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

[pawel7777]

England was forced to wave goodbye to their dreams of repeating their 1966 success and winning the World Cup for the 2nd time in history, but their adventure with the tournament is not yet over. They will face France in the game for the 3rd place, which will take place this Saturday.
France is the bookies' favourite though, with odds (by Winna.com) being:
To win the 3rd place:
France: x1.54
England: x2.37

Regular time result:
France: x1.99
Draw: x3.55
England: x3.55

France will have an advantage of having one more day available for recovery and preparation, which could be a big factor that should be considered before placing any bets.

[Delaforetnoire]

Am still surprised on today's semi-final result between Argentina and England, from onset it was all about England with all opportunities of winning but at last the game ended in an opposite form. To say i will blame England for the silly mistake made at the die minutes of the game that was already finished.

There is nothing to blame England for here but England played defense, that's their mistake. And from the beginning, Argentina's performance on the field was very good today and they were ahead in terms of ball possession and attack. One of their stupidities is playing defense. If they had not done this and had been ahead in terms of attack then maybe something different would have been seen.

With this unexpected result that surfaced today, I will say spain needs to be careful if not Argentina will become the winner of this year's world cup because from starting it was all by luck they made it this current position.

I also believe that everything depends on luck, but if the players do not play well, can luck always take them forward? Luck was helpful, Argentina's performance on the field was very good, that's why they were able to come back and secure the victory.

[SUPERSAIAN]

Prime Messi is still going strong. He has a different quality at every age it never diminishes. He's still incredibly technical and the man who will win the match is Messi.

Instead of relaxing after scoring, England woke up a sleeping Argentina. It started with Messi's passes, and then the first goal came from a corner kick. While the England defense tried to double-team Messi, they left Fernandez completely open, and Fernandez scored with a superb shot. The second goal was legendary first it hit the post, then Messi's exquisite pass.

[Halifat]

Congratulations to Argentina, i’m really amazed with their fantastic performance tonight. Their determination, fighting spirit and teamwork has really showed up at last. Am wishing you all the best as you guys are preparing for the biggest match coming up, I hope and pray that this final match  be another unforgettable and memorable  victory in  Argentina’s football history.

Yes you are correct that teamwork is what is making things work for Argentina and with the things are going they actually look close to the trophy. Now they have tried but honestly I was not happy seeing them in that position but what can I do again, nothing because it cannot be undo. I was highly disappointed with the England played, they could not be able to defend themselves even when they scored the goal, I was still not having confidence for them to win the match because of how dangerous Argentina is. Now the final will be between Spain and Argentina, it's going to be an interesting match to watch but the annoying part is that I don't like any of the team so in this case I have to manage Spain to win the trophy.

[Dump3er]

England was forced to wave goodbye to their dreams of repeating their 1966 success and winning the World Cup for the 2nd time in history, but their adventure with the tournament is not yet over. They will face France in the game for the 3rd place, which will take place this Saturday.
France is the bookies' favourite though, with odds (by Winna.com) being:
To win the 3rd place:
France: x1.54
England: x2.37

Regular time result:
France: x1.99
Draw: x3.55
England: x3.55

France will have an advantage of having one more day available for recovery and preparation, which could be a big factor that should be considered before placing any bets.

These 3rd place games are hard to focus on for the players I can imagine. It may also depend on the country of course and if you were a surprise semi-finalist, then the 3rd place game still is valuable, but if you go there and you are one of the favorites to win it and then end up playing for 3rd, I think it feels strange up to a certain point. Of course they are all professionals and once the referee blows the whistle to begin the match, focus is back, but it is tough for a coach to find the right words to motivate the team when you know what the whole population of a country was actually hoping for.

The odds are reasonable I think. If France isn't in a state of trance because of their semi-final defeat, I see them as the clear favorite there.

[Glen Hoddle]

Prime Messi is still going strong. He has a different quality at every age it never diminishes. He's still incredibly technical and the man who will win the match is Messi.

