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

[danadc]

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.

England's mistake was that they started defending, and if you score a goal against Argentina you have to be busy scoring another goal and another and another as if you were desperately losing. If you shut down in defense you can't withstand the pressure. They have Messi who is very good at playing, looking for fouls, making passes, shooting. You have to get them all out of the box after midfield. You can't shut down like England did. The culprit was England's coach.

[Princess Leah]

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.

His improvement is amazing and he's lucky to have players that ain't greedy for goals who create good opportunities to score, i believe he learnt from the experience of the previous competition and tried doing better so he'll be retained as the top striker for Spain. Oyazarbal is not who I expected to be Spains goal machine but Yamal however it's good for his career cause agents of bigger clubs would come for him after the World Cup.

 Argentina has mastered comeback their previous games have been won through comebacks, it's interesting to see that Messi is not only scoring but setting other players to score when his chances of hitting the target is slim. The finals would be against two genius who graduated from LA Masia and both wore the number 10 jersey at Barcelona, "Messi and Yamal".

[Fiatless]

Source
These historical pictures of Lionel Messi and baby Lamine Yamal are significant to the finals. Some religious people will say that the meeting between Messi and the baby is prophetic.  Nineteen years after this picture was taken, both players would meet in the World Cup finals. This match is like a game between the GOAT and a potential successor. The game is highly unpredictable because both sides have shown great quality.

[Luzin]

Argentina deserved to win and make it to the final, and I’m pretty happy to watch this match. Especially seeing how a father who’s getting older can still play effectively and be the key to Argentina’s victory. He is Lionel Messi. He has amazing stats. Messi consistently broke through England’s defensive lines, finishing the game with 4 key passes, 9 successful dribbles, and 3 accurate crosses. I’d say his rating is 9 in today’s semifinal match. This is something Ronaldo can no longer do, and yeah, I admit it. Interestingly, he will meet Yamal in the semifinals. Remember, Messi once took a photo with Yamal while showering, and now they will meet in the world cup final match.

[reagansimms]

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.

Argentina champion mentality was truly tested in this World Cup, they always fell behind first and then managed to win with a perfect comeback. Previously they had to work hard when facing Cape Verde and Egypt, they also did the same when facing England. England defeat stemmed from Tuchel's mistake in trying to secure victory when they were already 1-0 up. He wanted his team to play defensively, but that decision spelled doom for them. Argentina, which has a champion mentality and a player of Messi caliber, cannot be stopped by parking the bus tactic. Messi ability and creativity in piercing the heart of the opponent's defense was successfully proven with two perfect assists that were successfully utilized by Enzo Fernandez and Martinez.

[As-Soon-As]

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.

England's mistake was that they started defending, and if you score a goal against Argentina you have to be busy scoring another goal and another and another as if you were desperately losing. If you shut down in defense you can't withstand the pressure. They have Messi who is very good at playing, looking for fouls, making passes, shooting. You have to get them all out of the box after midfield. You can't shut down like England did. The culprit was England's coach.

The England team lost this match because of their own mistakes, after scoring a goal, England team increases their confidence and gives the most importance to defense. But Argentina team has been doing this for a long time and whenever the opposing team gives importance to their defense after scoring a goal, that team loses in the end and Argentina team has reached the final by defeating them. After seeing all this, I don't understand how the England team coach became so obsessed with giving importance to defense, if England team gave importance to defense after scoring two goals then it would have been right.

But it was their wrong decision that Argentina team was able to win by scoring two goals in a row, and Messi was protected by two players here too, Fernandez scored the goal completely freely and Argentina team was able to win. In my opinion, England team was forced to get out of this World Cup because of these two mistakes.

[Oluwa-btc]

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.

They went on to defend the game too early and couldn't keep up with the pressure from  Argentina. I'm speechless, I can not hate as I use to do, they fought hard until the very last minute to decide the game.
The Argentina coach is also class, he read the game well and brought in the right players in the game to see that they won. As a certified Argentina hater, I don't think I'll be watching that finals come Sunday.  I know how it end already.

[Ahli38]

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

Yes, that’s right. It was Lionel Messi’s creativity that enabled Argentina to win that match. And he didn’t just contribute to that one game. He has also made a huge contribution to Argentina so far with his outstanding performances in almost every matches. Against England Messi may not have been as agile as he was in his prime. But his wealth of experience has allowed him to become a key player who can exploit open spaces to create scoring opportunities for Argentina. I personally think Messi is a truly brilliant footbal player given that he can contribute in any way whether through assists or even by scoring goals himself. If Messi and his teammates can maintain their excellent form right up until the very end of the upcoming final then I’m confident they’ll be more than deserving of being crowned the strongest national team in football. I’m convinced Argentina will likely add to their World Cup trophy collection in this tournament. And I’m sure they’ll give it their all in the final to deliver the best possible result and even bring immense pride to their country.

