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

[Ale88]

Guys, I'm planning to bet on today's two matches. I'm not having much trouble with my pick for Brazil vs Norway, but I'm a bit unsure about Mexico vs England.

We all know Mexico have the home advantage in this match, but England clearly have the stronger squad and much better depth. So my question is, do you think it's possible for Mexico, as the host nation, to knock out England despite England having the better team?

I'd really appreciate your thoughts and the reasoning behind them. I genuinely need your insights, and I'd really value your opinions before making my decision.

First of all I would say they are both tough matches. I see you're super sure that Brazil will beat Norway and yes, on paper I agree with you but let's not forget what happened against Japan. This match could be similar to that.

England didn't shine too much during the competition while Mexico surely surprised me. Also don't forget that they are going to play at the Estadio Azteca, which is located at over 2,240 meters (7,200 feet) above sea level. I still think England should make it but it won't be easy. Maybe they'll need the extra time.

We just saw how "easy matches" weren't that easy at the end: Germany and France against Paraguay; Argentina against Cape Verde, even Morocco against Canada for the majority of the game.

[jakdanyel]

Very horrible game play from them, and this isn't the way they play.. don't even remember seeing them have a shot at goal , that's how bad the game is if it wasn't the worldcup I would have said this is match fixing but Canada just playing better here..

Just hope the second half will be much better for them because this is already pointing to a goalless game and possibly penalties.. can we have some action today..

Despite all those bad statistics Morocco still managed to destroy Canada 3-0. It was a really awkward match...    Canada players must be very disappointed because of not even scoring a goal after all those attempts.


I have found this regarding the history of Brazil - Norway...



3 of them are from Women's World Cup though. The last and only time they met in Men's was in 1998. We can't take that as a reference to evaluate this match of course.

However Brazil don't look very trustworthy with their game. I think Norway have a chance against them. Even if they lose it shouldn't be that easy.

[B-BossMan]

After the game, Mbappe had this to say, sincerely, his not wrong, those guys only came to injure French team that's what I saw. They didn't come to play football, not for a single minute, the way they were kicking, battering and bruising the French players was something else, funny enough in all of that, the referee decided to keep his card to himself and I wondering if they actually wanted the French players to get injured. The referee was not professional in his officiating because how can Paraguay be playing rugby in a football match and nothing was done about that. I understand they needed to be defensive because if they had come out, France would have dealt with them but was playing rugby on the French players necessary. It's the referee I blamed because he failed to do what he was supposed to do, I can imagine if it was the other way round, he would have sent the French players off

The Paraguay players were very smart to avoid bookings during the game. I am also blaming the linesmen and the VAR officials for not identifying these excesses from players. I am also surprised that French players acted very professionally. I thought that some of these young French players would have overreacted due to the rough nature of their opponents. But I was wrong because some of them were laughing and enjoying themselves. Congratulations to the French side on this well-deserved victory.

Paraguay players has done very well in this match against France. While I was watching the match my mind went directly towards the Argentina's and Cape Verde last match, like the pressures were extremely the same, the way Cape Verde was consistent throughout the match, that was what the Paraguay did to France despite the France were putting them on pressures. Well I was impressed with the Paraguay performance and consistency throughout the match  and as well congratulations to the France on this great victory. Let see what the Brazil will play today against Norway, and  Brazil is my favorite to win.

[Alpha Marine]

I think this is one of those games that the winner will be decided after extra time, so I'm going with over 2.5 (BTTS is also a good one).

I don't think it would be a high scoring match. We would be lucky to get over 2.5, but I'm more sure that the goals will not be more than 3. The fact that both teams are attacking teams doesn't mean they will just score on each other easily. At this stage of the tournament, teams need to grind out wins. We've seen how the first two teams that qualified needed to grind out their wins.

This is one of those that has been very difficult for me to pick who would qualify. A part of me says Brazil because they have the better quality, but I have not been really convinced by how they have played in the tournament. When they face stubborn opposition, they have been bailed out by individual brilliance, so what if the individual brilliance doesn't pay off today?
Norway is a pretty good team, and they can grind out wins, too. They also have good goal scorers, so I honestly don't know how this game will go.