Instead of relaxing after scoring, England woke up a sleeping Argentina. It started with Messi's passes, and then the first goal came from a corner kick. While the England defense tried to double-team Messi, they left Fernandez completely open, and Fernandez scored with a superb shot. The second goal was legendary first it hit the post, then Messi's exquisite pass.

Experienced players always perform in a way that makes people feel more comfortable. If Messi was absent in this game, Argentina would have lost, but I say that Argentina won because of Messi. It was England's mistake to double-press Messi or to double-press him because the next player was a free.
Fernandez took advantage of the opportunity and he is good enough and his initiative is what made Argentina reach the final. However, Argentina kept their team comfortable by attacking in the end, which is the most joy and glory.

[shinratensei_]

Prime Messi is still going strong. He has a different quality at every age it never diminishes. He's still incredibly technical and the man who will win the match is Messi.

Instead of relaxing after scoring, England woke up a sleeping Argentina. It started with Messi's passes, and then the first goal came from a corner kick. While the England defense tried to double-team Messi, they left Fernandez completely open, and Fernandez scored with a superb shot. The second goal was legendary first it hit the post, then Messi's exquisite pass.

Messi > Entire squad of England. This is a common thing to see Messi to carry his own club. The problem is that people some people don't believe it, and they keep call the result is suspicious lol. Look at how dominance Messi in carrying his club even until today.
Messi is the real madman bro.

This result is also basically predictable. People used non sense h2h, which was happening a few decades ago to predict. It's really irrelevant to be used in the modern football these days.
So i also say congrats for Argentina.

[Delaforetnoire]

But once again, just like yesterday, the favorite felt down and the underdog won the match. No doubts Argentina plays fiercely until the last second of the match and that their collective spirit is quite strong. You can see Argentinians really love their country, the national team and to play together side by side. They get quite emotional about it in a way you don't see on the other teams.

You have spoken about important things because all the players of the Argentina team give their all for the country. On the other hand, if you look closely, you can see that they fight shoulder to shoulder for the 39- 40-year-old Messi and snatch victory. There is unity among them and according to Lionel Scaloni instructions, each member of the team delivers something very good. If they can play together in harmony, they cannot be suppressed.

[Adbitco]

England conceded the first goal because of Pickford's terrible positioning. Goalkeeping isn't about yelling and screaming at your teammates. He didn't play well.

I would never blame Pickford for this goal, that was a rocket from Enzo Fernandez at that range. Remember his saved them about 3 - 4 times before the goal just within few minutes and him not getting to this shot doesn't mean it was a terrible positioning. That's an outside 18 shot and by contrast should have been blocked, in my opinion, I think you should be blaming those in front of him because they should be the ones to stop that shot. Bellingham threw his body but couldn't get to it because of how swift it was. Personally, I won't blame the goalkeeper.

[MuffinMaster]

Prime Messi is still going strong. He has a different quality at every age it never diminishes. He's still incredibly technical and the man who will win the match is Messi.

Instead of relaxing after scoring, England woke up a sleeping Argentina. It started with Messi's passes, and then the first goal came from a corner kick. While the England defense tried to double-team Messi, they left Fernandez completely open, and Fernandez scored with a superb shot. The second goal was legendary first it hit the post, then Messi's exquisite pass.

Experienced players always perform in a way that makes people feel more comfortable. If Messi was absent in this game, Argentina would have lost, but I say that Argentina won because of Messi. It was England's mistake to double-press Messi or to double-press him because the next player was a free.
Fernandez took advantage of the opportunity and he is good enough and his initiative is what made Argentina reach the final. However, Argentina kept their team comfortable by attacking in the end, which is the most joy and glory.

When you play against a legend like Messi, you are basically forced to pick your poison. England paid the ultimate price for focusing too much on one man. You just cannot leave world-class players like Fernandez completely unmarked at this level.

