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

[Fivestar4everMVP]

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.

Well, you are totally right though, I previously had an opinion and still stand on the same opinion that the fifa president simply found a loophole in their own rule and decided to exploit it, if that loophole was not there in the first place, even the call of the president of the United States would have yielded any positive result to the effect of calling back a player that was already shown a red card.

I personally would see what the fifa president did as a big crime against football if that article 27 was invented on the day the incident happened just to achieve this goal, but if that rule has existed for as long as fifa existed, then the president of fifa simply used a loophole..
Yes, he shouldn't have, I am not mentioning Trump here because every average politician is not only self centered but also corrupt, but the president should have, but he already did, what we should be more concerned about now is making sure they amend the rules to do away with every loopholes that can be exploited like this in the future.

[Olatundespo]

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...

Portugal have gone through a lot of hardships in each of their matches so I think they will be able to put up a strong fight against Spain. Spain has been impressive in almost every match of the World Cup and has not lost a single match. Spain drew with Cabo Verde in the group stage. They performed well in every match and probably will be able to continue that winning streak against Portugal in the upcoming match.

[Unsoldier]

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.

On paper, Spain is stronger, and this is clearly visible from both their play and results, but Portugal is unlikely to just intend to lose. In matches like this, it is always very difficult to say who will emerge as the winner, and choosing the stronger side is very tough. The bookmakers unanimously say that the Spaniards will win, but my opinion is that the Portuguese will definitely come up with something. And still, in my view, the Spaniards will advance, but I wouldn't risk betting on it, because anything can happen at the World Cup. Therefore, the safest option is to bet on both teams to score, and both teams certainly know how to score.

[BitcoinHunt3r]

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?

Yup, for Portugal vs Spain match I think we all agree both teams will fight each other for 90 minutes and yeah Spain is a slight favorite by the Sportsbooks. I predict both teams will score and this match will not be decided by a penalty shootout I mean we will see the winner in 90+ minutes. You know I have placed a Bet Builder on this match total cards over 2.5 cards  + BTTS + over 2.5 goals.

For the match between USA vs Belgium it seems that many people prefer USA and I think I agree, even though so far USA has not faced a strong opponent, they have the advantage of being the home team. Betting on both teams to score is also interesting because both teams have weaknesses in their defense, yeah just checking the match history of both teams in the group stage.


Source: Degen.com

[Out of mind]

Today, one of the most competitive and most interesting matches of this World Cup is being held between Portugal and Spain. Since these two teams are currently in good form and both teams have enough stars, if the Portugal team can play well, they can beat the Spain team. However, the Spain team will not give up so easily, they are strong enough, so they will work hard to defeat the Portugal team. The defense line of the Portugal team is very strong, so if they can defend well, they will be able to prevent goals. The finishing line of the Portugal team is a little weak, due to which they are a little normal, accordingly the finishing line of the Spain team is a lot better. However, we have seen before that Portugal achieved a great victory in the Euro Cup between Spain and Portugal. However, today's match will be much more interesting, maybe some will laugh and some will cry and if they leave the World Cup.

[Joca97]

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?

Yup, for Portugal vs Spain match I think we all agree both teams will fight each other for 90 minutes and yeah Spain is a slight favorite by the Sportsbooks. I predict both teams will score and this match will not be decided by a penalty shootout I mean we will see the winner in 90+ minutes. You know I have placed a Bet Builder on this match total cards over 2.5 cards  + BTTS + over 2.5 goals.

For the match between USA vs Belgium it seems that many people prefer USA and I think I agree, even though so far USA has not faced a strong opponent, they have the advantage of being the home team. Betting on both teams to score is also interesting because both teams have weaknesses in their defense, yeah just checking the match history of both teams in the group stage.


Source: Degen.com

I agree with you i think both teams will score in this match for sure i also think it will be over 2,5 goals in this match so i expect that both teams play really offensively so i think that there will be lots of goals in this match. Over 2,5 cards is also realistic because its only 3 cards and i think that is the minimum per match in every game.

USA is overall currently better then Belgium and is playing much better then Belgium so i think that USA will win this match surely. Belgium dosent even know how they got this far but i think this will be the end for them.

[Dunamisx]

Portugal have gone through a lot of hardships in each of their matches so I think they will be able to put up a strong fight against Spain. Spain has been impressive in almost every match of the World Cup and has not lost a single match. Spain drew with Cabo Verde in the group stage. They performed well in every match and probably will be able to continue that winning streak against Portugal in the upcoming match.

Spain can perform well as against Portugal and they may also disappoint, but if I am to judge between two of them, they both have an equal chances of winning or losing against each other, even though I know that many will still uptting for Portugal to win against Spain because of the advantage of some key notable players they have, I will only gamble this game by giving it over 2.5 as I am going to have higher chances of winning.

