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

[Joeboy]

He's 41 years old and still playing at the highest level. That alone should be a source of pride for him. For many players, he's an idol and has achieved successes that will never be repeated in football history. Portugal is very lucky to have him. He will retire as one of the two best players in world football. Perhaps it's time for him to retire now. Hopefully, he'll soon surpass his goal of reaching 1000 goals.

Yes, exactly, what you write is really true. He should concentrate on beating this record, reaching or even exceeding 1000 goals and then creating a record to remain immortal forever even if it is beaten. However, he will be remembered as one of the best in the world of all time, but now he should leave the national team.

He is having probably around 976 goals or so, so I strongly believe that he will reach and maybe even surpass that 1000 goal record and achieve what no player has ever achieved in their football career.. He has no world cup for his country, but he will forever still be an icon to be remembered in football..And so when I see all this hater who keep saying things about him that they shouldn't, what I keep telling my self is that it is just a matter of time...Soonest he will retire and even those hater wouldn't have the opportunity of watching and entertaining themselves with his greatness and achievements.

[Olatundespo]

Both of these teams, France and Morocco have fairly aggressive playing styles. However, in terms of squad depth, we can see that the quality of the French players is indeed superior. It’s just that in this World Cup, we’ve truly witnessed some match results that have surprised us even more than the usual upsets seen in regular leagues. The players are more motivated. As a result, some players who weren’t even well-known before the World Cup have now become popular thanks to the strength they’ve demonstrated. And one team that has proven its players possess exceptionally high quality is Morocco. Personally, I acknowledge that France deserves to be the favorite. However, I’m hoping Morocco wins this time. I really enjoy Morocco’s style of play, and I think many others here feel the same way about Morocco.

France is widely considered one of the two finalists. Even if they struggle against Morocco, I think they know how to win. France also struggled against Paraguay. It's very difficult for them to break down teams with good defenses. However, Morocco has a good offense as well as a good defense. France needs to improve their defense as well. In short, I think both teams will provide us with an enjoyable match.

Well, France really is one of the best of the best. Even before the World Cup started, all of us here were already talking a lot about how strong France is, and we even considered them one of the contenders to win the title in this World Cup.

And yeah, the Morocco vs. France match is definitely going to be a real treat to watch, aside from betting on it. With both teams playing such aggressive styles, this match is guaranteed to be anything but boring. Whichever team wins, I’ll have the utmost respect for them. Because in the quarterfinals, I really see all the teams on the same level, regardless of squad depth or anything like that.

Almost all the friends I chat with agree that France is one of the main contenders for the World Cup trophy this year. The team has already proven why they are the best in their performance. They have won every match and Mbappe is scoring goals with great power.
As for the Moroccan team, they are also performing well and can challenge the strong French team for victory because they have some talented players. I am very excited to watch the game between the two teams because there is no doubt that the match will be very enjoyable. I am a fan of Mbappe and I am eagerly waiting to see his performance.

[martinom]

The round of 16 is over today and we are moving up to the Quarterfinals stage. Where France will play against Morocco, Norway vs England, Spain and Belgium and Argentina vs Switzerland. All these  matches are not going to be funny.

In my opinion, in addition to having won against Colombia, Switzerland will also be able to punish Argentina as everyone wants, perhaps for some this will be the punishment for this team, it could be this round, but i don't think that Switzerland can actually beat Argentina, but everyone believes in it.

[$crypto$]

I'm on the opposite side here and have the ticket for England. Haaland, the golden boy of Manchester City, didn't distinguish himself at the end of the Premier League because most domestic players had figured out his tendencies and adapted accordingly. In the match against England, Haaland will face them again, so I think they will manage to neutralize his attacks.

Haaland in the World Cup this time back to his best performance by collecting 7 goals, as well as Harry Kane so for me the conclusion is the possibility of these two players will score goals for his own country.

I also support England rather than Norway, in terms of the quality of the players the England squad will be more dominant, I prefer Bellingham who is always in all positions, sometimes his timing is good enough to score goals.

[HustleZ]

In my opinion, in addition to having won against Colombia, Switzerland will also be able to punish Argentina as everyone wants, perhaps for some this will be the punishment for this team, it could be this round, but i don't think that Switzerland can actually beat Argentina, but everyone believes in it.

