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

[Taricoins]

I was supporting England to make their dream come true finally but they failed... But with a really horrible strategy! Why would they get too defensive just because they got 1-0 ahead?

They aren't even the best defense team in the tournament. Tuchel is responsible for this comeback. And I should my admiration for Messi again. Now it's Messi against Yamal. I'm going for Spain as I don't think they would make the same mistake as England.

I really don't think that tactic move was a wrong one, that lead for England was what they [Tuchel] wanted as they were confident in there defensive ability and still if Tuchel had subbed in his attacking players without strengthening there and they still lost, alot of people will still criticized him. There is no win win condition for Tuchel unless he won the match.

The problem with that much was that Argentina had Messi

[karabiber]

After England scored, Argentina played such a dominant game that it was perhaps one of the most overwhelming performances we’ve seen in the World Cup. The Argentine players effectively trapped England in their own half and created countless scoring opportunities. Pickford was a giant in goal, but he couldn’t prevent his team’s defeat.

In the final, we’ll witness a match against Spain that will be much tougher than this one. Both teams are excellent at pressing high up the field and can be physical in one-on one situations. I think Spain has been the best team in the tournament from the very beginning because they have the best playing philosophy. Argentina, on the other hand, with Messi and his warriors, is a team that shouldn’t be underestimated at all even if they can’t quite match Spain’s technical play.

[criptoevangelista]

I was supporting England to make their dream come true finally but they failed... But with a really horrible strategy! Why would they get too defensive just because they got 1-0 ahead?

They aren't even the best defense team in the tournament. Tuchel is responsible for this comeback. And I should my admiration for Messi again. Now it's Messi against Yamal. I'm going for Spain as I don't think they would make the same mistake as England.

I really don't think that tactic move was a wrong one, that lead for England was what they [Tuchel] wanted as they were confident in there defensive ability and still if Tuchel had subbed in his attacking players without strengthening there and they still lost, alot of people will still criticized him. There is no win win condition for Tuchel unless he won the match.

The problem with that much was that Argentina had Messi

A team with Lionel Messi makes all the difference, he terrifies defenders, and in any flash of brilliance, he can completely turn a match around. He is truly a different class of player, and playing the way he is at 38 years old, he has everything it takes to have a beautiful World Cup final... And the coolest part of it all is that photo of Messi with baby Yamal. Crazy, right? The two of them competing in a World Cup final... it's surreal.

[paco92x]

I was supporting England to make their dream come true finally but they failed... But with a really horrible strategy! Why would they get too defensive just because they got 1-0 ahead?

They aren't even the best defense team in the tournament. Tuchel is responsible for this comeback. And I should my admiration for Messi again. Now it's Messi against Yamal. I'm going for Spain as I don't think they would make the same mistake as England.

I hate when teams sit back in their own box like England did yesterday. I'm not sure if anyone in the England squad actually watched Argentina's earlier games in this tournament. You simply cannot sit deep against them, because just like Egypt and others before, you will end up losing. The tactical preparation and overall game plan were just incredibly poor.

[Haunebu]

Just like Sinner earlier, I feel that Spain is set to win the FIFA WC again regardless of England or Argentina being their opponent primarily thanks to their epic team combination. They started off slowly, but picked up pace at the right time in their tournament.

England messed up by reverting to a dumb defensive strategy instead of going full offensive, but that's all in the past now. Expecting Yamal to shine well in the finale along with Oyarzabal.

[Taricoins]

Just like Sinner earlier, I feel that Spain is set to win the FIFA WC again regardless of England or Argentina being their opponent primarily thanks to their epic team combination. They started off slowly, but picked up pace at the right time in their tournament.

England messed up by reverting to a dumb defensive strategy instead of going full offensive, but that's all in the past now. Expecting Yamal to shine well in the finale along with Oyarzabal.

