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

[leea-1334]

France managed to overcome a massive wall, albeit with difficulty. I call it a wall because Paraguay plays exceptional defensive football.
They erected this same wall against us, against Germany, and against France; yet, France broke through it with a penalty goal and advanced to the next round.
Such is the fate of teams that defend the way Paraguay does. It is not easy to win a trophy—let alone the World Cup—playing defensive football.
France made it through, though it was a struggle, but I think they will face a tough challenge against Morocco.

It is not like they had a choice,,, teams like Paraguay and Cape Verde have to play defense and attack on the counter. If they tried to 'play football' against France it would be a huge loss.

Morocco should be a different team they have more talent all playing in Europe right?

[$weetne$$]

France in this World Cup is the one that dominates all the matches and i think that once they are now in the quarterfinals they will certainly put everyone they meet in serious difficulty, Morocco is already another team that will most likely be eliminated by France, they are too strong for everyone.

Many persons are seeing them as favourite to win the world cup already,  they have really been dominant and their performance has been incredibly excellent such that they look really fearsome to any team they will be meeting in the competition. I do believe if they meet Morocco,  the chances are very high they will defeat them and get them eliminated from the competition. The chances that they win this competition is getting higher by the day and I am yet to spot a team at this moment that will likely eliminate them, so I am believing they may stay too long in this competition.

[Mayor of ogba]

Paraguay is playing defensive games which I think must be responsible for not scoring France when they suopsed to score.
With the penalty shoot on the post is one reason that made Paraguay to take this match seriously and start playing attacking which I think was too later for them. France is going to win the match and it's going to be a big lose to Paraguay.

Had the been Paraguay played attacking football on time, France would had scored more than one goal against them. Paraguay knows they can't go toe-to-toe against France that's why they decided to play dirty football against France just to stop them from scoring and for the match to end in a penalty shootout but that same dirty football made them to kick down Doue in the penalty area and commit a penalty in the 66th minute, which France used to score the only goal in that match and ended up winning Paraguay 1-0 at fulltime. So even though Paraguay had played attacking football on time, they wouldn't have stopped France from winning yesterday.

[DanWalker]

Many persons are seeing them as favourite to win the world cup already,  they have really been dominant and their performance has been incredibly excellent such that they look really fearsome to any team they will be meeting in the competition. I do believe if they meet Morocco,  the chances are very high they will defeat them and get them eliminated from the competition. The chances that they win this competition is getting higher by the day and I am yet to spot a team at this moment that will likely eliminate them, so I am believing they may stay too long in this competition.

It would not be wrong to call France's squad the strongest squad in this world cup. Their starting XI is strong. At the same time, their bench is also strong enough. Deschamps  also has a worthy replacement for each  player. And this is why it is believed that it will be possible for france to continue its winning streak. France will face Morocco in the quarter-finals. The performance of the moroccan team has surprised everyone in this World Cup. Even  then, the possibility of  Morocco winning against france is very small.

[Alonso_]

Paraguay is playing defensive games which I think must be responsible for not scoring France when they suopsed to score.
With the penalty shoot on the post is one reason that made Paraguay to take this match seriously and start playing attacking which I think was too later for them. France is going to win the match and it's going to be a big lose to Paraguay.

Had the been Paraguay played attacking football on time, France would had scored more than one goal against them. Paraguay knows they can't go toe-to-toe against France that's why they decided to play dirty football against France just to stop them from scoring and for the match to end in a penalty shootout but that same dirty football made them to kick down Doue in the penalty area and commit a penalty in the 66th minute, which France used to score the only goal in that match and ended up winning Paraguay 1-0 at fulltime. So even though Paraguay had played attacking football on time, they wouldn't have stopped France from winning yesterday.

I watched the Germany vs Paraguay game, immediately I knew they were not ready to play football, they were playing a low-block more of a defensive football style of play, a dark art, they are ready to fight and push in tackles which are unnecessary football, they should be playing more better football instead they chooses to defend through all game, Germany wasn’t ready to match there playing style, they were soft and France already knew it and was ready to match there energy and there style, it’s better they have left the World Cup so we can see good style of football, it would’ve been better we have seen a good game of Germany vs France.

