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

[Stavri]

Portugal is certainly not the favorite against Spain, and frankly, I don’t think Portugal can win—that is, advance to the next round. In my opinion, Spain is the team closer to advancing, and I expect Spain to score in the first half against Portugal and knock the wind out of their sails. If Portugal tries to take control of the game, they’ll need to score in the first half. If the first half ends in a tie, I think Spain’s chances increase even more—and if the game goes to extra time, Spain will be the one to advance.

i agree.
i don't have high hopes for Portugal as well. Spain is cruising through their matches, whereas Portugal is grinding out wins...
Portugal doesn't concede easily cause their defense and defensive midfield are solid but they struggle to find the back of the net...

[Shussainshah]

Haaland, Mbappé, and Messi will continue to compete, and with all three contributing goals, it's quite difficult to determine who will ultimately lead the way. But now that Argentina has to face Egypt, Messi has the opportunity to score again and secure his place at number one for the time being.
Argentina has a strong chance, while Portugal vs Spain is a much more interesting match today. The result will determine CR7 fate in his final World Cup.

A 39 year Old Messi competing Prime Mbappe and Haaland it's such a Crazy Thing happening in this worldcup. We all knew Messi Don't need to prove himself to be all time Greatest player. They came here to enjoy it. But we know He is Messi and they Can't Do things normally but I really impress the Haaland Performance Tonight I think if we can the Greatest one player show it will be Haaland they Really Carry The whole Norwegian Team. But on the other Side Mbappe was something we can't discuss this guy are purely made for worldcup and both are competing with Messi it's Crazy but both of the player Play their R16 Match and scored it time for Messi to Score and extended their lead

[len01]

The Portugal vs Spain match is actually a bit easier to predict, making BTTS the best option. But, the USA vs Belgium match is a bit more questionable. Can Belgium pull off a surprise by beating the USA and qualifying?

Do you think picking the USA to qualify is a good choice?

[Soonandwaite]

Haaland, Mbappé, and Messi will continue to compete, and with all three contributing goals, it's quite difficult to determine who will ultimately lead the way. But now that Argentina has to face Egypt, Messi has the opportunity to score again and secure his place at number one for the time being.
Argentina has a strong chance, while Portugal vs Spain is a much more interesting match today. The result will determine CR7 fate in his final World Cup.

A 39 year Old Messi competing Prime Mbappe and Haaland it's such a Crazy Thing happening in this worldcup. We all knew Messi Don't need to prove himself to be all time Greatest player. They came here to enjoy it. But we know He is Messi and they Can't Do things normally but I really impress the Haaland Performance Tonight I think if we can the Greatest one player show it will be Haaland they Really Carry The whole Norwegian Team. But on the other Side Mbappe was something we can't discuss this guy are purely made for worldcup and both are competing with Messi it's Crazy but both of the player Play their R16 Match and scored it time for Messi to Score and extended their lead

in the Waves prediction game, you have to pick the top goalscorer. that’s going to be bloody difficult. all three players are capable of doing it.
any one of them could score nine goals or more. i reckon whoever makes it to at least the semi-finals will win. but who will be the best player of this World Cup?
if Argentina reach the final, it’ll definitely be Messi. but will Argentina beat Egypt in the round of 16? Argentina already had problems against Cape Verde 

[Agbamoni]

The Portugal vs Spain match is actually a bit easier to predict, making BTTS the best option. But, the USA vs Belgium match is a bit more questionable. Can Belgium pull off a surprise by beating the USA and qualifying?

Do you think picking the USA to qualify is a good choice?

Portugal will lose to Spain basically but considering the midfield of Bruno, Jao Neves and Vintinha they should be dominating Spain today. Today may be the end of the World Cup campaign for Christiano Ronaldo. He has not been magnificent and consistent in the World Cup but one thing I love about him is that any chance given to him will be converted.

[asriloni]

There will be no one sided game for Spain vs Portugal. Both Spain and Porugal will have similar match stats in this game. Nevertheless, Portugl is obviously underdog game because of their average performance. However, the gap is thin. So this game more like 45% : 55%.

Portugal was able beating Spain at the nation cup last time. So it's possible they also have chance to repeat the result.