The problem Argentina are going to have with Spain is there ability to be dynamic, they know how to pick defenses up and get a goal and don't get me started with there fantastic midfield to defense line. Hands down, Spain wins Argentina's defense by a mile and coupled with Rodri magnificent plays this period, it's going to be hard for Argentina to turn 0 into 1.

The only solution I think can Argentina win that matchup is going to be how explosive or creative Lionel Messi has to be

[Sarah Azhari]

Wow, wow. France’s loss to Spain was definitely a huge surprise. The hopes of many who had predicted a France vs. Argentina final were ultimately dashed.

France played poorly in this match. Not only were they unable to score against Spain, but they also lost the battle for possession. Statistically, France was soundly defeated by Spain. With this loss, France failed to match Brazil’s record as the only team to reach three consecutive World Cup finals.

La Roja have conceded just one goal in the tournament which shows how strong they are at the back. Scoring a top team like France two goals also shows they are strong up front.  Lamine Yamal has not scored a single goal in the World Cup, but he has been instrumental to the success of his side.

Spain does indeed have a strong defense; conceding just one goal shows just how great the Spanish defenders are at stopping the opponent’s attacks. Spain has performed quite solidly, which has led them to the final, where they will face Argentina.

Excuse me, but I’d like to correct you regarding Yamal. Yamal already scored a goal when Spain faced Saudi Arabia in the group stage, his first goal in the World Cup. Of course, Yamal has played a key role in Spain’s play, and his contributions have been quite solid, with 1 assist and 1 goal. For a player his age, that’s a significant contribution to the team.

[Akbarkoe]

I've said this before, the more people keep saying everything is scripted as regards Argentina it will undermine the efforts of the players. I watched the game and I can beat my chest and say that England were worthy competitors but it's just sad that they played against a side equally stubborn in Argentina. At some point in the game I thought they were going to lose because the way England tightened their defense and were not allowing Argentina break through. It's crazy because if you play a team as attack minded as Argentina, you don't score one goal and park the bus, see how they dealt with Egypt who even had two goals in front, that should have told England something.

It means that indeed England did not learn from that match even from the Morocco match in the last 16 which was even 2-0 ahead but still could not defend because indeed Argentina really structured the attack very well, recognized the weakness of the opponent in the second half and also took advantage of the decreased stamina of the opponent's defense, I, I saw England early and supported them but instead they played like Arsenal in the Champions League final

[CLS63]

Well it was all so predictable, England choked as usual. I actually blame Tuchel, at 1-0 England were playing well. Then for some reason Tuchel decided to park the bus and totally concede all efforts to play football. They just invited Argentina on and Messi didn’t need any encouragement to put two assists on a plate for his team mates. Totally avoidable but this is on Tuchel.

Before seeing this post of yours I was thinking of asking you about Tuchel's performance. I have the exact same idea as you. Tuchel's performance has been criticized a lot on the Turkish media as well. When we look at Harry Kane's post-match interview he also has the same idea as us.

Lastly the referee hasn't been discussed so much here. But I think he had a scandalous performance. Argentina have been favored by the referees during the whole tournament. I think Argentina should have been one man down at the beginning of the match.

[Out of mind]

I was supporting England to make their dream come true finally but they failed... But with a really horrible strategy! Why would they get too defensive just because they got 1-0 ahead?

They aren't even the best defense team in the tournament. Tuchel is responsible for this comeback. And I should my admiration for Messi again. Now it's Messi against Yamal. I'm going for Spain as I don't think they would make the same mistake as England.

I really don't think that tactic move was a wrong one, that lead for England was what they [Tuchel] wanted as they were confident in there defensive ability and still if Tuchel had subbed in his attacking players without strengthening there and they still lost, alot of people will still criticized him. There is no win win condition for Tuchel unless he won the match.