[longyenthanh]

France was very lucky to have won yesterday, the match was not actually easy for them, everyone was thinking France was going to win the match with 3 goals and above, I’m very sure some people predicted France to win with 2 goals and above, in this World Cup predicting with goals is very difficult is just better you predict who will win the match and leave it that way, no matter how strong a team is in this World Cup theirs always another team who is going to give them hard time.
Mbappe is again equal to Messi in terms of goals, the fight for the World Cup golden boot is still on and right now Mbappe is topping because he has 7 goals and 2 assists but Messi has only 7 goals with zero assist. I strongly believe Mbappe will win the golden boot.

It's true that I expected a bigger win for France. Maybe not by three goals, but definitely a bigger lead. This could be attributed to the weather, fatigue, or simply a lack of effectiveness. I didn't enjoy the match. This isn't how football should be played, but a win is a win, and they're in the quarterfinals.

Regarding the Mbappé-Messi rivalry, don't forget that Mbappé has played one more match than Messi. Of course, it's always fun to watch this type of rivalry, but I think Mbappé will only be able to win the Ballon d'Or if Argentina is eliminated from the tournament before France.

[free-bit.co.in]

I watched the Germany vs Paraguay game, immediately I knew they were not ready to play football, they were playing a low-block more of a defensive football style of play, a dark art, they are ready to fight and push in tackles which are unnecessary football, they should be playing more better football instead they chooses to defend through all game, Germany wasn’t ready to match there playing style, they were soft and France already knew it and was ready to match there energy and there style, it’s better they have left the World Cup so we can see good style of football, it would’ve been better we have seen a good game of Germany vs France.

I agree with you. Paraguay's strategy was the same against Germany. Paraguay played very aggressively. Usually big and renowned teams don't play so aggressively. This increases the risk of injury. Nobody wants to get injured. But France  management was well aware of paraguay's strategy. He was able to give the right direction to the players of the squad. So france players were fully prepared against Paraguay's aggressive gameplay. Mbappe said this in the media. I was very annoyed by paraguay's gameplay.

[BlackBoss_]

I watched the Germany vs Paraguay game, immediately I knew they were not ready to play football, they were playing a low-block more of a defensive football style of play, a dark art, they are ready to fight and push in tackles which are unnecessary football

Germany played better than Paraguay but they unluckily could not solve that match until the penalty shootouts where likely Paraguay prepared better and won the match. With any reasons, Germany had a shameful loss and Paraguay even got a win, actually used a very violent strategy in that match. They hoped that they will succeed again by applying that strategy against France but only a strategy is not enough. Player quality difference between France and Paraguay is simply too big to be covered by that strategy.

I agree with you. Paraguay's strategy was the same against Germany. Paraguay played very aggressively. Usually big and renowned teams don't play so aggressively. This increases the risk of injury. Nobody wants to get injured. But France  management was well aware of paraguay's strategy. He was able to give the right direction to the players of the squad. So france players were fully prepared against Paraguay's aggressive gameplay. Mbappe said this in the media. I was very annoyed by paraguay's gameplay.

Paraguay used a same strategy which was used in the match against Germany but this time they faced with France, that are much stronger than Germany. Paraguay did not create attacking opportunities to challenge France enough for having a goal and they failed to pull France to penalty shooouts. Even if Paraguay had gotten a draw after 90 minutes, I believe that they would have been defeated in 120 minutes and France would have not waited till penalty shootouts.

[BIT-BENDER]

Honestly who ever said the south American football is easy actually do not know so much about football, the big teams Argentina and Brazil have to do a whole lot to beat the so called smaller teams.
France did not expect this from Paraguay and aside that unfortunately in the box tackle the match would have ended goalless, Germany were also kick out by this same Paraguay.
Just because the European football is more watched doesn't mean that South American football should be looked down upon.