We may see 1x2 + stoppage to end with the draw. So moneyline won't be a good choice, and i think btts is good one to take.

[Wakate]

Haaland, Mbappé, and Messi will continue to compete, and with all three contributing goals, it's quite difficult to determine who will ultimately lead the way. But now that Argentina has to face Egypt, Messi has the opportunity to score again and secure his place at number one for the time being.
Argentina has a strong chance, while Portugal vs Spain is a much more interesting match today. The result will determine CR7 fate in his final World Cup.

Until one of these countries is eliminated, that is when we are going to know that the competition between these great players will reduce on the basis of highest goal scorer. I thought Brazil is going to win with the match against Norway but it was unfortunate to see a different outcome from what we all thought it's going to be the outcome. Portugal would have to play with determination for them to win Spain.

[Tipstar]

A 39 year Old Messi competing Prime Mbappe and Haaland it's such a Crazy Thing happening in this worldcup. We all knew Messi Don't need to prove himself to be all time Greatest player. They came here to enjoy it. But we know He is Messi and they Can't Do things normally but I really impress the Haaland Performance Tonight I think if we can the Greatest one player show it will be Haaland they Really Carry The whole Norwegian Team. But on the other Side Mbappe was something we can't discuss this guy are purely made for worldcup and both are competing with Messi it's Crazy but both of the player Play their R16 Match and scored it time for Messi to Score and extended their lead

in the Waves prediction game, you have to pick the top goalscorer. that’s going to be bloody difficult. all three players are capable of doing it.
any one of them could score nine goals or more. i reckon whoever makes it to at least the semi-finals will win. but who will be the best player of this World Cup?
if Argentina reach the final, it’ll definitely be Messi. but will Argentina beat Egypt in the round of 16? Argentina already had problems against Cape Verde 

The players team which reaches the finals would surely have better chances, if all three play well, it could be either france vs Norway or France vs Argentina in the Finals. Norway would be playing against England and should win over Argentina to reach finals which would be a slim chances. In the game of Argentina vs Egypt, I guess it would be an easy win for Argentina, the tougher competitor would be the one in semis. Mbappe and Messi are more likely to win the golden boot.

[Oluwa-btc]

Football fans around the world, Sepp Blatter, UEFA and also Jürgen Klopp are the couple few I have seen come together to bash the current FIFA President and his decisions to take down the red card shown to the United States Striker Balogun. We all know the rules and how football shouldn't be used for such political purposes but Donald Trump the President of America placed a phone call across and the red card decision completely changed.

FIFA refused interfering for football fans who are to support their nations, couldn't interfere in favour of Iran and not their Somalian official. This is a lot about Corruption and the current FIFA president must be forced to resign.

[BIT-BENDER]

During the English celebrating their win over Mexico Jordan Henderson may have broken or sprained his hand while trying to go over the advertisement electronic board.
As we know Jordan Henderson hasn't been active for England on the football pitch but you can't deny that he is an irreplaceable ad important member of the English team, what ever the coach Tuchel expected him to bring to the team with his experience he has absolutely done that.
Do you think this will be a loss for England mentally or will Jordan Henderson be able to shrug this off and still be active in the dressing room and on the sidelines for England.

[Akbarkoe]

Haaland, Mbappé, and Messi will continue to compete, and with all three contributing goals, it's quite difficult to determine who will ultimately lead the way. But now that Argentina has to face Egypt, Messi has the opportunity to score again and secure his place at number one for the time being.
Argentina has a strong chance, while Portugal vs Spain is a much more interesting match today. The result will determine CR7 fate in his final World Cup.

Between the three players it is clear that whoever can last longer in the World Cup will be more likely to get the top scorer of the current World Cup, but at the moment Argentina has not competed and Messi has the opportunity to take a lot of goals against Egypt in tomorrow's game, while Haaland and Mbappe have reached the quarter-finals with 7 goals it is clear Messi is more likely to get the first position especially if he makes it to the final.
Ronaldo is not in the goalscoring standings is not interesting, although many people compare it, for me hope is now very difficult especially against Spain this is not an easy job, but let's see if Ronaldo is able or not, if he is able to in the quarter-finals it should be much easier because it will only meet between Belgium or America the chance of getting into the semi-finals is much greater chances.