The problem with that much was that Argentina had Messi

Of course, there was a lot of mistake in this match, the England coach planned to play a full defense and score a goal. But we have seen that most of the time, whenever Argentina conceded, they went on the attack and when the opposing team played a complete defense to prevent it, they lost. However, if England had continued their play aggressively after scoring a goal, then there would have been a lot of chances to enter the final in this match. But fortunately, they got the result of their own mistakes which eliminated them from the World Cup, and Argentina's great comeback which qualified them for the final again. Of course, Messi is a great player, he is legendary, his experience and skills can take the team to any level at any time, which we have seen in this match, he turned the game around with his skills.

[liasbaa]

I was supporting England to make their dream come true finally but they failed... But with a really horrible strategy! Why would they get too defensive just because they got 1-0 ahead?

They aren't even the best defense team in the tournament. Tuchel is responsible for this comeback. And I should my admiration for Messi again. Now it's Messi against Yamal. I'm going for Spain as I don't think they would make the same mistake as England.

I hate when teams sit back in their own box like England did yesterday. I'm not sure if anyone in the England squad actually watched Argentina's earlier games in this tournament. You simply cannot sit deep against them, because just like Egypt and others before, you will end up losing. The tactical preparation and overall game plan were just incredibly poor.

The defensive strategy of the England team was the main reason for their defeat. If you watched the match between Egypt and Argentina, Egypt was leading by 2 goals in that match. The team did not win even though it was leading by 2 goals only because of the defensive strategy. Argentina team was seen doing almost the same teamwork in the match with England. They were confident of winning and every attack was very well planned and impressive. Their attacking players had a brave mentality and they got rewarded for it. England team players could not be in an attacking strategy because they were seen to give more priority to being defensive in their plan. I also agree that the overall plan of the England team was weak from the beginning.

[bastisisca]

After Spain managed to improve France, whatever scenario occurs in the final will be a very historic moment. If Argentina and Spain advance to the final, it will be a dream match, especially for Barcelona fans who are eager to see Messi and Yamal face off to bring glory to their country in the eyes of the world. If Spain and England meet in the final, it will be a repeat of the Euro 2024 final, with the two teams once again competing in the world's biggest football competition.
Whoever faces Spain in the final is sure to be a big story with rivalries, history, and the world's best players. Each possibility will present its own attraction that will spoil the eyes of the audience, soon we will witness the big match between Argentina vs England, we can only wait and see which scenario will become a reality.

You can already feel the tension building for tonight's match, just a few more hours and we'll find out who will be the second finalist of this World Cup, i hope above all that tonight's football will be spectacular, that it can make fans fall in love with this sport once again, and that it will be a fair match full of action.

[Supreme Donvic]

I was actually thinking that Argentina is going to lose to England, England would have actually won the match but they were not serious and that was why they lost the match, they were winning with just one goal and there was still time and they decided to start defending that was when I knew it will be very difficult for them to win this match and they actually lost the match.
How can you be defending against a team like Argentina, they made a very huge mistake by taking that decision and they have paid for it.

[Volgastallion]

This world cup has given us really good games, i dont like so much the first semifinal since it lacked of emotion which is one of the best things we have ina  world cup but in thi second one we really have some really high emotions.

I dont know why England made what they do, they play super extra defensive and they paid for it.

[cande86]

Spain is an excellent team, very solid and very orderly, which is not what France was, in fact this team was not able to do very well, due to their indiscipline which led them to a defeat, overall Spain is not better than France but they were very tidy and this allowed them to win.

ye, order and discipline matters a lot, considering that there are much stronger teams like France who were not able to manage the pressure and remain united, but overall Spain was the most orderly on the pitch and in the end in fact they won even against an opponent who on paper is stronger.

[Antotena]

I really don't think that tactic move was a wrong one, that lead for England was what they [Tuchel] wanted as they were confident in there defensive ability and still if Tuchel had subbed in his attacking players without strengthening there and they still lost, alot of people will still criticized him. There is no win win condition for Tuchel unless he won the match.

The problem with that much was that Argentina had Messi

It was never about the confidence, I don't think any coach would want to do that if they have options to make other ways work. Tuchel had no other option, he wanted to pressed Argentina for the first half and didn't work and the moment he was able to have goal, then he wanted to capitalize on the goal and defend aggressively but it didn't work, you can't win Argentina like that with that much time, is either you continue the attack or you face the consequences.

