability—playing for Real Sociedad in his home country.

As far as I know, that was his 16th goal in his last 15 matches. I’m not sure if he’ll stay at Sociedad after this tournament.

Given the unique situations surrounding clubs like Bilbao, Barcelona, ​​and Sociedad, he might well end up staying at Sociedad.
Cucurella put in a truly impressive performance.

Alaba has left Real Madrid. This is a heads-up for any Turkish clubs looking for a left-back.

[Joca97]

Austria wasn't quite a match for Spain.
Although Austria managed to create chances here and there, I noticed they lacked a true out-and-out striker.
Spain, on the other hand, has a player like Oyarzabal—who possesses exceptional finishing ability—playing for Real Sociedad in his home country.

As far as I know, that was his 16th goal in his last 15 matches. I’m not sure if he’ll stay at Sociedad after this tournament.

Given the unique situations surrounding clubs like Bilbao, Barcelona, ​​and Sociedad, he might well end up staying at Sociedad.
Cucurella put in a truly impressive performance.

Alaba has left Real Madrid. This is a heads-up for any Turkish clubs looking for a left-back.

Oyarzabal was really good today scored two goals and carried his team to an easy win against Austria. He is not a classic striker but works well in this Spain system. In Real Sociedad he is the main player and is playing really good for that team and i think he will stay there and probobly retire at the end of his career.

Cucurella with each season is better and better andnis probobly one of the best left backs in the world. In Chelsea he was really good but for Spain is on another level.

[Bobrox]

Around 40 minutes left the match kick off Portugal vs Croatia and the official team of Portugal released starting line up, overall not significant change the starting line up composition team with Cristiano Ronaldo as central forward and the midfielder have João Neves, Vitinha and Bruno Fernandez. Based on the line up for this match I think one little change only after Portugal manager Roberto Martínez playing Rafael Leão at left winger position.

This match have pressure for Cristiano Ronaldo get back his confidence performance after failure scoring goal last match when holding draw by Colombia, its really quite difficult match against Croatia with consistent performance and motivate for qualifying to the next round.


portugal

[Juicyhome]

Fifa is just so unfair and bias, lamin yamal won the man of the match award in a game he didn't score nor make any assist, he didn't contribute to Spain 3 nil goals against Austria tonight, cucurella made two assists while Oyarzabal scored two goals but yamal and didn't contribute to the goals was awarded, Fifa is not fair, this is a terrible decision.

Spain has proceeded to the round of 16, they will play either Portugal or Croatia, both are playing soon, it will be a very tough game for Portugal and Croatia, I hope Portugal wins they are my favorite to win the world cup, they can defeat Spain in the round of 16, but Croatia can't. I need a team like Portugal to knock out Spain. Ronaldo all the way, let's watch out.

[Cyber_warrior]

Austria wasn't quite a match for Spain.
Although Austria managed to create chances here and there, I noticed they lacked a true out-and-out striker.
Spain, on the other hand, has a player like Oyarzabal—who possesses exceptional finishing ability—playing for Real Sociedad in his home country.

As far as I know, that was his 16th goal in his last 15 matches. I’m not sure if he’ll stay at Sociedad after this tournament.

Given the unique situations surrounding clubs like Bilbao, Barcelona, ​​and Sociedad, he might well end up staying at Sociedad.
Cucurella put in a truly impressive performance.

Alaba has left Real Madrid. This is a heads-up for any Turkish clubs looking for a left-back.

It was a dominating performance from Spain, as expected they put 3 goals past Austria. Spain did well, created chances and converted most of it. Oyarzabal have been very good for both club and country and in this World Cup he have proven to be the best center forward for Spain. The big difference between him and Ferran Torres is that he doesn’t need much chance before he can score.

Well for Alaba I know a deal will come for him, either from turkey like you said or saudi or even United States. He did decently well today in the tournament overall and I hope that attracts some teams to get his services.

[Zoomic]

Fifa is just so unfair and bias, lamin yamal won the man of the match award in a game he didn't score nor make any assist, he didn't contribute to Spain 3 nil goals against Austria tonight, cucurella made two assists while Oyarzabal scored two goals but yamal and didn't contribute to the goals was awarded, Fifa is not fair, this is a terrible decision.

Spain has proceeded to the round of 16, they will play either Portugal or Croatia, both are playing soon, it will be a very tough game for Portugal and Croatia, I hope Portugal wins they are my favorite to win the world cup, they can defeat Spain in the round of 16, but Croatia can't. I need a team like Portugal to knock out Spain. Ronaldo all the way, let's watch out.

FIFA has been constantly being accused of favoritism on how they award personal accolades to players but instead of doing better to clear their name, they give football fans more reasons to believe that they're acting biased.

I'm trying to understand how Lamine Yamal was given the man of the match award ahead of Cucurella in Spain's win against Austria.