[Pandu Geddon]

Paraguay used a same strategy which was used in the match against Germany but this time they faced with France, that are much stronger than Germany. Paraguay did not create attacking opportunities to challenge France enough for having a goal and they failed to pull France to penalty shooouts. Even if Paraguay had gotten a draw after 90 minutes, I believe that they would have been defeated in 120 minutes and France would have not waited till penalty shootouts.

That's not necessarily true either. In matches that go into extra time, the situation for each team can change very easily. But in that match, France had indeed dominated the game, Paraguay didn't have enough chances and they let France's play develop. That was a mistake, even though it would be hard to keep up with France's dominant play. 
But it was a narrow win for France. At least they made it difficult for France to score a lot of goals despite all the chances that were created.

[Fiatless]

It would not be wrong to call France's squad the strongest squad in this world cup. Their starting XI is strong. At the same time, their bench is also strong enough. Deschamps  also has a worthy replacement for each  player. And this is why it is believed that it will be possible for france to continue its winning streak. France will face Morocco in the quarter-finals. The performance of the moroccan team has surprised everyone in this World Cup. Even  then, the possibility of  Morocco winning against france is very small.

Morocco came fourth in the last World Cup in Qatar and they are also the current African Cup of Nations champions.  So their performance should be a surprise to many people.

The game between Morocco and France is highly unpredictable. Neither side has lost a single game. And Morocco's only draw was against a formidable side, Brazil. It would be an interesting game to watch.

[HajiBagi]

France was very lucky to have won yesterday, the match was not actually easy for them, everyone was thinking France was going to win the match with 3 goals and above, I’m very sure some people predicted France to win with 2 goals and above, in this World Cup predicting with goals is very difficult is just better you predict who will win the match and leave it that way, no matter how strong a team is in this World Cup theirs always another team who is going to give them hard time.
Mbappe is again equal to Messi in terms of goals, the fight for the World Cup golden boot is still on and right now Mbappe is topping because he has 7 goals and 2 assists but Messi has only 7 goals with zero assist. I strongly believe Mbappe will win the golden boot.

France did not win the game by luck, they deserve to win the game because they did not give up even when the referee is against them, the reason why i say the referee is against them is because of how Paraguay played against them, Paraguay did not come to play ball against France rather they came to injured France players, if you watch the game you will not sa that France is lucky, Paraguay players keep playing roughly and even trying to dig the penalty position so that Mbape will make mistake.

If the way Paraguay players played against France football is being played i don’t think anyone will want to watch football again and I don’t think some people will want to become a footballer, that behaviour from Paraguay players is so disgusting and that referee should be investigated because i don’t know why any Paraguay players did not get a card in the game with that kind of performance.

[MArsland]

So where are you betting on this match?
I personally like both teams, but since one of them has to be eliminated, my pick will most likely be Brazil, without underestimating Norway at all. However, if it goes to a penalty shootout, Norway could have a better chance.

[cande86]

It is really hard to believe that the first half of the Paraguay-France match ended in a 0-0 draw. The more interesting part is that France couldn't even dominate in the way they showed us normally.

This is why this particular world cup looks different, unlike other world cup where the bigger teams find it very easy, but this tournament, you just can't underate any team, because you may get the shocker of your life if you look down on any team.
The Argentina vs cape Verde island game was really a spectacular games that got everyone excited, except the Argentine fans that will be at the edge of their seat all through due to tension, so that is how most games coming up might be, that's why i never expected France to run over the Paraguay team easily.

Paraguay-France was a very dirty match, which i honestly didn't like very much, these players did everything they could to make it dirty, they played like butchers, some of them really played badly, and the French weren't used to it, so much so that mbappe in the end made quite clear statements about what happened lol.

[Stavri]

Paraguay is literally playing with all 11 players parked in front of their goal. it’s been over ten minutes and the French goalkeeper hasn't even been in the camera frame Possession is 91 to 9...

