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

[Zoomic]

Congratulations to Egypt for reaching the last sixteen of the world cup, at least we have two teams in the round of sixteen. Let's see how the last two team will perform, as cape Verde will come against Argentina later this night. Egypt really showed class in the game even though they almost lost the game , through the own goal that they caused. The goal gave the Australian much energy as they try to come back.

Congratulation to Egypt, second African country to qualify for the round of 16 alongside Morocco, i expected to see more African countries qualified for this stage of the tournament, unfortunately only two or three will be able to qualify for this stage, i don't know about Cape Verde, maybe a miracle will help them qualify against the World Champions.

Coming in to the World Cup, Egypt, Senegal and Morocco were the three African teams I predicted will do exceptionally well in the tournament so I'm not too surprised that that North African country has made it to the last 16 round.

After Australia scored to comeback into the game, it gave the feeling that they might score a second goal and seal the game but they couldn't. It's been a good outing for them, I think they also deserve to be at the next round but at the end, they'll be going home because they failed to win against Egypt in penalties.

[RockBell]

The match has ended right now and both teams couldn't be separated. Mohammed Salah didn't perform as expected. He crossed a wonderful ball in extra time, Rabia would have use the cross to give Egypt a 2-1 lead but Australia goalkeeper made a wonderful save to keep the match on level terms.
Mohamed Hany was so disappointed after scoring an own goal. He's now the first player in history to score two own goals in a single World Cup tournament.

People picked interest because of Salah and he was not even playing exactly the way we wanted we wanted him to do better than what he was playing during the game, Australia was not even given them a chance at all and I was impressed with the way they were playing against Egypt they were not intimidated at all and they were trying to take the game to penalties to see if they will have a better chance but at the end of the day Egypt won the game and that is what we all wanted because of Salah and during the penalty shoot out I was no longer sure if they will be able to win but to my surprise they are failed and Egypt got the win as we so it's a good one.

[GiftedMAN]

The match has ended right now and both teams couldn't be separated. Mohammed Salah didn't perform as expected. He crossed a wonderful ball in extra time, Rabia would have use the cross to give Egypt a 2-1 lead but Australia goalkeeper made a wonderful save to keep the match on level terms.
Mohamed Hany was so disappointed after scoring an own goal. He's now the first player in history to score two own goals in a single World Cup tournament.

People picked interest because of Salah and he was not even playing exactly the way we wanted we wanted him to do better than what he was playing during the game, Australia was not even given them a chance at all and I was impressed with the way they were playing against Egypt they were not intimidated at all and they were trying to take the game to penalties to see if they will have a better chance but at the end of the day Egypt won the game and that is what we all wanted because of Salah and during the penalty shoot out I was no longer sure if they will be able to win but to my surprise they are failed and Egypt got the win as we so it's a good one.

From a neutral point of view, I'll say that it was an entertaining game to watch. Both teams have their best to win the game, I think that was why it was decided in penalties and as we all know, penalty shootouts results sometimes are decided by luck. Egypt were a better trained team in penalties from what we saw from both teams tonight. Australia players will feel disappointed for not going through after such an outstanding performance, the Pharaohs of Egypt are happy that they'll be playing against the winners of Argentina Vs Cape Verde in the round of 16

[Mayor of ogba]

Egypt has qualified and made it to the Round of 16, but I am sure that is the highest they could go. They are likely going to meet Argentina, and I don’t think they will be able to win against them in the next game, so they will just end up getting knocked out in the Round of 16.

Talking about the game tonight, Australia were so determined. If not, Egypt really played an amazing game. But still, after all the defensive gameplay on the pitch, they were not able to score more than 2 goals in the penalty shootout, which shows they are not a match for Egypt.

Egypt's performance against Australia isn't that impressive, if we use their performance today to determine the outcome of the next match that will play in the round of 16, we will easily say that they can't win the team they will play against and they won't pass round of 16 because the team will  be stronger than Australia. But a lot of surprises has been happening in this World Cup; a lot of big teams has struggled against teams they were supposed to win comfortably or easily. So Egypt does have a chance to pass round of 16 even though they meet Argentina.

[Stavri]

it looks like the semi finals will be between France-Spain and Brazil-Argentina... in this case, i think France could take the cup. i reckon France might just win the cup...

[JiiBs]

it looks like the semi finals will be between France-Spain and Brazil-Argentina... in this case, i think France could take the cup. i reckon France might just win the cup...

Argentina would have to beat Cape Verde first. Their game is on right now and the Cape Verde goalkeeper is already getting some highlights from his touches with the ball, feeling all confident about his play and their defense like looks a lot organized, they’ve not allowed Argentina to get a lot of them right now and they are hoping to capitalize on counter attack to survive this game against Argentina.
This would be an under 1.5 game, there wouldn’t be a lot of goals in this fixture.

[pawel7777]

I can't wait to see how Mexico Vs England will unfold.
In the neutral environment, England would be a strong favourite, but given Mexico's home advantage, the odds are spread quite evenly, with England being only a slight favourite.