By everyone you mean Ronaldo fans because every Ronaldo fan will have their sympathy with Any team that is against messi and will find things and target those which are not in favor of messi and are in favour of opposing team, they would be delusional and think that switzerland can beat Argentina though they could but they don’t have a good chance otherwise. Switzerland has been performing really well but I don’t think they can match Argentina, they can give Argentina a hard time but winning against Argentina would be much harder considering their performance and previous game turnover/comeback.

[HajiBagi]

I'm yet to get over the loss of Portugal to Spain. Portugal didn't play to Ronaldo's strength, and that's why they lost. Argentina knows the best way of winning is playing to Messi's strengths, France knows it's to Mbappe, Norway is to Haaland, and England knows it's to Harry Kane.

Most of us have forgotten about the good Ol days when Ronaldo had better ball-hungry players around him. I remember Deco, Ferreira, Simao, Nuno Gomes, Carvalho, Couto, Quaresma, Nani, Ricardo, Rui Costa, Diego Jota (RIP), and many others.

All of these guys made sure they played to Ronaldo's strengths. Since they left, Ronaldo has been left to saddle the responsibility alone.

Those Portugal players think they are winning the World Cup because of Ronaldo and they will do what they like without thinking about their achievements, non of them have achieved a little bit of what Ronaldo has achieved in football, i will not blame them because they don’t deserve to be called professional players because if they do they will use Argentina players as example and play well in the World Cup, the World Cup has also expose Bruno, Vitinha and Neves that people call the best midfielders in the world.

Only Vintiha and Neves will still have a good chance to play the next World Cup because Bruno is 31 years old and he still be 34 or 35 years old for next World Cup and no one think he can still do what he use to do, to be honest I am very disappointed in Bruno because i expect much from him in this World Cup and he did not play well, Bruno can never be one of the best midfielders in the world as people called him.

[Barcode_]

France has been the dominating team that bulldozed every other teams that stand in their way for this world cup and France truly seems unstoppable at the moment with Kylian Mbappe leading the front line, but I think Morocco might be the team which have the solution to deal with France as Achraf Hakimi is one of the best right back defender in the world right now and with him leading the defense of Morocco, I guess we might be able to see the first draw happening for France in regular time when both of these teams play against each other in the round of 8.

[banana33]

It makes me wonder if this outrage will change something in the future for coming World cups or not.

FIFA is a truly cursed, truly shameful body, they are absolutely the opposite of everything that a sporting body must do and must be, i believe that all this is conscious, non-random choices to favor Argentina and make it go as far as possible, i honestly don't like this.

[7788bitcoin]

Those Portugal players think they are winning the World Cup because of Ronaldo and they will do what they like without thinking about their achievements, non of them have achieved a little bit of what Ronaldo has achieved in football, i will not blame them because they don’t deserve to be called professional players because if they do they will use Argentina players as example and play well in the World Cup, the World Cup has also expose Bruno, Vitinha and Neves that people call the best midfielders in the world.

You are completely right about the midfield exposure of Portugal. On paper, having Bruno, Vitinha, and Neves sounds world-class. In reality, they played sideways and a more defensive game, lacked urgency, and couldn't create a clear opening for Cristiano Ronaldo and that is exact the reason they lost.
With the France vs. Morocco match approaching, the advantage is clearly with France's goal-scoring efficiency. However, I'm expecting a much tougher matchup due to Morocco's defensive setup. With Neil El Aynaoui and Ayyoub Bouaddi anchoring the midfield, I won't be surprised if they completely shadow Michael Olise.

[Obari]

France has been the dominating team that bulldozed every other teams that stand in their way for this world cup and France truly seems unstoppable at the moment with Kylian Mbappe leading the front line, but I think Morocco might be the team which have the solution to deal with France as Achraf Hakimi is one of the best right back defender in the world right now and with him leading the defense of Morocco, I guess we might be able to see the first draw happening for France in regular time when both of these teams play against each other in the round of 8.

By far, France happen to be on the top list for favorite to win the World Cup, they've scrubbing out every hurdles on their way and nobody will be stopping France now because Didier Deschamps have taken it upon himself to make the necessary strategies and he has the players and enough formidable squad depth. I've never seen any team that have a squad depth like France, and I believe Didier Deschamps is doing a good job as manager, bringing together these big names together to orchestrate a good chemistry.

Mbappe is France main player, nobody can take that away from him because he is HIM. The undisputed player for France. Kylian Mbappe reputation precedes him already and he's on the path to GREATNESS.