Talking about Portugal to eliminate Spain, they'll have to beat Croatia tonight to achieve that, but if they can beat Croatia, I think they will progress to the quarter finals at the expense of Spain.

[JiiBs]

FIFA has been constantly being accused of favoritism on how they award personal accolades to players but instead of doing better to clear their name, they give football fans more reasons to believe that they're acting biased.

I'm trying to understand how Lamine Yamal was given the man of the match award ahead of Cucurella in Spain's win against Austria.

There is hardly anything that FIFA or anyone would say and there wouldn’t be a group that would criticize that decision. There would always be those that would have their take on why certain things should be done differently and that’s okay.

I agree with you on this one though, Cucurella did the most for Spain in their game against Austria. He performed both defensively and in attack, providing the necessary assist and clearances. Unfortunately, FIFA is just looking to promote a growing talent that they would make a market out of, that’s what I see here.

[SUPERSAIAN]

Spain eliminated Austria with three goals. It was a one-sided match. Yamine Yamal had neither a goal nor an assist; I won't call him the GOAT anymore, I'm just kidding, I'm not serious. It's certainly not right to judge a player based on a single match. Austria didn't even have a single shot on target, which is why I say it was a one-sided match. They just retreated and conceded a goal. Spain could have scored more because they seriously threatened the Austrian goal.

[hyudien]

There is hardly anything that FIFA or anyone would say and there wouldn’t be a group that would criticize that decision. There would always be those that would have their take on why certain things should be done differently and that’s okay.

I agree with you on this one though, Cucurella did the most for Spain in their game against Austria. He performed both defensively and in attack, providing the necessary assist and clearances. Unfortunately, FIFA is just looking to promote a growing talent that they would make a market out of, that’s what I see here.

What FIFA is doing is nothing new, so let's accept the decision, as any criticism is unlikely to change their decision. Although the decision to name Yamal as the best player in this match is a bit odd, as there were more deserving players like Cucurela or Oyarzabal, both of whom performed at their best. Regardless, congratulations to Spain on their victory today, they won easily.

[JeffBrad12]

For Today match my prediction Portugal will win by .and cristiano Ronaldo will score 1 Goal and Portugal will win by 2.1 .

Your prediction may be wrong. I think Portugal can't win this because nothing changed from them. They still prefer to play with 10 men instead of 11. It's obviously burdening them on the pitch.
Apart from that i think Ronaldo can only score against a weak club, but he's so washed when he fight a decent club. So i don't think he will score in this game consider how proper Croatia's defense. I think the game is about to end with 1-1 at regular, then we will see it's going through penalty.

[GiftedMAN]

Spain eliminated Austria with three goals. It was a one-sided match. Yamine Yamal had neither a goal nor an assist; I won't call him the GOAT anymore, I'm just kidding, I'm not serious. It's certainly not right to judge a player based on a single match. Austria didn't even have a single shot on target, which is why I say it was a one-sided match. They just retreated and conceded a goal. Spain could have scored more because they seriously threatened the Austrian goal.

Spain was the better side it was obvious in their performance cause they controlled the game and dominated Austria too much, I expected more than 3 goals because of the number of chances Spain created but unfortunately they could only manage to score 3 goals.
The issue of Yamal nit performing well as expected is something we should talk about because by now he ought to have scored plenty goals at least be in the same tally  as Messi, Mbappe, or Harry Kane.

[JiiBs]

What FIFA is doing is nothing new, so let's accept the decision, as any criticism is unlikely to change their decision. Although the decision to name Yamal as the best player in this match is a bit odd, as there were more deserving players like Cucurela or Oyarzabal, both of whom performed at their best. Regardless, congratulations to Spain on their victory today, they won easily.

It’s unlikely doesn’t mean it can’t affect the way they come to these conclusions. The various rules and technologies that have being introduced into the sports today came out of criticism. Good enough some leagues like the Laliga have got a system where player of the match is being voted for with few minutes on the clock by the fans. It’s very practical as you leave fans with the notion that, they are the true decider based on collective votes.

There was certainly better choices in that game like, Oyarzabal who scored two good goals and featured till the last minute and somehow, even that wasn’t enough.

[BABY SHOES]

Fifa is just so unfair and bias, lamin yamal won the man of the match award in a game he didn't score nor make any assist, he didn't contribute to Spain 3 nil goals against Austria tonight, cucurella made two assists while Oyarzabal scored two goals but yamal and didn't contribute to the goals was awarded, Fifa is not fair, this is a terrible decision.

Hehe, this is truly odd. Lamine Yamal has a rating of 7.6, and Oyarzabal, who scored two goals, has a rating of 9.1... the award is truly biased.
In fact, we even saw his performance, but he didn't make a significant contribution. I don't know where FIFA ranked him, but it's clear that Oyarzabal deserved it.