[katanic97]

Argentina deserved to win and make it to the final, and I’m pretty happy to watch this match. Especially seeing how a father who’s getting older can still play effectively and be the key to Argentina’s victory. He is Lionel Messi. He has amazing stats. Messi consistently broke through England’s defensive lines, finishing the game with 4 key passes, 9 successful dribbles, and 3 accurate crosses. I’d say his rating is 9 in today’s semifinal match. This is something Ronaldo can no longer do, and yeah, I admit it. Interestingly, he will meet Yamal in the semifinals. Remember, Messi once took a photo with Yamal while showering, and now they will meet in the world cup final match.

Messi is the GOAT. He's the only one who truly lived up to all the expectations. Realistically, Spain has the stronger team on paper, but i still think Argentina will win the world cup again. They just seem to want it more and they're fighting harder than ever. That's just my opinion, but i believe Messi and the boys can lift the trophy one more time.

[Shishir99]

LOL.. in the end, it turned out to be an easy win for Argentina.

Could you please finally admit that you're here just to troll us? Because I don't recall a single post of yours that make any sense. From your eccentric theories about the qualification system until this kind of posts. Argentina managed to win in the stoppage time, and until a few minutes before they were losing. I call this a suffered win, not easy.

Haha, or they are die-hard blind supporters of Argentina, who do not want to admit that they were suffering. It was a tight match. England just could not hold it till the end. The possession was around 45-55, but the moment England became more defensive, Argentina controlled the ball more. England should not allow them to come close to the D box. Argentina also make this mistake very often. They switch to defensive mode, which is why the opponent controls the ball, and Argentina concedes goals. It happened against Cape Verde. Argentina was lucky to score two quick goals yesterday and win the match. They were also lucky against Egypt and scored quickly.

[LUCKMCFLY]

If countries that are less interested in football get a chance to participate in this tournament, interest in football will increase in those countries. I think this is a very correct point of view. I support this approach. In addition, the world cup organization held in Qatar showed us the success of the Asian and African teams. I look forward to seeing more teams from these continents. If the name of this organization is the World Cup, we should make it a real world game. If that happens, we will enjoy this tournament more.

And look, it worked, we saw a Cape Verde, we saw a Curacao that nobody gave even 1 USD for, but the tremendous spectacle they gave was phenomenal, so it's not bad, in fact if they take them to the 64 games it's much better, first because there are more football games and second because there is more interest in Parisians who have never been to a World Cup, so it's positive.

[IjawMan]

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?

That was the mistake of the coach Thomas Tuchel and he must have to take the blame for instructing his team to go defensive when he could have doubled on the attack to tightened his lead with more goals.
 

They aren't even the best defense team in the tournament. Tuchel is responsible for this comeback.

As an underdog country as cape Verde it had one of the strongest defense in this world cup that was far better than some of the teams in this world cup but they never went defending all that way against Argentina as England did.

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 did not saw this fixtures coming out in the final of the world cup. Had my hair standing knowing that Lamine Yamal took his country to the world cup final in his first time of playing the tournament.

[Dunamisx]

Source
These historical pictures of Lionel Messi and baby Lamine Yamal are significant to the finals. Some religious people will say that the meeting between Messi and the baby is prophetic.  Nineteen years after this picture was taken, both players would meet in the World Cup finals. This match is like a game between the GOAT and a potential successor. The game is highly unpredictable because both sides have shown great quality.

Though I've clicked to check the link and go through the story as well, I don't know if it is real or not, but to be honest the baby look like Lamine Yamal and the other picture also bring out the familiarity facial view  and expression of Lionel Messi, now about the mystery behind this if it has already been foreseen that this is a prophetic declaration as at then and coming to pass this time around, we cannot establish the fact until the final if actually proved the picture taken is both of them and the eventually clash at the finals as well.

[Roseline492]

Source
These historical pictures of Lionel Messi and baby Lamine Yamal are significant to the finals. Some religious people will say that the meeting between Messi and the baby is prophetic.  Nineteen years after this picture was taken, both players would meet in the World Cup finals. This match is like a game between the GOAT and a potential successor. The game is highly unpredictable because both sides have shown great quality.