[Sim_card]

Almost all the friends I chat with agree that France is one of the main contenders for the World Cup trophy this year. The team has already proven why they are the best in their performance. They have won every match and Mbappe is scoring goals with great power.
As for the Moroccan team, they are also performing well and can challenge the strong French team for victory because they have some talented players. I am very excited to watch the game between the two teams because there is no doubt that the match will be very enjoyable. I am a fan of Mbappe and I am eagerly waiting to see his performance.

Honestly, it's going to be an interesting match to watch because bothe teams will give us their best since one of them must go home. Morocco has the experience and that would make it difficult for the French men to take advantage of. I still believe that France will be the winner.

[johnsaributua]

...

By far, France happen to be on the top list for favorite to win the World Cup, they've scrubbing out every hurdles on their way and nobody will be stopping France now because Didier Deschamps have taken it upon himself to make the necessary strategies and he has the players and enough formidable squad depth. I've never seen any team that have a squad depth like France, and I believe Didier Deschamps is doing a good job as manager, bringing together these big names together to orchestrate a good chemistry. 

This is because of their consistency in playing the match so it is natural that France is included in one of the teams that will succeed in winning the world cup title this time because previously they were also the team that reached the final party in the world cup held in Qatar so this year they are the strongest candidates to win the title especially the composition of the players they currently have all lines are quite good especially they are still handled by the coach who gave them the world cup in 2018 meaning their cohesiveness is still very good starting from 2018 because if in this world cup they can reach the final party I think this is quite an extraordinary thing that they did because they have been in the world cup three times they have always reached the final party so the right thing is that they are currently one of the favorite teams to win the world cup this time and in the match tonight they will fight as hard as possible because the opponent they face is not an ordinary team, namely Morocco which is currently in the same performance as France.

[Zlantann]

France has been the dominating team that bulldozed every other teams that stand in their way for this world cup and France truly seems unstoppable at the moment with Kylian Mbappe leading the front line, but I think Morocco might be the team which have the solution to deal with France as Achraf Hakimi is one of the best right back defender in the world right now and with him leading the defense of Morocco, I guess we might be able to see the first draw happening for France in regular time when both of these teams play against each other in the round of 8.

I am just upset that France is meeting Morocco in the quarterfinals. I wanted both sides to meet in the finals. Both teams have not lost a single game in the competition, but France has better statistics since they have won all their game. The rejection of the French Football Federation's suspension appeal for Michael Olise is good news for their opponents because he would be cautious not to get another yellow card. The Bayern Munich player would have been a torn on the flesh of the  Atlas Lions. France also have good news, considering that Ismael Saibari has not recovered from the hamstring injury he sustained in the Round of 16 victory over Canada.

[mandown]

France and Morocco face off today, and I believe Morocco will advance to the next round. Many view France as the favorite, but the football Morocco is playing is in no way inferior to France's.
It wouldn't be a surprise if Morocco advanced.
Saibari's absence is a significant factor.

For Morocco, El Khannous and Hakimi need to be careful in this match; both players are on the verge of suspension due to card accumulation.
On the French side, Barcola, Olise, and Kone are also at risk of suspension.
An exciting match awaits us.

[Crypto Library]

France and Morocco face off today, and I believe Morocco will advance to the next round. Many view France as the favorite, but the football Morocco is playing is in no way inferior to France's.
It wouldn't be a surprise if Morocco advanced.
Saibari's absence is a significant factor.

For Morocco, El Khannous and Hakimi need to be careful in this match; both players are on the verge of suspension due to card accumulation.
On the French side, Barcola, Olise, and Kone are also at risk of suspension.
An exciting match awaits us.

Of course, France is the favorite team in this match, but even then I think that the Moroccan team should not be taken lightly. Because before that we saw that France struggled a lot and won against Paraguay, even if France had not been awarded a penalty kick in that match, I have doubts about whether they would have won because then the match was more likely to go to penalties and which team wins on penalties depends mostly on luck.
So I think that although France will have a higher chance of winning today, the match will not be less crazy because just as France has a devastating attacking format, Morocco has Hakimi's good defense.

[Sithara007]

Of course, France is the favorite team in this match, but even then I think that the Moroccan team should not be taken lightly. Because before that we saw that France struggled a lot and won against Paraguay, even if France had not been awarded a penalty kick in that match, I have doubts about whether they would have won because then the match was more likely to go to penalties and which team wins on penalties depends mostly on luck.
So I think that although France will have a higher chance of winning today, the match will not be less crazy because just as France has a devastating attacking format, Morocco has Hakimi's good defense.