Argentina simply showed that championship mentality by keeping their composure and pushing hard until the final whistle. It is going to be an absolute thriller of a final!

[alani123]

I ain't gonna lie I am starting to think that Argentina might be taking the piss with other teams.
Like for real how can they always win last minute?

Even assuming 0 ill intent from fixing matches or anything like that I think there's a real chance they play this way just to play a fool of other teams make them think they can win and then one shot them at the very end.

Could it be?

[Popkon6]

But once again, just like yesterday, the favorite felt down and the underdog won the match. No doubts Argentina plays fiercely until the last second of the match and that their collective spirit is quite strong. You can see Argentinians really love their country, the national team and to play together side by side. They get quite emotional about it in a way you don't see on the other teams.

You have spoken about important things because all the players of the Argentina team give their all for the country. On the other hand, if you look closely, you can see that they fight shoulder to shoulder for the 39- 40-year-old Messi and snatch victory. There is unity among them and according to Lionel Scaloni instructions, each member of the team delivers something very good. If they can play together in harmony, they cannot be suppressed.

Although this whole logic is valid, Lionel Messi's team players not only try hard to make him the Golden Boot, they have been playing like this since the beginning. Among them is this, I saw that when Messi scored a hat-trick the last time, the whole team was desperate to score a goal for him and in the end it was successful.
It is really a joy when the whole team is able to score a goal effectively by one person, although Lionel Messi could not score in this match but in the end he scored a goal and showed how to succeed in this moment of danger and standing on the top of the mountain at the last moment. His pass was so perfect that he was able to score a goal directly towards the goalpost easily.

[GiftedMAN]

England conceded the first goal because of Pickford's terrible positioning. Goalkeeping isn't about yelling and screaming at your teammates. He didn't play well.

No mate you got it all wrong. Pickford's positioning has nothing to do with that rocket shot that was fired close range outside the box you should put the blame on the defenders for allowing Enzo to have that space to be able to control that ball before landing it to the bask of the net. Pickford went for the corner he wasn't expecting the ball to stop in that angle and before he could position very well the ball was already at the back of the net. Thomas Tuchel should be blamed for England lost maybe tou should go listen to Harry Kane's speech after the game.

[red4slash]

England seem to want to hold on to this result until the end because seeing the substitutions they made they replaced several attacking players with defensive players and now the formation changes to 5 defenders especially after Gordon was replaced by Konsa.

They did but that was their biggest mistake that led to their defeat tonight.. ontop of it , they sub Gordon for Konsa  too early, I was expecting atleast 80 mins before considering any changes and it was because of switching to a defensive game.

Once you give Argentina the chance to hold on to the ball for long , it’s not going to end well .
There was nothing like counter attacks at all after they switched and I’m so sure that was what they were trying to capitalize on as their strategy, while defending..

Argentina to the finals.

Tuchel wanted to secure the match quickly but that was exactly the mistake he made. Though seeing the game in the second half before the break their dehydration was very good but after 1 goal and quick substitutions made to deepen the defensive line instead it became a boomerang for England.

A bit unfortunate but the final result is a choice they have taken in normal time when if they had stayed with the same scheme as they played at the beginning of the second half maybe they could have stayed or at least stayed until extra time in this match.
Argentina have always had very good momentum in crucial time and extra time but England did not notice this well which knocked them out in the World Cup and only had to settle for 3rd place against France.

[Delaforetnoire]

It is really a joy when the whole team is able to score a goal effectively by one person, although Lionel Messi could not score in this match but in the end he scored a goal and showed how to succeed in this moment of danger and standing on the top of the mountain at the last moment. His pass was so perfect that he was able to score a goal directly towards the goalpost easily.

Yes, Messi is the only experienced player, he knows how to save the team from danger in the final stages. The way every member of the Argentina team respects Messi and the importance they give him on the field is worth watching. Messi is a blessing for the Argentina team, everyone believes that, so they all come together and give their maximum effort.