But it really worked, Francis had a really hard time breaking through Paraguay parking-the-bus strategy, look at their 80% possession and how many shots they've had in 38 minutes? Very few, almost the same as Paraguay, it was a really tough match, and it looked like Paraguay wanted to take it to penalties, at least there they had a chance to win.

everyone's saying France struggled against Paraguay but that's total nonsense. truth is, the ref completely carried Paraguay...
With fair officiating, Paraguay would’ve easily picked up two red cards and they wouldn't have been able to play that dirty. but they literally finished the match without a single booking.

[Lannakosa]

So where are you betting on this match?
I personally like both teams, but since one of them has to be eliminated, my pick will most likely be Brazil, without underestimating Norway at all. However, if it goes to a penalty shootout, Norway could have a better chance.

It's hard for me to pick a team that would have a clear advantage over Brazil in a penalty shootout, because I think Brazil also have plenty of players who are excellent penalty takers. I also don't think Norway's goalkeeper is strong enough to give his team a significant edge in a shootout. That's why I believe penalties are more of a lottery, where luck often plays a bigger role than skill.

And I consider Brazil to be the stronger team, so I expect them to win in regular time. I also like the Brazilian team and like the way their attack looks right now, so I think Brazil, especially under Ancelotti, should win.

[sergiorus]

So where are you betting on this match?
I personally like both teams, but since one of them has to be eliminated, my pick will most likely be Brazil, without underestimating Norway at all. However, if it goes to a penalty shootout, Norway could have a better chance.

In my opinion, Erling Halland is worth more than the whole Brazilian team so I wouldn't be surprised if he just obliterates them alone.

However, the strength of a chain is in its weakest link, and that's where Brazil edges and will probably end up exploiting Norway's weak spots.

[rdbase]

France in this World Cup is the one that dominates all the matches and i think that once they are now in the quarterfinals they will certainly put everyone they meet in serious difficulty, Morocco is already another team that will most likely be eliminated by France, they are too strong for everyone.

Many persons are seeing them as favourite to win the world cup already,  they have really been dominant and their performance has been incredibly excellent such that they look really fearsome to any team they will be meeting in the competition. I do believe if they meet Morocco,  the chances are very high they will defeat them and get them eliminated from the competition. The chances that they win this competition is getting higher by the day and I am yet to spot a team at this moment that will likely eliminate them, so I am believing they may stay too long in this competition.

With Morocco taking out one of the host nations yesterday it is no surprise they will most likely make it farther in the tournament but meeting France is a very difficult task to overcome. Since the World Cup started they were the on top of most of the sport books favorites to win it all.
But today we will see both of the other favorite teams to make it to the quarter-finals in Brazil and England.
With the British squad they have had some difficulties in getting through their matches with teams that weren't known to be football powerhouses. So I am not too sure if they will be any good against tougher competition from the teams like Brazil who have been looking sharp in their last matches of the knockout stage.

[johnsaributua]

...

France did not win the game by luck, they deserve to win the game because they did not give up even when the referee is against them, the reason why i say the referee is against them is because of how Paraguay played against them, Paraguay did not come to play ball against France rather they came to injured France players, if you watch the game you will not sa that France is lucky, Paraguay players keep playing roughly and even trying to dig the penalty position so that Mbape will make mistake.

On the one hand they were luckier because if there hadn't been a goal from the penalty spot I think the match would have gone to extra time and possibly even a penalty shootout. But what we need to see from the match was that France had a greater chance than Paraguay so I think it's natural that France has already qualified for the next round especially since they are one of the favorites to win this World Cup. However their struggle is still very tough especially since they will face Morocco in the next round. This is certainly a fairly fierce match that will occur in the next match for both teams.

[shinratensei_]

So where are you betting on this match?
I personally like both teams, but since one of them has to be eliminated, my pick will most likely be Brazil, without underestimating Norway at all. However, if it goes to a penalty shootout, Norway could have a better chance.

It's easy question to answer friend. Norway has never ever lost to the Brazil since their first h2h at 1988. So i think Norway gets more motivation to keep their record. The good part is that all of viking players are still on form. So i think Haaland will destroy Brazil this time.
I root to brazil as my preferred choice.

I don't underestimate Brazil, but they way they played were not impressive. So the only miracle that can help them to win this game.
Norway is my favorite.