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

[Jatiluhung]

None of them is the favorite until, the game comes to an end because in recent matches, the favorite ends up losing the game. Argentina knows how to mount pressure on their opponents to force them make mistake in order for them to get an equalizer. I love their fighting spirit. It shows that when you're determined, you can achieve your goal.

The finals will be a do or die affair. Argentina players still have more experience than Spain in the finals. Experience will decide who wins the game.

Argentina is truly a team that demonstrates that in soccer, a team must never let its spirit or competitive mindset waver until the very end. Time and again, Argentina has conceded early goals, yet they’ve always managed to bounce back.

But Spain has also put on a truly magnificent display. They know how to play an attacking game without compromising their defensive strength. Even France was ultimately unable to break through Spain’s defense. So, in the final, Argentina will have to break through Spain’s solid defense if they want to win.

Argentina is certainly experienced, but Spain possesses undeniable strength.

[Shadiq]

It's not in all games, you play defensively. You need to check the kind of opponent that you're playing with, the remaining time left and how many men you're playing with.

It was just too early for a defensive game when England is playing with a complete squad. Argentina cannot be prevented from scoring only if you have few minutes left and not when you have up to 30 minutes left. Tuchel killed the game.

England lost to Argentina because of a bad strategy. Even if Argentina were in England's position, I would not support the decision to play defensively with a 1-goal lead. Because scoring a goal is only a matter of 1 second, there is no guarantee of a goal. I thought that England would try to double the lead by putting pressure on Argentina after taking a 1-goal lead, but I was really surprised by their strategy. They played defensively with almost half the match remaining and brought about their defeat.

Even if you analyze the statistics of the last few matches, you can realize how terrible Argentina is in the final moments, especially when they are behind on the scoreboard. Another mistake made by England was to anger Messi, that mistake by Bellingham pushed them off the mountain of defeat.

[BALIK]

the quality on England's part was there and how, but this didn't mean that in the end they risked the possibility of going to the final out of fear, they played with the fear of conceding goals and it was a total siege, this is what i happened to see, in reality i think that Argentina weren't even the favourites.

Everyone considered England as the favorite. Because the team's attack was  very strong. The team's players  were also able to attack very quickly. Bookih also considered england as the  favorite. But in the end , they could not qualify for the final.

At the beginning of the match, we saw the excellent attacks of the england players. Argentina was under a lot of  pressure. Argentina also committed a lot of fouls in the first half to stop the england players. They probably committed 12 fouls. Even then, england was able to take  the lead at the beginning of the second half.

But after getting a  1-0 lead, England changed their strategy. Argentina increased the speed  of their attack, while England slowed down their attack. At the last minute, the argentine players were  able to break the england defense. If england had continued their normal  gameplay, maybe the result would have been in  their favor.

[|MINER|]

As I’ve said before, where I predicted that Argentina would fight very hard under any circumstances. And I suspected that Argentina might put up a very strong fight if they fell behind just as they did against Egypt some time ago. Argentina’s position as the top-ranked team according to FIFA makes me confident that they cannot be underestimated at all given that they have a squad with a steely resolve and exceptional individual skills. England might have felt they had the upper hand after scoring in the 55th minute which briefly put them ahead. But Argentina managed an epic comeback as the match neared its end. And Lionel Messi was a pivotal player in Argentina’s victory in that match. It’s no surprise that he received the highest rating and was named man of the match. Next I’m confident that Argentina will most likely defeat Spain. But we need to keep an eye on how both teams develop to make a more accurate prediction.

Actually, I was a little scared at first because before that, France was one of the most favorites, but Spain beat them. On the other hand, since England had performed well against Norway, I was worried, but I had faith in Argentina because they have Lionel Messi.

Lionel Messi's performance in yesterday's match seemed to indicate that he had already understood that he would not be scoring any more goals today because all the defenders of the England team were surrounding Messi, and so instead of taking the shot himself, he gave others the opportunity to score by passing the ball back. Which really proved once again that he is one of the great players.

[noormcs5]

I really think the final is very hard to predict, most of us sees Spain as the favorite,  but I think Argentina has shown that they can beat any team, so I will just sit back and enjoy the final.

To be honest, its hard to predict who will win this final ? The show will be at MetLife Stadium and i can't wait for the game. I think the goal keepers will play a big role in this match. Unai Simón from Spain may get an advantage if the match reaches the point where the decision is to be on the penalties. Both the semi finals didn't reach the extra time and the results were known within the regular 90 mins. Let's see what the final brings for us ?

[yixichloro2xx]

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.