You could see how they tried to hold down, he couldn't break the center defense of England and the beast Messi turned to the right wing, he knew they were ready for him and he couldn't penetrate through England, so other players were doing the penetration while he was sending the ball to them and it work, that's how he was able to conquered the English league that think they are in inevitable.

[allfriends88]

Of course, there was a lot of mistake in this match, the England coach planned to play a full defense and score a goal.

Agreed, what caused England defeat was their shift to total defense after taking a narrow lead, which gave Argentina more freedom to continue attacking. Even a solid defense would be overwhelmed by constant bombardment, it's annoying that a national team as strong as England has to play like that.

[rdbase]

Just like Sinner earlier, I feel that Spain is set to win the FIFA WC again regardless of England or Argentina being their opponent primarily thanks to their epic team combination. They started off slowly, but picked up pace at the right time in their tournament.

England messed up by reverting to a dumb defensive strategy instead of going full offensive, but that's all in the past now. Expecting Yamal to shine well in the finale along with Oyarzabal.

All tournament long I don't see why people are saying Spain are the clear favorites to win in the finals.
Lamine Yamal has not made any statement during the games they have played and the only goal I can remember Oyarzabal scoring was from a penalty in their last game.
On the other hand Argentina has performed well in each and every game they have played. Having to comeback being down two goals in their match against Egypt and now with only within ten minutes versus England yesterday.
They certainly know how to close out their matches so I don't expect anything different from them in the final.

[BlackBoss_]

All tournament long I don't see why people are saying Spain are the clear favorites to win in the finals.
Lamine Yamal has not made any statement during the games they have played and the only goal I can remember Oyarzabal scoring was from a penalty in their last game.
On the other hand Argentina has performed well in each and every game they have played. Having to comeback being down two goals in their match against Egypt and now with only within ten minutes versus England yesterday.
They certainly know how to close out their matches so I don't expect anything different from them in the final.

Oyazarbal played better for Spain in World Cup 2026 compares to Euro 2020 and Euro 2024. I don't remember he participated in World Cup 2022 or not but in two Euros, he did not play too well by wasting many opportunities. In this World Cup, he score more goals for Spain and shown his improvement but he still wasted good chances. In the final match, if he wastes chances again, likely there will be no more luckiness for him and Spain.

Argentina in this World Cup have shown very strong mentality of champion, and it's really hard to beat them down. They already had to make some comebacks, and their mentality was tested many times while with Spain, who know how will they react if they let Argentina scoring first. Like France, in a first match they got a conceded goal first, they lost the match.

[Fakhrulenclix]

I've said this before, the more people keep saying everything is scripted as regards Argentina it will undermine the efforts of the players. I watched the game and I can beat my chest and say that England were worthy competitors but it's just sad that they played against a side equally stubborn in Argentina. At some point in the game I thought they were going to lose because the way England tightened their defense and were not allowing Argentina break through. It's crazy because if you play a team as attack minded as Argentina, you don't score one goal and park the bus, see how they dealt with Egypt who even had two goals in front, that should have told England something.

It means that indeed England did not learn from that match even from the Morocco match in the last 16 which was even 2-0 ahead but still could not defend because indeed Argentina really structured the attack very well, recognized the weakness of the opponent in the second half and also took advantage of the decreased stamina of the opponent's defense, I, I saw England early and supported them but instead they played like Arsenal in the Champions League final

England's mistake was giving Argentina the opportunity to build attacks, and England played defensively as if they were already one goal ahead. Ultimately, that was a regret for Tauchel. But regardless, I think we all have to admit that Argentina has excellent quality and deserves to be in the final.
Argentina will face Spain in this year's World Cup final. This will be an ideal final because the two teams are quite evenly matched, making it very difficult to predict the outcome of the final.