[Humblevirus]

Brazil is going to face Norway today and this match will be very exciting and competitive. We can see that Norway team is in very good form recently and they have entered the World Cup for the first time in the round of 16. If Norway team players play strongly against Brazil then Brazil match will be very difficult as both teams have good players. Especially if Haaland fails to prevent his strong attack then Brazil team will create a lot of problems and there will be chances of scoring goals. And if Brazil team performance is very good and they can attack strongly then it is possible to win against Norway because comparatively Norway team defense is not very strong. However most of the gamblers will bet on Brazil to win in this match today even though this match is going to be very exciting, it is very difficult to predict who will win.

Let's see what is going to happen at the end of this match. Honestly, this is going to be a very tough match, and it is not going to be easy for either team because they are both in good form. Their performances seem to be at the same level, so we cannot say that one team is better than the other or that either team is definitely going to be the winner at the end of the day.We have predicted many matches, and if I wanted to bet on this kind of match, I would prefer to go for other options, such as both teams to score. I would never pick either team to win outright. The reason I would prefer to stake on both teams to score is that I know both teams are attacking sides, so I believe there is a strong chance that they will both score.

[Stavri]

Vozinha, the goalkeeper of a country barely larger than a fishing village off the african coast that still left its mark on world cup history said
'My whole life, i dreamed of playing against Messi and wanted to hug him after the match, but he rejected it...'
a massive disappointment indeed.

https://x.com/arielipillo/status/2073585743901888680

[MorganaX]

Brazil is going to face Norway today and this match will be very exciting and competitive. We can see that Norway team is in very good form recently and they have entered the World Cup for the first time in the round of 16. If Norway team players play strongly against Brazil then Brazil match will be very difficult as both teams have good players. Especially if Haaland fails to prevent his strong attack then Brazil team will create a lot of problems and there will be chances of scoring goals. And if Brazil team performance is very good and they can attack strongly then it is possible to win against Norway because comparatively Norway team defense is not very strong. However most of the gamblers will bet on Brazil to win in this match today even though this match is going to be very exciting, it is very difficult to predict who will win.

Let's see what is going to happen at the end of this match. Honestly, this is going to be a very tough match, and it is not going to be easy for either team because they are both in good form. Their performances seem to be at the same level, so we cannot say that one team is better than the other or that either team is definitely going to be the winner at the end of the day.We have predicted many matches, and if I wanted to bet on this kind of match, I would prefer to go for other options, such as both teams to score. I would never pick either team to win outright. The reason I would prefer to stake on both teams to score is that I know both teams are attacking sides, so I believe there is a strong chance that they will both score.

One thing I can expect from this match is that both team are gonna come out and play attacking football because the two teams aren't known for any defensive style of play and this type of games is really interesting and for this reason I won't miss it for anything. My prediction is Brazil to narrowly scale through by a 3-2 win.

At this stage, the competition is getting more interesting and every game will be fun except for that French game that played early this morning, that game is embarrassing game in football because the opposite team were absolutely shameless with evil tactics.

[eightdots]

Brazil is going to face Norway today and this match will be very exciting and competitive. We can see that Norway team is in very good form recently and they have entered the World Cup for the first time in the round of 16. If Norway team players play strongly against Brazil then Brazil match will be very difficult as both teams have good players. Especially if Haaland fails to prevent his strong attack then Brazil team will create a lot of problems and there will be chances of scoring goals. And if Brazil team performance is very good and they can attack strongly then it is possible to win against Norway because comparatively Norway team defense is not very strong. However most of the gamblers will bet on Brazil to win in this match today even though this match is going to be very exciting, it is very difficult to predict who will win.

Let's see what is going to happen at the end of this match. Honestly, this is going to be a very tough match, and it is not going to be easy for either team because they are both in good form. Their performances seem to be at the same level, so we cannot say that one team is better than the other or that either team is definitely going to be the winner at the end of the day.We have predicted many matches, and if I wanted to bet on this kind of match, I would prefer to go for other options, such as both teams to score. I would never pick either team to win outright. The reason I would prefer to stake on both teams to score is that I know both teams are attacking sides, so I believe there is a strong chance that they will both score.

Both teams have a very high goal-scoring potential, so they will avoid making mistakes and their priority will be defense. Defense will be the most important factor determining the outcome of this match. They will defend as a team and try to counter-attack, and both teams have top-level players to execute these counter-attacks.

We might also see some good tactical aspects in this match because both teams have studied each other very well. In matches like this, even a small tactical change can lead to victory.