You are right. England's players gave Argentina a chance  to attack. Argentina was able to attack a lot even  after conceding a goal in the  second half. Created a lot of  chances. This was possible because england could not mount any strong counterattack. As a result, argentina got the opportunity to attack with their full  strength. Argentina won the match by scoring two goals in the last  6 minutes. Although england performed well in the first half , they lost in the second half due to  their defensive gameplay. I did not expect  such stupidity from Tuchel.

Yes I agree with you that England suffered from not creating enough pressure and not attacking. If we had seen enough attacking on the pitch then maybe Argentina would not have won this match. England's biggest mistake was to give Argentina the opportunity to attack. If England had attacked a little bit then Argentina would have been a little bit scared and Argentina would not have had the opportunity to attack as much. As we saw in the match between Spain and France they not only strengthened their defence by scoring but also kept their attack going.

I don't think if England attacked Argentina,  they would be scared. Before Tomas Tuchel decided to sub out some of his attackers, Argentina (Mac Alister) were already missing some chances. Bit what helped Argentina was when England decided to sit deep, narrow and compact which made Messi to shift to the right wing freely without anyone marking him. The problem is you can't leave Messi alone, bro can decide the out of game.  Scaloni should also be praised too, for the kind of tactical substitutions he also made , which made look like Argentina shifted to 3-4-3 wide playing.

I think Premier league fans who always say that Messi can do it in Premier league because it's too physical, hope you guys witnessed what he did to Kane, Gordon, and Spence in the first half and he is 39 year old for that matter. Messi has already won the FIFA Golden ball, even if he loses the final, I hope he can score in the final to win the Golden he has never won before. If Argentina eventually win the FIFA world cup, he is winning his 9th Ballon d'or.

[mv1986]

I really think the final is very hard to predict, most of us sees Spain as the favorite,  but I think Argentina has shown that they can beat any team, so I will just sit back and enjoy the final.

To be honest, its hard to predict who will win this final ? The show will be at MetLife Stadium and i can't wait for the game. I think the goal keepers will play a big role in this match. Unai Simón from Spain may get an advantage if the match reaches the point where the decision is to be on the penalties. Both the semi finals didn't reach the extra time and the results were known within the regular 90 mins. Let's see what the final brings for us ?

I wouldn't pin this down on one specific player per team. Consider Spain - France and what was important there. The goalkeeper played an important role as much as did every other player. They have played a strategy that took away all the strengths France is about, the goalkeeper was only one piece of the puzzle. Every single player of the Spanish team knew what to do and gave 100% every second of the game. It will be the same in the game Spain - Argentina and it could as well be about Messi and Yamal. If one of them has a strong moment and hits a goal from far distance, you would probably say that that goal was decisive and not the goalkeepers.

Unai Simón had a very risky moment against France when he came out of his box and tackled that one ball that Mbappe missed by a millisecond. If he didn't miss it, it is red card for Unai Simón and the game will completely change.

It will be about positioning, about organization, about consistency and about endurance and concentration. Precision, all these things, not making a crucial mistake. Goalkeepers have balls they can defend, and there are goals they can do nothing about.

[Unknown01]

I really think the final is very hard to predict, most of us sees Spain as the favorite,  but I think Argentina has shown that they can beat any team, so I will just sit back and enjoy the final.

To be honest, its hard to predict who will win this final ? The show will be at MetLife Stadium and i can't wait for the game. I think the goal keepers will play a big role in this match. Unai Simón from Spain may get an advantage if the match reaches the point where the decision is to be on the penalties. Both the semi finals didn't reach the extra time and the results were known within the regular 90 mins. Let's see what the final brings for us ?

Compared to Martinez, Unai Simon doesn’t stand a chance in a penalty shootout. To me, Martinez is currently the best goalkeeper when it comes to penalties.

Unai Simon is also a strong penalty-stopper, but Martinez plays on his opponents’ minds, which in addition to his goalkeeping skills is another major advantage that other goalies don’t have.

So, in a penalty shootout, I see Argentina as the favorite.

[Balmain]

Argentina reached the final at the last minute. For England, it was another disappointment. Last night, we witnessed a new and unforgettable chapter in one of the most long-standing and tense rivalries in football history. Tuchel's big gamble and his mistake of pulling his team back brought them defeat. The first half was a game where both teams sized each other up, maintaining defensive discipline and making reciprocal moves. The game completely changed in the second half. Gordon's goal brought England closer to the final than they had ever been in the tournament. What happened after that goal was crucial. From the 70th minute onwards, driven by an instinct to protect the score, Tuchel completely pulled his team back. He lost his effectiveness in midfield. And then, what happened, happened.

[Callido]

Based on what had happened already in this world cup, I wouldn't even say one country can win the other again, so long as they are good for the task, let them come to the field and prove themselves to us. A lot of heavily favoured countries are no more, and were ousted out by the underdogs. Though I still see Spain as a very strong country to win this tournament, yet Argentina is a very good country at what they do on the pitch also. Just as it was difficult to predict France vs Spain and England vs Argentina, that exactly is how difficult to predict this final. All I could say is that there might not be an extra time.