The home advantage for Mexico is bigger than it may seem. The game will be played at the Azteca Stadium, where Mexico lost only 2 competitive games out of a total of 89. The stadium is placed 2,240 meters above sea level, so not quite the conditions England would be accustomed to. England's biggest star, Harry Kane as well as the manager, Thomas Tuchel, admit that this is a huge disadvantage as they cannot simply adapt to the altitude in such a short time.

[Marykeller]

Congratulations to Egypt for reaching the last sixteen of the world cup, at least we have two teams in the round of sixteen. Let's see how the last two team will perform, as cape Verde will come against Argentina later this night. Egypt really showed class in the game even though they almost lost the game , through the own goal that they caused. The goal gave the Australian much energy as they try to come back.

Congratulation to Egypt, second African country to qualify for the round of 16 alongside Morocco, i expected to see more African countries qualified for this stage of the tournament, unfortunately only two or three will be able to qualify for this stage, i don't know about Cape Verde, maybe a miracle will help them qualify against the World Champions.

I doubt if such a miracle will be true, for Cape Verde to beat the World Champions "Argentina''. Let's see how it's going to be though, because in football anything is possible.

However, the match is currently on, and Argentina is dominating the match, pushing forward to score a goal in this first half. They might score with the look of things. That will be Argentina kicking out Cape Verde. The surviving African nations will be two(Morocco and Argentina), out of the 9 Africa nation that qualify for the round of 32

[BIT-BENDER]

Cabo Verde has seen the game out to the hydration break which is impressive in my opinion but I also believe that Argentina has stuck to the plans because they haven't really pressed in the way they usually do.
Argentina are conserving energy and I think that's a smart thing to do because the match is still very long away from the final whistle.
So far so good for both teams but Cabo Verde will feel better than Argentina with this score line but I believe that will still change at one point in the game.

[Sim_card]

Argentina would have to beat Cape Verde first. Their game is on right now and the Cape Verde goalkeeper is already getting some highlights from his touches with the ball, feeling all confident about his play and their defense like looks a lot organized, they’ve not allowed Argentina to get a lot of them right now and they are hoping to capitalize on counter attack to survive this game against Argentina.
This would be an under 1.5 game, there wouldn’t be a lot of goals in this fixture.

Messi has finally boasted Vozinha bubbles with that sharp world class finish. Very fat to put it inside the net as he recieves the ball from Martinez. The goal came in on the 29th minutes. Messi wouldn't stop proving that he's unstoppable by any goalkeeper.

Argentina 1-0 C. Verde

[DYOR+BTC]

I can't wait to see how Mexico Vs England will unfold.
In the neutral environment, England would be a strong favourite, but given Mexico's home advantage, the odds are spread quite evenly, with England being only a slight favourite.

The home advantage for Mexico is bigger than it may seem. The game will be played at the Azteca Stadium, where Mexico lost only 2 competitive games out of a total of 89. The stadium is placed 2,240 meters above sea level, so not quite the conditions England would be accustomed to. England's biggest star, Harry Kane as well as the manager, Thomas Tuchel, admit that this is a huge disadvantage as they cannot simply adapt to the altitude in such a short time.

Even if any game would be tough, I don't think that of England against Mexico can never be as both teams are of same quality,  strength and capability, although the  England team appears to be more promising than Mexico but that is never enough reason to write off Mexico and give complete victory to England before the game because I know football is filled with unpredictable characteristics. But  On that game, if am asked to predict i can gladly say England has advanced to the next stage even before the game will be played in days to come.

[snipie]

it looks like the semi finals will be between France-Spain and Brazil-Argentina... in this case, i think France could take the cup. i reckon France might just win the cup...

Argentina and France are the contenders of the title of this version of the World Cup for me.
The teams that you suggested to play the semi finals are pretty accurate in my opinion, except Spain. I believe Portugal could make a surprise and pass them to play against France then eventually lose.
All these are speculation and it suppose USA or Belgium couldn't stand against Portugal or Spain. The problem is penalties, any team going through it could eventually lose the game.

[Royal Cap]

Messi has finally boasted Vozinha bubbles with that sharp world class finish. Very fat to put it inside the net as he recieves the ball from Martinez. The goal came in on the 29th minutes. Messi wouldn't stop proving that he's unstoppable by any goalkeeper.
Argentina 1-0 C. Verde

Honestly Cabo Verde are playing very weakly in attack. Although after conceding a goal, Cabo Verde tried to break their defensive strategy and counterattack, Argentina's control is clear because of Rodrigo de Paul and Mac Allister in the midfield and ball position.  They are constantly trying to double the gap by creating attacks, while the Cabo Verde defense has created a very strong block to prevent Messi from giving extra space. The first half is coming to an end, and Argentina is in a good position to go into the break with this 1–0 lead.

[Kavelj22]

Congratulations to Egypt for reaching the last sixteen of the world cup, at least we have two teams in the round of sixteen. Let's see how the last two team will perform, as cape Verde will come against Argentina later this night. Egypt really showed class in the game even though they almost lost the game , through the own goal that they caused. The goal gave the Australian much energy as they try to come back.