[Woodie]

After the game, Mbappe had this to say, sincerely, his not wrong, those guys only came to injure French team that's what I saw. They didn't come to play football, not for a single minute, the way they were kicking, battering and bruising the French players was something else, funny enough in all of that, the referee decided to keep his card to himself and I wondering if they actually wanted the French players to get injured.

It was a very dirty game indeed, and it's good that the French players played dirty too despite picking more yellow cards than the engineers of thi type of game **Paraguayan team**

All in all, this shows that the team is able to adapt to whatever is thrown at them, and is a champions attribute!

As of the cards, sometimes cards spoil the game and teams feel handicapped when this happens.. and besides with the hydration breaks going on, I think this allows players to reset and cool down in case tempers are raise, so for now let's go with the flow.

[Rabata]

Your confidence in Brazil victory is among many fans. As I also believe that Brazil will win 2-1 against Norway. Although I personally predict this.

There is no doubt that today's match will be competitive. Norway and Brazil have almost equally strong players. As a result, today's match will not be easy for either team. If Brazil wants to stop Norway, then their defense will have to be hard for the whole time. Because the opponent has Erling Haaland as a forward. But they are not only dependent on Erling Haaland. If the Brazilian defense cannot guard Antonio Nusa properly. Then Brazil will be in big danger. So I think that no mistake can be made in defense for Brazil to win today's match. Alisson Becker will really be under a lot of pressure today.

[longyenthanh]

For anyone who missed it, here is the full story on the Balogun drama against Bosnia. He jumped for a high ball and completely accidentally stepped on a defender’s ankle as he landed. VAR checked it, and the ref gave him a straight red card. It looked incredibly harsh because there was clearly zero intent. But here is the crazy plot twist: FIFA just used a rare disciplinary loophole to suspend his automatic one-match ban and put him on probation. The red card still stands on his record, but Balogun has been legally cleared to play in the massive Round of 16 match USA against Belgium.

[Royal Cap]

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.

However I think it will not be easy for Brazil. Although Brazil is strong on paper, Norway's current performance is no less strong. Although Brazil's performance in the current tournament has been good, I noticed their weakness in the counter attack in the last match against Japan. If Norway's Erling Haaland can use that opportunity today, Brazil's defense will be in big danger. However the speed of Vinicius Junior who scored 4 goals in Brazil's attack, is also a big threat to Norway's defense. As such my prediction for today is Brazil 2- Norway 1

[ILuckyGuyI]

For anyone who missed it, here is the full story on the Balogun drama against Bosnia. He jumped for a high ball and completely accidentally stepped on a defender’s ankle as he landed. VAR checked it, and the ref gave him a straight red card. It looked incredibly harsh because there was clearly zero intent. But here is the crazy plot twist: FIFA just used a rare disciplinary loophole to suspend his automatic one-match ban and put him on probation. The red card still stands on his record, but Balogun has been legally cleared to play in the massive Round of 16 match USA against Belgium.

USA is just favored. That's what's happening right now. Balogun had to get that red card punishment at least for 1 game which is the one vs Belgium. I wonder what happened behind the scenes...

Trump's thanking FIFA makes things funnier, anyway...    I mean USA have already been playing really decently. They've a really good chance to eliminate Belgium also. Just come on, you don't need this kind of tricks...

[ChocolateBitcoinK]

Most people are expecting Brazil to win, but it is never easy, this match is going to be tougher than expected, Norway is very strong in terms of strength, on the other hand Brazil will not want to give up easily, it is very difficult to say where the match will end. I don't know if Neymar will play today, I expect Neymar to play today, but I think Norway is ahead in terms of player fitness. But I don't know what will happen in the end, but I am sure that there will be a strong fight in the match,

 I am in favor of Norway.   

[Egii Nna]

Paraguay players has done very well in this match against France. While I was watching the match my mind went directly towards the Argentina's and Cape Verde last match, like the pressures were extremely the same, the way Cape Verde was consistent throughout the match, that was what the Paraguay did to France despite the France were putting them on pressures. Well I was impressed with the Paraguay performance and consistency throughout the match  and as well congratulations to the France on this great victory. Let see what the Brazil will play today against Norway, and  Brazil is my favorite to win.