[$weetne$$]

A 39 year Old Messi competing Prime Mbappe and Haaland it's such a Crazy Thing happening in this worldcup. We all knew Messi Don't need to prove himself to be all time Greatest player. They came here to enjoy it. But we know He is Messi and they Can't Do things normally but I really impress the Haaland Performance Tonight I think if we can the Greatest one player show it will be Haaland they Really Carry The whole Norwegian Team. But on the other Side Mbappe was something we can't discuss this guy are purely made for worldcup and both are competing with Messi it's Crazy but both of the player Play their R16 Match and scored it time for Messi to Score and extended their lead

This is why sometimes i just prefer to enjoy football as it comes than trying to engage in too many comparisons which at the end of the day is not just complete enough in its whole sense, see the age difference and gap, and one thing we still know is that there will be factors that each players will be suffering individually that cannot equate that of the other, for me i rather want to see it that individually in their own different ways, these players are doing just fine and so i rather enjoy their performance and give them their accolades than compare them.

[pawel7777]

Both Norway and England gave great shows.
For Norway, Erling Haaland delivered again and added two goals to his World Cup record, and, together with Mbappe and Messi is leading the top scorers list with 7 goals. But I think an equal hero is Norway's goalkeeper Orjan Nyland, who saved a penalty that would have given Brazil a lead and saved his team on multiple other occasions.

England's game was even more dramatic but they made it through. I believe that was only the 3rd time in Mexico's history that they lost a competitive game at the Azteca Stadium.

It's a bit of a shame that both teams will face each other in the quarter-final and that only one of them will advance further.

[juttsab@]

In the Round of 16, France managed to defeat Paraguay, albeit with some difficulty. To be honest, I didn’t expect France to struggle this much, but it must be said that Paraguay put up a good fight against France, which has an exceptional squad despite Paraguay’s own quality. France, which controlled possession and played a dominant game, scored the lone goal that secured the victory in the 70th minute on a penalty kick by Mbappé. Paraguay deserves congratulations.

France passed through Paraguay in the RO16. They just managed to score 1 goal on a penalty in the 70th minute by Mbappe. France dominated with 76% possession but they just didn't pass through Paraguay defense and then their keeper gloves. In the 70th minute a challenge made on Doue in a penalty area which led to a penalty and only goal of the match. France was frustrated and only 2 big chances were created with 76% possession and 15 shots. Orlando Gill did an amazing job with his gloves on nets. And he was named as player of the match . France will face Morocco in the Quarter finals of WC.

[EarnOnVictor]

Portugal is certainly not the favorite against Spain, and frankly, I don’t think Portugal can win—that is, advance to the next round. In my opinion, Spain is the team closer to advancing, and I expect Spain to score in the first half against Portugal and knock the wind out of their sails. If Portugal tries to take control of the game, they’ll need to score in the first half. If the first half ends in a tie, I think Spain’s chances increase even more—and if the game goes to extra time, Spain will be the one to advance.

i agree.
i don't have high hopes for Portugal as well. Spain is cruising through their matches, whereas Portugal is grinding out wins...
Portugal doesn't concede easily cause their defense and defensive midfield are solid but they struggle to find the back of the net...

As much as I don't have high hopes in Portugal, and the feelings that Spain seems better, Spain can disappoint. We should not forget easily their very first game against Cape Verde. Many would say that it's at the group stage, notwithstanding, there could be a repeat if the defense of Portugal is prioritised. Portugal has show low strength, TBH, and I would like to give the straight winning to Spain, but this will not be easy because, Portugal merely lacks more of firepower, and not seasoned players and good experience on the field.

[Ale88]

Well, it looks like that after all I wasn't wrong. I always said that this Brazil never impressed me, they never show anything special, there were no ideas, no tactics, just a bunch of decent players who thought they could win just because their name was Brazil.

At the same time we had another confirmation that Norway are a great team. Many people mocked Italy when they lost against Norway, being Italian I always admitted that Norway were clearly superior to us, but many users here look just at the name, they don't actually watch the games...