Spain against France has been the best performance for them so far in this tournament, i watched Spain played all through different stages, against France they did not back than or slow down their game play, this is why in the final against Argentina, i expect to see the same kind of performance which they used against France.

Spain manager will be taking lessons from what happened in the match between England and Argentina, if they score first, going back to defend the goal isn't going to work against Argentina, already Spain haven't played like that, after scoring two against France, Spain kept pressing France and controlled the tempo of the game, the final is too hard for a prediction.

[blomen]

yesterday’s match showed why you can’t win in soccer if you play timidly. until england scored, the match swung back and forth between argentina and england, but after scoring, even though there was still a whole half left to play, england retreated into defense and let argentina press forward. it was clear they couldn’t sustain that for the entire match. though i think they held up well, considering argentina even had shots that hit the post.

i’m so happy argentina is back in the final   even though spain is a very tough opponent, i think they’ll beat them too. i hope they manage to win the world cup two times in a row.

[Awaklara]

Argentina is truly a team that demonstrates that in soccer, a team must never let its spirit or competitive mindset waver until the very end. Time and again, Argentina has conceded early goals, yet they’ve always managed to bounce back.

The Argentine players have a great mentality; they've lifted the World Cup trophy before, and they'll definitely try hard to win it again. But all of that also comes down to quick responses in changing tactics when they're behind. They're amazing at that. 
We know Spain has a tough way of defending, but what the Argentine players showed in the match against England should be studied and watched out for by the Spanish players. Messi doesn’t run a lot, but he can be really troublesome.

[HustleZ]

Argentina is truly a team that demonstrates that in soccer, a team must never let its spirit or competitive mindset waver until the very end. Time and again, Argentina has conceded early goals, yet they’ve always managed to bounce back.

But Spain has also put on a truly magnificent display. They know how to play an attacking game without compromising their defensive strength. Even France was ultimately unable to break through Spain’s defense. So, in the final, Argentina will have to break through Spain’s solid defense if they want to win.

Argentina is certainly experienced, but Spain possesses undeniable strength.

Spain is a fierce opponent for Argentina considering their midfielding capabilities and their ability to keep possesion of the ball and dominate the game, they also good strikers and this combination lead to their win against frannce. But what argentina has is the ability to break down the opposition and carve the ball through their defense thanks to a genius called Messi which is why they have been slaughtering teams. Their attacking unit is top notch and once they attack it is really strong, the worst thing spain could do is go all in on defense. if they keep attacking and score goals they might get away with it or else messi/ argentina is almost certain to win if they play something like egypt or england.

[Merit.s]

It's not in all games, you play defensively. You need to check the kind of opponent that you're playing with, the remaining time left and how many men you're playing with.

It was just too early for a defensive game when England is playing with a complete squad. Argentina cannot be prevented from scoring only if you have few minutes left and not when you have up to 30 minutes left. Tuchel killed the game.

England lost to Argentina because of a bad strategy. Even if Argentina were in England's position, I would not support the decision to play defensively with a 1-goal lead. Because scoring a goal is only a matter of 1 second, there is no guarantee of a goal. I thought that England would try to double the lead by putting pressure on Argentina after taking a 1-goal lead, but I was really surprised by their strategy. They played defensively with almost half the match remaining and brought about their defeat.

Even if you analyze the statistics of the last few matches, you can realize how terrible Argentina is in the final moments, especially when they are behind on the scoreboard. Another mistake made by England was to anger Messi, that mistake by Bellingham pushed them off the mountain of defeat.

Making Messi paranoid wouldn't change anything if they don't decide to play a defensive game when they have sharp attackers that can score more goals if they have the opportunity.

Argentina would think of defending just one goal when their aim is to score as many goal as they can. Have you seen Messi defending before. He is always looking for goals to score. What a wrong strategy at the wrong time.

[giorgione]

the loss is entirely Tuchel's fault. such a poor tactic of pinning the entire team back against their goal ultimately had a negative impact. we didn't see a single counterattack from England after they scored. I can only imagine the criticism Tuchel will receive from local journalists in England; they'll simply ruin him.

Tuchel absolutely shouldn't have gone to play in defense, since he scored the first goal he took refuge and hid by putting all defenders, but this didn't prevent him from losing, in fact it only made things worse by making everything more complicated for them to try to come back in the end where they had conceded a goal.

[W Jr.]

the loss is entirely Tuchel's fault. such a poor tactic of pinning the entire team back against their goal ultimately had a negative impact. we didn't see a single counterattack from England after they scored. I can only imagine the criticism Tuchel will receive from local journalists in England; they'll simply ruin him.