Congratulation to Egypt, second African country to qualify for the round of 16 alongside Morocco, i expected to see more African countries qualified for this stage of the tournament, unfortunately only two or three will be able to qualify for this stage, i don't know about Cape Verde, maybe a miracle will help them qualify against the World Champions.

The first half is still ongoing and Messi made the first goal at minute 29'. It doesn't need a miracle for Cape Verde to win but it will ne a hard mission just to achieve a draw. Let's confess that we have been all surprised with the unexpected performance of Cape Verde.
As foe Egypt, I think it surprised us as well because of the comparison with the level during last African cup in Morocco with an arrogant coach. Honestly, I don't see Egyptian team to be at the level of a performed team. They are just lucky. This is a personal opinion, not a general truth.

[MAAManda]

Cabo Verde has seen the game out to the hydration break which is impressive in my opinion but I also believe that Argentina has stuck to the plans because they haven't really pressed in the way they usually do.
Argentina are conserving energy and I think that's a smart thing to do because the match is still very long away from the final whistle.
So far so good for both teams but Cabo Verde will feel better than Argentina with this score line but I believe that will still change at one point in the game.

Well, shortly after the hydration break, Lionel Messi scored a goal for Argentina, the first goal & the opener for more to come. IMO, we’ll see more goals in the second half, maybe another three or four goals. Honestly, I consider Cape Verde's defense to be the best so far in the competition among the underdog teams.

[SUPERSAIAN]

Messi is at his best in this match too. He scored Argentina's only and first goal of the first half. Messi is determined to win his last World Cup. Only a few teams can stop him. Teams like France or Spain might be able to stop him, but even that wouldn't be easy. After saying this, I'll regret it if Ivory Coast changes things in the second half, but the picture in the first half was clear and obvious.

[eaLiTy]

it looks like the semi finals will be between France-Spain and Brazil-Argentina... in this case, i think France could take the cup. i reckon France might just win the cup...

Argentina would have to beat Cape Verde first. Their game is on right now and the Cape Verde goalkeeper is already getting some highlights from his touches with the ball, feeling all confident about his play and their defense like looks a lot organized, they’ve not allowed Argentina to get a lot of them right now and they are hoping to capitalize on counter attack to survive this game against Argentina.
This would be an under 1.5 game, there wouldn’t be a lot of goals in this fixture.

The goalie Vozinha is just wonderful and his stock rose a lot during the World Cup. With all those saves, Lionel Messi was able to break the deadlock with an incredible goal. Lisandro Martínez passed a long ball to Lionel Messi, and he was able to convert that into an extraordinary goal. Another record for Messi as this is his 7th continuous goal in seven World Cup games, taking his all time World Cup tally to 20 goals. The Argentina defense is outstanding and Cape Verde is struggling to pierce it.

[blomen]

while the first half could generally be described as lacking in pace, messi once again scored. martinez’s assist was also nice, but that control and shot were truly amazing. messi keeps scoring no matter who he’s up against. i heard this is his 8th consecutive world cup match in which he’s scored. he really hardly ever goes a world cup match without scoring.

if argentina extends their lead to 2 in the second half, i think the pace will slow down even more. right now, argentina doesn’t seem like a team desperate for a goal, they seem to be playing with the goal of advancing to the next round.

[Synchronice]

The first half is still ongoing and Messi made the first goal at minute 29'. It doesn't need a miracle for Cape Verde to win but it will ne a hard mission just to achieve a draw. Let's confess that we have been all surprised with the unexpected performance of Cape Verde.
As foe Egypt, I think it surprised us as well because of the comparison with the level during last African cup in Morocco with an arrogant coach. Honestly, I don't see Egyptian team to be at the level of a performed team. They are just lucky. This is a personal opinion, not a general truth.

Honestly, who is this man? The guy is 39 years old and became the first man to score in eight straight games and at the age of 39, he scored more goals than the rest of the players (but truth be told, his Argentinian teammates also support him a lot and they are very focused on him, none of them acts like a selfish person, they are always looking for Messi to give him the ball whenever possible and beneficial).
Even according to official statistics, Argentina has a significant advantage in absolutely every aspect but still, the score is 1:0, it's not a time to relax. At the moment, both teams play very carefully but Cape Verde has to become more active to create moments and don't play in defense. I would be happy to see Argentina more into striking because that will be more beautiful for me to see as a fan of the team.

[ene1980]

~
From a neutral point of view, I'll say that it was an entertaining game to watch. Both teams have their best to win the game, I think that was why it was decided in penalties and as we all know, penalty shootouts results sometimes are decided by luck. Egypt were a better trained team in penalties from what we saw from both teams tonight. Australia players will feel disappointed for not going through after such an outstanding performance, the Pharaohs of Egypt are happy that they'll be playing against the winners of Argentina Vs Cape Verde in the round of 16

What I did not understand the substitution of the Australian goalkeeper Patrick Beach right before the penalty shootout, who made some incredible saves in the match only to be replaced by another goalie Mathew Ryan, who actually missed everything. I am not sure whether the coach was thinking about some tactical genius or a massive blunder in changing the goalkeeper at the most crucial time.
Argentina is leading as Messi scored another incredible goal.