Why are you feel surprised with it? The fact that historical still matter more for majority of football fans. Italian has been regressing so hard, but since your country has ever wc 4 times. Football fans will always rate your country better than the country like Norway which was underdog.

It's the same like when we saw many people in here less respect to Norway, and put more hype to Brazil because they also won world cup 5 times.

I'm surprised because 80% of the posts I read here look like they are written by users who opened Wikipedia, checked a few numbers, and began posting like they are experts. People expecting Brazil to make till the end just because of the name; Cristiano Ronaldo to score a ton of goals because (again) of the name; not considering teams like Norway because they didn't quality for 28 years; Germany being a great team because they are Germany... And I could keep going. The quality level of many posts is insanely low.
If an Italian tells you that Norway are better than us after losing twice against them, well, maybe there is a reason.

[Sandra_hakeem]

During the English celebrating their win over Mexico Jordan Henderson may have broken or sprained his hand while trying to go over the advertisement electronic board.
As we know Jordan Henderson hasn't been active for England on the football pitch but you can't deny that he is an irreplaceable ad important member of the English team, what ever the coach Tuchel expected him to bring to the team with his experience he has absolutely done that.
Do you think this will be a loss for England mentally or will Jordan Henderson be able to shrug this off and still be active in the dressing room and on the sidelines for England.

The Mexican really tried to score, regardless of conceding 3 outstanding goals against England. Confidence matters a lot on the pitch, and one way to take that away from your opponent is to score promising goals--- goals that make their defenders look useless. The flying header by Bellingham was stunning, and rounded that up with a brace. Raúl Jiménez was denied another flying header by the keeper, and that made me realize how good he was in his prime with headers.
For the Jordan Henderson's case, his hand injury is a minor issue so that's not a problem IMO.

[Danica22]

i agree.
i don't have high hopes for Portugal as well. Spain is cruising through their matches, whereas Portugal is grinding out wins...
Portugal doesn't concede easily cause their defense and defensive midfield are solid but they struggle to find the back of the net...

Portugal's squad is not weak compared to Spain's squad. In fact, portugal's squad has more experienced players. Portugal's biggest  weakness is the lack of chemistry between the players. As a result, despite  having a very strong  squad, they are not able to perform as well as expected. On the other hand, Spain's squad has a lot of talented and young players. The bonding between the players is very  strong. That's why they have been able to perform quite well in almost  every match. I will consider spain as the favorite in this match  as well.

[Frankolala]

Haaland used his only two best chances properly which was why they were able to defeat Brazil. Brazil played better and brought in various superstars but they didn't know how to get a goal from the Norwegians defense because they didn't allow any loop holes in which the Brazilians can easily penetrate from. Another big team is out from the competition.

Brazil under Ancelotti lost the kind of strength they had two decades ago, Yesterday's game was all in their favor, but Guimaraes' penalty miss changed the narratives, for the first time in 40 years Brazil have not recorded missing a penalty shoot in an ongoing match, Ancelotti also made the wrong choice, why not allow Vini take the shoot. Neymar whom he left on the bench would have as well started the game, the boys needed a talent like that of Neymar in yesterday's game, Vinicious on the other hand, whom he allowed to lead the pack was unable to create opportunities, he spent the whole second half trying to dribble his way from the left flank to the goal post. The whole point of Brazil losing this early in this tournament stems from Ancelloti's indecisive play.

I don't think that it's the coach that decides who take penalties in the club because I could remember when Lookmon lost that penalty, Gasperini was angry at him for playing the penalty. Vini out of respect gave Bruno Guirmaraes to take the penalty but he wasted the golden chance of putting Brazil is a more comfortable state to play the game with ease and control it. That penalty brought setback to them.

[Fiatless]

Do you think this will be a loss for England mentally or will Jordan Henderson be able to shrug this off and still be active in the dressing room and on the sidelines for England.

We might assume that such players who have been on the bench are not important until there is an emergency. Jordan Henderson would become important when Players are injured or suspended. At that point, the coach will be seeking for availability Players to replace them. The injury is a big loss for Thomas Tuchel's side because he needs everyone in the squad. He selected the midfield veteran because he saw some good qualities.

Most English players are experienced professionals who are used to injuries. Although it's a loss, but they would put themselves in order and focus on future games.