Paraguay tried, but they played a very rough game. It can't even be compared to that of Cape Verde and Argentina, because that game was more amazing than this. This game was just filled with injustice and roughness, but still, France ended up the winner, so it’s still a good one. The game was funny and a bit boring at the same time, because France also played well and still got their victory. However, in their next match, it will be very different, as Morocco will not let it go just like that; they will try their best to defeat France.

[Son Of Blockchain (SOB)]

I think this is one of those games that the winner will be decided after extra time, so I'm going with over 2.5 (BTTS is also a good one).

I don't think it would be a high scoring match. We would be lucky to get over 2.5, but I'm more sure that the goals will not be more than 3. The fact that both teams are attacking teams doesn't mean they will just score on each other easily. At this stage of the tournament, teams need to grind out wins. We've seen how the first two teams that qualified needed to grind out their wins.

This is one of those that has been very difficult for me to pick who would qualify. A part of me says Brazil because they have the better quality, but I have not been really convinced by how they have played in the tournament. When they face stubborn opposition, they have been bailed out by individual brilliance, so what if the individual brilliance doesn't pay off today?
Norway is a pretty good team, and they can grind out wins, too. They also have good goal scorers, so I honestly don't know how this game will go.

It's the world cup and as the competition advances it gets tougher, even teams like Argentina and France that has Messi and Mbappé couldn't score many goals against their opponents like they scored in the early stage of the tournament so I'm not expecting much from the match between Norway and Brazil.
 Norway now have better player so i won't underate them or think Brazil would easily win, they even good attackers so it's possible that they could eliminate Brazil, but Brazilian players are experienced with big competitions like this so they'll withstand the pressure in a better way than Norway.

[Adiljutt156]

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.

The shots of France national football team were more in number and these were 15 in this match and 5 shots were on target and possession percentage of that team was 76 percent in this match And team players play with full unity and at the end they won this match.  The passes of that team were more in number and these were 553 in this match And shots of Paraguay national football team were 5 in this match and 1 shot was on target and possession percentage of that team was 24 percent in this match And passes of that team were less in this match and these were 175 in this match and Mbappé did goal in the second half of the match because no player could do any goal in the first half of the match.

[el kaka22]

Brazil and England facing at quarter finals was the hope, but yeah Norway could change that, in either case, England should be able to beat both of them, so whoever wins this game, will have one more game to play. And if that doesn't work, and England loses to them, then we have Argentina on a very good momentum coming in to finish off at semi finals.

Argentina had a very weird game against Cape Verde, and everyone started to think that they are not that good. But we have seen teams who defend so much end up getting some results, so we should not really consider the big teams facing each other the same way. Paraguay almost won against France by playing dirty and defending with 10 people, so anything looks possible for a single game.

[Adbitco]

I will definitely praise Paraguay's defense in the France-Paraguay match, the way Paraguay defended such a strong attack as France throughout the match was really admirable.
Paraguay might have thought that they would keep the score 0-0 for 120 minutes by just playing defense, and then they would take a chance by going to penalties, but it was impossible. It is very difficult to do that against France, but the way they defended was really surprising, at least against a superpower like France.
I don't know what would have happened if France hadn't gotten this penalty in the 70th minute, but I still believe that France would never have sat with the score 0-0 for so long until it went to the penalty shootout. However, the match was already highly likely to be won by France, and that's what happened. But Paraguay's defense was really good.

Today we are going to watch another great match between Norway and Brazil.

That's not just defending, that's rugby in a football match, if they had just defended,  nobody will be calling them out right now but they attached unsportmanship to it. You can imagine being kicked around as a player instead of the ball that's meant to be kicked. Worse of it all when you try to match that energy by kicking back you get a card meanwhile your opponent who has been doing such doesn't get. I don't have a problem with a team defending especially when you meet a team that's way more superior than you in terms of quality, but you battering and kicking them is a no nonsense for me. The referee approved of it and that made it even worse.

[jaberwock]

It is understandable to want Norway to win, because we have seen Norway do a lot better than expected, plus we have seen Brazil have trouble. But we need to remember this is Brazil we are talking about, they are a wildcard and they can always win, and can always lose.

You never know which game they are going to lose, they usually do end up losing, on world cup stage it has been a while since they lost the title, so they do lose, but you never know when, it could be against a big team, it could be against a weak team, is Norway the one? I do not know and I won't bet on it.