[Sandra_hakeem]

Yup, for Portugal vs Spain match I think we all agree both teams will fight each other for 90 minutes and yeah Spain is a slight favorite by the Sportsbooks. I predict both teams will score and this match will not be decided by a penalty shootout I mean we will see the winner in 90+ minutes. You know I have placed a Bet Builder on this match total cards over 2.5 cards  + BTTS + over 2.5 goals.

Having the winner in the end of 90+ minutes is very unlikely. Why should I bother to predict an option like that out of hundred other viable options?
This will be a win for Spain. They're obviously the favourites in the game and, considering that Portugal's last match against Croatia was a struggle, this might be the last dance for Ronaldo.

Last week, he took a lie detector test and, I don't know how that's supposed to work, but he was asked if Portugal would win the world cup 2026, and he said yes. Well, the machine detected a lie and he laughed like he knew it was true. I'm still going to wait and see what the outcome will be.

[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...

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.

tbh everyone has been hyping up France since the start of the tournament but imo Spain's football has been just as good. only difference is that France has those individual match winners who can make something out of nothing...

[Accardo]

Portugal have gone through a lot of hardships in each of their matches so I think they will be able to put up a strong fight against Spain. Spain has been impressive in almost every match of the World Cup and has not lost a single match. Spain drew with Cabo Verde in the group stage. They performed well in every match and probably will be able to continue that winning streak against Portugal in the upcoming match.

Spain is a strong team, they play fast football, and Portugal, a formidable opposition that deserves a collaborative play to win against, unlike what Yamal did in their game against Austria, Spain wouldn't be needing a selfish player on Portugal's right flank, positioning a right winger who would pass ball across to the center of the box immediately it gets to them, will help the Spanish team finish more goals today.

[HustleZ]

tbh everyone has been hyping up France since the start of the tournament but imo Spain's football has been just as good. only difference is that France has those individual match winners who can make something out of nothing...

You answered your own question, france has an edge over spain and is hyped more because it has players that can change the whole game to their side on their own, we have seen mbappe and dembele carry their team and has more that have the ability to do the same, talking about spain then they are more dependent on team play. If the team performs well then the main stars would do so too, but if they fail then no lamine can carry the team on his own.

[SuperBitMan]

Brazil really disappointed me, this recent Brazil players can never lift the World Cup because they are not serious in their country level and international competition like the World Cup, Brazil missed a lot of chances, when the match started I saw Brazil as the favorite team to win but they just disappointed me, vini jr did his best, I remember he gave a very wonderful pass that would have been converted into a goal but the player he passed the ball to missed the chance, so I will never blame vini jr he has done very well for Brazil, the person I will blame is the coach for not having a very good plan and format.
Erling Haaland Is a goal machine, I just can’t believe he scored two goals yesterday to move his country to the next stage in this World Cup.

[pawel7777]

The odds for the last 4 games of the round of 16 (from Winna.com) are as follows:

Portugal x4.20 Vs Spain x1.96; Draw x3.50
USA x2.44 Vs Belgium x2.94; Draw x3.50
Argentina x1.41 Vs Egypt x10.00; Draw x5.20
Switzerland x3.50 Vs Colombia x2.30; Draw x3.00

To no surprise, Argentina are the biggest favourite in their game against Egypt, but Egypt won't go easy.
Portugal Vs Spain is starting first, in only a few hours. Will we see Cristiano Ronaldo in the starting 11? I think we will. He's a captain after all and if Portugal's coach, Roberto Martínez, didn't see him as good enough, he wouldn't have put him in the starting eleven in the prior games.
Spain's start to the tournament was a bit disappointing, a goalless draw against Cabo Verde, but things only improved from there. They are on a 3 straight wins in a regular time and are the only team that haven't yet lost a single goal, so no wonder they are the favourite.

[Arenga pinnata]

Portugal have gone through a lot of hardships in each of their matches so I think they will be able to put up a strong fight against Spain. Spain has been impressive in almost every match of the World Cup and has not lost a single match. Spain drew with Cabo Verde in the group stage. They performed well in every match and probably will be able to continue that winning streak against Portugal in the upcoming match.

Spain also seems to be the bookmakers’ favorite. But whichever team you pick still offers pretty attractive odds. And I understand why Spain is the favorite. But personally, I’m rooting for Portugal to win.

I think this match will be very intense, just like the Mexico vs. England game, which was equally intense. But I think there won’t be many goals scored. The score will probably be just 1-0 or 2-1 at most. Both teams will likely play more cautiously, and their style of play usually isn’t very aggressive. But I hope I’m wrong, because I’m hoping for an aggressive match that creates plenty of exciting scoring opportunities.