Who would have assume before that the baby Lionel Messi was bathing will become as important and irreplaceable in Spain after growing up, actually Lionel Messi would be very proud to see how he impacted on Lamine Yamal, actually this is going to be a match that's like father and against son and also the first time Lamine Yamal and Messi is going to share the same pitch with each other's because Messi has been on a different league for long now and is good that for ones Lamine Yamal is going to meet him on the world cup final because after this time they may not share the same pitch again because Messi will remain on the league they will not meet each other.

[Fiatless]

And look, it worked, we saw a Cape Verde, we saw a Curacao that nobody gave even 1 USD for, but the tremendous spectacle they gave was phenomenal, so it's not bad, in fact if they take them to the 64 games it's much better, first because there are more football games and second because there is more interest in Parisians who have never been to a World Cup, so it's positive.

I supported the expansion of the World Cup to 48 even when some people criticised FIFA. And it has turned out to be a success because little-known teams made an impact in the competition. But I am against increasing it to 64 teams next year. The 48-team format should be sustained for a long time before any other adjustments. There are still areas that FIFA needs to improve in this new format before they consider expanding it further.

Though I've clicked to check the link and go through the story as well, I don't know if it is real or not, but to be honest the baby look like Lamine Yamal and the other picture also bring out the familiarity facial view  and expression of Lionel Messi,

Check more reputable online newspapers to confirm if the picture is fake or real. The picture has been in the public space for a long time; it's real.

[Lannakosa]

These historical pictures of Lionel Messi and baby Lamine Yamal are significant to the finals. Some religious people will say that the meeting between Messi and the baby is prophetic.  Nineteen years after this picture was taken, both players would meet in the World Cup finals. This match is like a game between the GOAT and a potential successor. The game is highly unpredictable because both sides have shown great quality.

I saw this photo today and at first I thought it was AI, but then I googled it, and it turns out it really is an original photo. Well, what can I say, it doesn't really seem like a coincidence. I don't like conspiracy theories and the like, but this does look pretty funny. I actually think Spain could become world champions, a team that doesn't lose, defends well, and scores. I think the difficulty for Argentina will be precisely that Spain is a team that has learned not to lose.

[cxtreenal]

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.

England's mistake was that they started defending, and if you score a goal against Argentina you have to be busy scoring another goal and another and another as if you were desperately losing. If you shut down in defense you can't withstand the pressure. They have Messi who is very good at playing, looking for fouls, making passes, shooting. You have to get them all out of the box after midfield. You can't shut down like England did. The culprit was England's coach.

England lost focus because they were helpless against Argentina's attacking tactics. They tried to block the goal with 11 players but the talented players in the Argentina team were creating scoring opportunities through one attack after another. They were repeatedly entering the box with the ball and creating scoring opportunities through small passes and they were successful.
Argentina strategy was defensive at the beginning but gradually the players started to increase the attacking pace and scored goals. I have never seen a team as indomitable and confident as Argentina because they can block any tough opponent with tactics and score goals with offensive tactics.

[Varnquister]

Argentina defeated England with a last-minute goal and pulled off yet another incredible comeback. Everything seems to be going their way, as if Messi is going to lift the trophy again this season.
The final will be between Spain and Argentina. We’ll get to watch Messi and Yamal face off in the final. Spain is, of course, the favorite, but it looks like Argentina might win this match and take home the trophy.

[Mame89]

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?

That was the mistake of the coach Thomas Tuchel and he must have to take the blame for instructing his team to go defensive when he could have doubled on the attack to tightened his lead with more goals.
 

Absolutely. This could be considered a blunder by Tuchel. England were only one goal up with over 30 minutes remaining but they were already playing defensively. This was a rather odd decision by Tuchel considering that Argentina has a good track record of comebacks in the knockout stages, as finding goals when behind isn't a problem for them.

Tuchel should have instead defended and looked for as many goals as possible especially since there was still time. Besides, if England continued to play aggressively, Argentina wouldn't have had the luxury of attacking. And now England is repeating the history of 2018, when they took the lead in the semifinals but ultimately failed to reach the final.

For Argentina, this is their second consecutive final. Now, they only need 90 minutes to win back to back World Cups.

[Ale88]

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.

England's mistake was that they started defending, and if you score a goal against Argentina you have to be busy scoring another goal and another and another as if you were desperately losing. If you shut down in defense you can't withstand the pressure. They have Messi who is very good at playing, looking for fouls, making passes, shooting. You have to get them all out of the box after midfield. You can't shut down like England did. The culprit was England's coach.

England's mistakes are all on Touchel. He chose to change the strategy to defend the 1-0 result too early, the English team basically stopped attacking and they played less and less, leaving the control of the match to Argentina. Huge mistake, he should have known better. On the other side we had Scaloni who, instead, was playing with a lot of offensive players and it paid off.