[Solokan]

England was very unfortunate to have to swallow the bitter pill of being defeated by Argentina with a score of 2-1. England actually scored first through Gordon, but unfortunately, England was not alert, which ultimately allowed England to concede to Argentina. Argentina was finally able to win. Although they conceded first, Argentina's technique and spirit did not fade, which ultimately produced a good result. Fernandez and Martinez became heroes for Argentina because they were the ones who scored against england Now argentina has qualified for the final, and this certainly makes argentina supporters happy

Actually, in this match, I bet on England to win because I think England has a strong strength. When Gordon scored, I was very happy, but unfortunately, Argentina was able to reply to England's goal and ultimately beat England. In the end, I lost my bet on this match. Did you also lose your bet on this match? I want to congratulate Argentina on qualifying for the final

Source: https://www.cnnindonesia.com/olahraga/20260716034029-142-1381220/hasil-piala-dunia-2026-argentina-comeback-dramatis-hajar-inggris-2-1/amp

[Slow death]

Hear me out now!…..with everything i just saw that went on in that arg vs eng match, i can promise you that FIFA definitely bribed England to lose to Argentina so that they can set up the ultimate farewell story for Messi.

You see the ref?, he’s on payroll. Notice how even the grass became extra slippery for harry kane and didn’t allow him to play anything tangible, it was all a set up.


Source: Trust Me Bro 😎


As it is right now, i already see Messi with a second World Cup no doubt; I hate to say it but that’s just how it’s gonna turn out. There’s no way in hell that Spain beats them in the final; I’ll put my kidney as a wager.

What you're saying is complete nonsense. This thing about Ronaldo fans creating conspiracy theories is becoming very dangerous. You may not like Messi or Argentina, but you can't deny the obvious: they are winning each game on their own merit. I didn't see any referee favoring Argentina at any point. The games were fair, and Argentina won all the games because they were better. So stop thinking about conspiracy theories. The final will also be another fair game. The stronger team will win.

[Ale88]

I'm quite surprised by the final result. I was expecting England to make. I'm still not convinced by this Argentina but I must admit they have a huge heart and they never give up. Many times they complicated their own life but somehow they always came back. Second World Cup final in a row, just like France 2018 and 2022, very impressive.

[Sithara007]

We already saw the first semi-final, and one of his predicted teams got kicked out of this World Cup. What if Argentina get kicked out of the World Cup today? This is one of the reasons we should not be overconfident in any team. I don't know which team is going to win today, but seeing Spain win against France, I feel like England will win today, which may change the entire prediction and the betting market. I am not sure what Scaloni is planning, but they will try their best to be the winner today. We are just 2 and half hour away from the next match. Let's see if Messi can do something today.

LOL.. in the end, it turned out to be an easy win for Argentina. The first semi-final was quite tough, as it involved two of the top-teams. England, at least in this tournament was not performing at the same level. Still they were leading 1-0 until the 85th minute. Enzo Fernández made it 1-1 in the 85th minute and then Lautaro Martínez scored again in the 92nd minute to make sure that Argentina enters the final. Although England scored first, it was Argentina who dominated the match with 64% possession. And this pattern we saw in this tournament quite a few times. Teams with better possession ended up winning matches, even after trailing initially.

[Barcode_]

England are a great team, but they are just not great enough to win the World Cup yet with their style of playing. I wonder why does England always like to engage coaches who prefer to switch into defensive mode once England got a single goal lead against their opponents. England did also lost against Croatia at the Semi Finals in the 2018 World Cup when they had a single goal lead and Croatia did managed to turn the game exactly in the same way as Argentina did today. I believe it is time for England to engage coaches who prefers to continue launching offensive attacks even when England are leading the game instead of just sitting behind while hoping their opponents doesn't score any goals until the final whistle is blown.