[Olatundespo]

Portugal have gone through a lot of hardships in each of their matches so I think they will be able to put up a strong fight against Spain. Spain has been impressive in almost every match of the World Cup and has not lost a single match. Spain drew with Cabo Verde in the group stage. They performed well in every match and probably will be able to continue that winning streak against Portugal in the upcoming match.

Spain is a strong team, they play fast football, and Portugal, a formidable opposition that deserves a collaborative play to win against, unlike what Yamal did in their game against Austria, Spain wouldn't be needing a selfish player on Portugal's right flank, positioning a right winger who would pass ball across to the center of the box immediately it gets to them, will help the Spanish team finish more goals today.

I have no doubt about Lamine Yamal's talent because he is very good at scoring goals in any situation. Overall, the Spanish team plays very strong and fast football. If the team can maintain the consistency they played in the last match against Austria in the upcoming match, it might be easy to win against Portugal.

Anyway, I personally think that the task will not be easy for Spain at all because Portugal has one of its forwards, Cristiano Ronaldo, and as this is the last World Cup of his career, he can be seen as aggressive and will fight all the way to win.

[Swordsoffreedom]

Spain is a strong team, they play fast football, and Portugal, a formidable opposition that deserves a collaborative play to win against, unlike what Yamal did in their game against Austria, Spain wouldn't be needing a selfish player on Portugal's right flank, positioning a right winger who would pass ball across to the center of the box immediately it gets to them, will help the Spanish team finish more goals today.

In the last 5 matches between these two teams, there have been four draws and one win for spain. Portugal has not won a single  one. This Spanish squad is more organized and stronger than in previous  years. So it would not be wrong to consider Spain as the favorite.

Portugal will have Ronaldo, Leao, Bruno and Neto in the attack. All three played very well last season. Vitinha and Neves are also capable of performing well. But theb main problem is the poorb understanding between the players. Ronaldo is in the center of the  attack, but he is also in good form.

On the other hand, the spanish squad is also very strong. Oyarzabal, Yamal , Baena, Olmo, Pedri and Rodri are all  capable of performing well. And the understanding between them is  also excellent. I bet on spain to win today.

[jeremypwr]

So much for this being a discussion thread about Canada/Mexico/United States 
Even with Folarin Balogun back for USA, I think Belgium advances.

[uneng]

Portugal x4.20 Vs Spain x1.96; Draw x3.50
USA x2.44 Vs Belgium x2.94; Draw x3.50
Argentina x1.41 Vs Egypt x10.00; Draw x5.20
Switzerland x3.50 Vs Colombia x2.30; Draw x3.00

I think Spain, USA, Argentina and Colombia win their respective games.

Brazil really disappointed me, this recent Brazil players can never lift the World Cup because they are not serious in their country level and international competition like the World Cup, Brazil missed a lot of chances, when the match started I saw Brazil as the favorite team to win but they just disappointed me, vini jr did his best, I remember he gave a very wonderful pass that would have been converted into a goal but the player he passed the ball to missed the chance, so I will never blame vini jr he has done very well for Brazil, the person I will blame is the coach for not having a very good plan and format.
Erling Haaland Is a goal machine, I just can’t believe he scored two goals yesterday to move his country to the next stage in this World Cup.

Brazil missed a penalty and a goal face to face with the goalkeeper. And in world cup tournament when such obvious chances are missed, the punishment is severe... Norway managed to do what Brazil didn't, which was to neutralize their best player on the field. While Norway didn't let Vini Junior create many opportunities, Brazil allowed Haaland to score twice. It was the third elimination in the history of world cups for Brazil on the round of 16.

[jakdanyel]

Today there is a superb match waiting for us...    Spain are favoured against Portugal by bookmakers which is normal.

However I don't see it that simple. Their match history is quite interesting. None of the sides has a clear superiority to the other.

So I think Portugal shouldn't be underrated here. They also have a really good chance to advance. I hope Ronaldo has a good match tonight.

[virasog]

Portugal have gone through a lot of hardships in each of their matches so I think they will be able to put up a strong fight against Spain. Spain has been impressive in almost every match of the World Cup and has not lost a single match. Spain drew with Cabo Verde in the group stage. They performed well in every match and probably will be able to continue that winning streak against Portugal in the upcoming match.

Today maybe it will the last time for us to see Ronaldo while playing or maybe not, uncertainty at its best. hopes that Ronaldo will do something really massive at the end of his career, it is his last World Cup and maybe today is the last match.
However, in Portugal's previous games, every player has been playing well, especially Ronaldo and midfielder Bruno Fernandes who have also contributed well.