[Franctoshi]

Spain eliminated Austria with three goals. It was a one-sided match. Yamine Yamal had neither a goal nor an assist; I won't call him the GOAT anymore, I'm just kidding, I'm not serious. It's certainly not right to judge a player based on a single match. Austria didn't even have a single shot on target, which is why I say it was a one-sided match. They just retreated and conceded a goal. Spain could have scored more because they seriously threatened the Austrian goal.

Spain was the better side it was obvious in their performance cause they controlled the game and dominated Austria too much, I expected more than 3 goals because of the number of chances Spain created but unfortunately they could only manage to score 3 goals.
The issue of Yamal nit performing well as expected is something we should talk about because by now he ought to have scored plenty goals at least be in the same tally  as Messi, Mbappe, or Harry Kane.

Spain is getting stronger as the competition advances further; they did what was expected of them today's game and advanced to the round of 16 stage because they faced a weaker side. It's in the round of 16 that I will see what performance Spain pulls in that stage when they must have met a way better team than Austria that they played today.
On the other hand, Yamal, I think this is his first World Cup appearance and experience, so you shouldn't be comparing him with these other guys who have played in different World Cup competitions more than two times.

[As-Soon-As]

There is a lot of competition between the two teams, but I don't know what the outcome of today's match will be. In the end, the result of this game may turn into a draw, Cristiano Ronaldo can still work hard. Portugal's team relies on Ronaldo the most, while Croatia also works hard, but the team that can score the first goal is the only one who can win.
But let's wait and see what happens in the end?

[Dump3er]

There is a lot of competition between the two teams, but I don't know what the outcome of today's match will be. In the end, the result of this game may turn into a draw, Cristiano Ronaldo can still work hard. Portugal's team relies on Ronaldo the most, while Croatia also works hard, but the team that can score the first goal is the only one who can win.
But let's wait and see what happens in the end?

As far as it looks now, I think it is a question of time until Portugal will score. Croatia is very passive and falling back way too far into their own half. Normally they have the players to go for counter attacks and make sure their defense can get some breath, but this time they play more defensively than I thought they would.

Ronaldo hasn't anything so far, but Portugal has so many strong players, actually they should be a favorite, but I think they need to get more out of their chances.

[Zoomic]

There is a lot of competition between the two teams, but I don't know what the outcome of today's match will be. In the end, the result of this game may turn into a draw, Cristiano Ronaldo can still work hard. Portugal's team relies on Ronaldo the most, while Croatia also works hard, but the team that can score the first goal is the only one who can win.
But let's wait and see what happens in the end?

After over 20 minutes of play, there's nothing serious to report at the moment. None of them has been able to produce any special moment. It's be a boring game, both teams are currently observing the hydration break but will restart soon.

Portugal has a certain Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes and Joao Neves yet, they can't create chances in the final third. Don't know if I'll say Portugal's main problem in the 2026 FIFA World is the tactical approach the coach of the side has adopted.

[Sexylizzy2813]

This game is so boring and I expected to see this kind of weak display from both sides, for me I see it as a trap that Croatia are setting for Portugal, if it happens that Croatia scores first it will be hard to get an equalizer. Portugal are not doing anything in this game, since the beginning of this game they have been holding the ball but yet nothing to show for. I can't wait for the first half to end because this game is hurting my eyes, Portugal have this game in their hands because they have see more of the ball more than the opposition so why delay?

[Slow death]

Well, for many months it was a topic of discussion: "When will Cristiano Ronaldo retire? Will he play in more World Cups?" It seems we already have an answer to at least one of the questions. According to Cristiano Ronaldo's sister, he will no longer play in the World Cup. This will be his last World Cup. I believe Messi will follow the same path after these guys retire. I highly doubt we'll see legends like them appearing anytime soon. Unfortunately, the players of this new generation are more into TikTok than football. We can only cherish the good memories of past players and make do with the current ones.

[Forsyth Jones]

Teams like Germany, Netherlands and Belgium are not really performing well that's why they are having difficulty winning games with ease. Belgium got lucky today.

For me, the only teams that truly scare me are Argentina, maybe Spain and especially France. For me, those two will be the finalists, the way how the France plays, with stars like Mbappe and Dembele, is frightening. It's amazing how consistently France has maintained this level in the last three World Cups (since 2018)... it's like Brazil in the 60s...

Portugal's team relies on Ronaldo the most, while Croatia also works hard, but the team that can score the first goal is the only one who can win.
But let's wait and see what happens in the end?

Dude, I'm not following this Portugal vs Croatia game, but man, it's despicable to see how Portugal plays, they waste so many chances, make silly mistakes, it seems like they avoid passing the ball to CR7, while Argentina works for Messi, it's no wonder Argentina is finally winning its World Cup decades later... the same goes for France, who work for Mbappé and Dembele...