Tuchel absolutely shouldn't have gone to play in defense, since he scored the first goal he took refuge and hid by putting all defenders, but this didn't prevent him from losing, in fact it only made things worse by making everything more complicated for them to try to come back in the end where they had conceded a goal.

Completely retreating into defense was a huge mistake. England should have continued after scoring. But even after scoring, they went back to defense, and Argentina punished them. Argentina, with Lionel Messi, has an incredible comeback spirit. They never lose their morale in any match and continue to fight. That's why Argentina wins matches even when they fall behind. They can show the same thing against Spain in the final.

[Smartprofit]

I really think the final is very hard to predict, most of us sees Spain as the favorite,  but I think Argentina has shown that they can beat any team, so I will just sit back and enjoy the final.

To be honest, its hard to predict who will win this final ? The show will be at MetLife Stadium and i can't wait for the game. I think the goal keepers will play a big role in this match. Unai Simón from Spain may get an advantage if the match reaches the point where the decision is to be on the penalties. Both the semi finals didn't reach the extra time and the results were known within the regular 90 mins. Let's see what the final brings for us ?

Compared to Martinez, Unai Simon doesn’t stand a chance in a penalty shootout. To me, Martinez is currently the best goalkeeper when it comes to penalties.

Unai Simon is also a strong penalty-stopper, but Martinez plays on his opponents’ minds, which in addition to his goalkeeping skills is another major advantage that other goalies don’t have.

So, in a penalty shootout, I see Argentina as the favorite.

I think most forum members agree that both Argentina and Spain are very strong football teams. The two finalists have roughly equal chances of winning, so a draw is entirely possible!

In that case, the champion will be decided in a penalty shootout. And we'll see a duel between two incredible goalkeepers like Unai Simon and Emiliano Martinez! It will be like a machine gun duel from the Civil War, with one machine gun firing at another, and one machine gunner facing off against another. In such machine gun duels, the calmest and most composed fighter usually wins. 💥

Therefore, I wouldn't discount Unai Simon. Yes, he's not as skilled at improvising as Emiliano Martinez. He has a completely different temperament... However, he defends his goal with the calm of a chess grandmaster.  In my opinion, he will be a very difficult opponent for the Argentine footballers.

[WatChe]

To be honest, its hard to predict who will win this final ? The show will be at MetLife Stadium and i can't wait for the game. I think the goal keepers will play a big role in this match. Unai Simón from Spain may get an advantage if the match reaches the point where the decision is to be on the penalties. Both the semi finals didn't reach the extra time and the results were known within the regular 90 mins. Let's see what the final brings for us ?

It's FIFA world cup final and both teams playing this final are best among the 48 participating countries. Everyone has its own prediction but the truth is that we are free to make guess but winner will be decided when the referee blow the final whistle. France was favourite in semifinal  played between Spain and France but Spain won the game. In second semi final, England was winning till 85th minute and Argentina made a comeback in last seven minute to change the result of the game.  

[Bigjoe33]

the loss is entirely Tuchel's fault. such a poor tactic of pinning the entire team back against their goal ultimately had a negative impact. we didn't see a single counterattack from England after they scored. I can only imagine the criticism Tuchel will receive from local journalists in England; they'll simply ruin him.

Tuchel absolutely shouldn't have gone to play in defense, since he scored the first goal he took refuge and hid by putting all defenders, but this didn't prevent him from losing, in fact it only made things worse by making everything more complicated for them to try to come back in the end where they had conceded a goal.

Completely retreating into defense was a huge mistake. England should have continued after scoring. But even after scoring, they went back to defense, and Argentina punished them. Argentina, with Lionel Messi, has an incredible comeback spirit. They never lose their morale in any match and continue to fight. That's why Argentina wins matches even when they fall behind. They can show the same thing against Spain in the final.

The same wrong tactics and football pattern of Mikel Arteta that made him lose important matches such as the UCL finals, carabao cup finals, against Liverpool and city and many other matches.

How can you play low block in game you are winning? How would you play football with fear even in complete number of players. I just understand that when you fear to loose, you already make yourself vulnerable and equal to losing. Even though it works today, it has failed many times and is not a proven system or pattern of playing important or crucial games. The best form of defense is attack, and until they learn that, they won't celebrate big

[ILuckyGuyI]

Tuchel thought of England like he was managing Chelsea in the CL I guess.    Because it was how he won the CL in the 2020/21 season - by adopting a defensive game plan.

That was a total mistake and deep down he also knows it I hope. England played so timidly in the 2nd half. You aren't playing against an incapable team. You can't take such risk.

Messi is going for his 2nd WC trophy. But I hope Spain win as I don't like the way FIFA is acting as for Argentina.