My heart tells me that both Morocco and Norway will win their QF matches and make it to the semifinals. But brain says the opposite. France is an extremely strong team. I have watched only one or two of their matches in this tournament, but they were brutal in those games. On the other hand, England looked a bit more shaky for me. If Norway can defeat England, it will be like a dream. Remember that they had failed to qualify for the 2022 edition. Before 2026, the last time they had qualified was in 1998. Back then, they were led by Frode Grodås, and managed to enter the round of 16. They managed to defeat Brazil by a margin of 2-1 then, with Tore André Flo and Kjetil Rekdal scoring the goals. This time also they managed to defeat Brazil by the same margin (but in Round of 16).

[Varnquister]

Spain will try to advance past Belgium. Spain is the favorite in this matchup, but I think it’s hard to predict what Belgium will do. It looks like this match is likely to be a tough, high-scoring game. Spain will try to apply pressure from the opening minutes, but Belgium—coming off a 4-1 victory over the U.S.—will enter the match in high spirits and fully focused. Belgium has key players in its attacking lineup, and I think both Belgium and Spain will score in this match—I even think there could be 4 or 5 goals in total.

[giorgione]

The people that were arguing that they will not be able to comeback didn't watch that Belgium Vs Senegal game, infact Argentina scored the first earlier than Belgium did and they were able to equalise 2 goals in the 85th minutes, so technically that of Argentina came even earlier. One thing I have come to understand in football is that, no time is too small for the game to change, I know most of the time it doesn't happen the way it just against these teams that came from behind to win late on the game, for me, it's not over until the referee has blown the final whistle to end the game, that's the only time it's over. Although, I cannot over rule the controversial call that was made against Egypt in this game.

in these matches there is never a team that absolutely dominates all the matches apart from France, there is no other team that manages to win all the matches, in fact they are the favorites for the final victory and i believe that Argentina is not the team that can actually win a possible final.

[knowngunman]

In my opinion, in addition to having won against Colombia, Switzerland will also be able to punish Argentina as everyone wants, perhaps for some this will be the punishment for this team, it could be this round, but i don't think that Switzerland can actually beat Argentina, but everyone believes in it.

Switzerland defeating Argentina would be a shocker in this world cup.

Switzerland is reaching the stage of quarter final for the first time in a long time now. Everything is possible in football but history shows Argentina is the dominant side. Argentina won two times they met in the world cup previously but Switzerland may turn things around this time. I actually don't have much confidence on them to that but 90 minutes will decide on Saturday.

Perhaps, if Switzerland can push Argentina to penalty shootout, they may stand a chance but with Martinez on the goal, that's another push back for them. Switzerland goalkeeper is not that bad too in the penalty shootout. I think we'll enjoy the drama if the game gets into penalty shootout.

[Roseline492]

Yes it was much and VAR didn't cause anything, it was what happened that VAR was always going back to replay and take action, before Mohammed Salah had his goal we saw what Marwan Attia did to Lisandro Martinez before possessing the ball and give to Salah and that was something that wouldn't be neglected by the referee so actually people doesn't want to see it from how it started but they're instead judging it from when Salah scored with the opportunity. VAR had nothing against the losing of Egypt and there is nobody to blame put their players, imagine how uninterested Egypt was to defend the last goal that won them.

Even though they were two goals ahead, they didn't defend. Therefore, I think the main problem is in Egypt's defense. The Egyptian defenders were very unmotivated, especially after the third goal. Perhaps they were tired and didn't care about the game anymore, but the third goal punished them all. However, even if the match had gone to extra time, with this fitness problem, Egypt would have definitely conceded a few more goals in 120 minutes. It was a very tiring match for both teams.

You are right, maybe that was how those defenders was feeling but however considering that it was there act of weakness and unfocused was the reason the two goals they scored was equalised they should have call there motivation back to increase how they were defending since 2:2 wasn't yet a lost to any of the country so at least all luck would tried on the penalty, actually if Egypt had took Argentina to the penalty people would have been a little mercy on them in terms of the mocking than how they're doing to them now. There coach already senses the kind of defenders he had but but instead of replacing the weak ones, his trust on them wouldn't bring him to do it.