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

[laijsica]

It was disgraceful what the Argentina team did at the end of the match. To have lost in the manner they did and at the world’s biggest stage must have hurt a lot but, it wasn’t enough to portray themselves and the sport in the manner they did. They knew the world was watching and some of the very important personalities out there and to have resolved to fight in the manner they did was absurd.

I was also surprised by the Argentine players, who seemed unwilling to accept defeat in that match, to the point where one of their players resorted to unreasonable violence against several Spanish players. It wasn't just embarrassing, it showed who they really are and why they reached the final. If we examine the matches leading up to the final, there were many controversial incidents against them. So it was truly embarrassing because Argentina couldn't do anything in the final, and the referee was completely fair.

I agree with you. Argentina reached the final but in the last few matches there have been allegations of bias in favour of the team against the relevant match officials. Some of the players of the Argentina team behaved badly with the players of the Spanish team which spoiled the beauty of football. Their attitude was dirty because they could not accept their defeat. If FIFA authorities do not impose any sanctions against those players, their reputation will be further damaged and they will face more criticism. This highest governing body of football has already faced criticism due to biased behaviour.

[Sithara007]

I agree with you. Argentina reached the final but in the last few matches there have been allegations of bias in favour of the team against the relevant match officials. Some of the players of the Argentina team behaved badly with the players of the Spanish team which spoiled the beauty of football. Their attitude was dirty because they could not accept their defeat. If FIFA authorities do not impose any sanctions against those players, their reputation will be further damaged and they will face more criticism. This highest governing body of football has already faced criticism due to biased behaviour.

Sad that these things happened towards the conclusion of a highly successful tournament. Before the tournament started, a lot of people were concerned about the logistics and visa issues. But these were resolved amicably. Another concern was related to the 48-team format. A lot of the fans argued that it would impact the quality of the tournament. But the matches maintained highest possible quality and any such concerns were quickly removed. But towards the end, things didn't went well. Especially during matches involving Argentina, there were complaints of bias and nepotism.

[Tamaperdana]

I agree with you. Argentina reached the final but in the last few matches there have been allegations of bias in favour of the team against the relevant match officials. Some of the players of the Argentina team behaved badly with the players of the Spanish team which spoiled the beauty of football. Their attitude was dirty because they could not accept their defeat. If FIFA authorities do not impose any sanctions against those players, their reputation will be further damaged and they will face more criticism. This highest governing body of football has already faced criticism due to biased behaviour.

I'm also not sure whether Argentina was favored by certain parties or not in this World Cup. But if we look at the matches Argentina played throughout this tournament, it's true that there were some things that seemed very odd. But I don't think we can directly accuse Argentina of being favored by the organizers. Because we don't have strong evidence, so yes, maybe this will just remain a mystery, in my opinion. Because right now, Argentina has lost, and that's indeed their best.

Because their opponent, Spain, played very well in this final match. So, for that reason, Spain deserved to win this match. Then regarding the Argentine players who behaved inappropriately, I think this matter also needs to be followed up. Because if things like this continue to be allowed to continue, I'm afraid that in the future, more players will do as they please. So, for that reason, I also agree that this clearly needs to be followed up, for the common good of the world of football.

[Solokan]

Spain looked amazing in the semifinal and the final. This team managed to completely suppress Argentina in the final and imposed their style of play on France in the semifinal. But the quarterfinal was probably very tough for Spain—the Portuguese created chances in front of their goal multiple times, which their subsequent opponents couldn't boast of. Portugal were unlucky to concede at the very end of the match and could no longer bounce back. Who knows, if not for the tragic death of Diogo Jota, perhaps things would have turned out completely differently for Spain in that match, and Portugal would have reached the final. But football has no room for hypothetical scenarios, and Spain became the champion.

During the Spain vs. Portugal match, Spain struggled to score against Portugal, but Spain, who consistently attacked, ultimately lost because they conceded a goal to Spain. In my opinion, the Spanish players really have good spirit, and Luis, in my opinion, is a good coach and is always great at finding the enemy's weaknesses Ultimately, Luis succeeded in leading Spain to the trophy at the 2026 world Cup

Spain played very well against France in the semifinals. France, a strong team, was defeated by Spain with a good score. Uniquely, in the final, Spain played well too beating Argentina. Argentina, uniquely, found it difficult to score against Spain. However, I also sometimes did not expect Spain, which was once held to a draw by Tanjung Verde to now be the champion of the 2026 World Cup

[Hispo]

I have friends and a family member currently living in Argentina, he told me there were people on the streets anyways, sharing, drinking and having a good time in spite of losing the final against Spain.

On the other hand, I would not be surprised there were people in Spain who had to go to their jobs today in the morning while suffering from hangover because of the crazy celebrations there in the peninsula.

People from Spain are quite known in Europe for their hardcore way to celebrate football victories, not even mentioning their that quite open minded when comes to ways to celebrate occasions like this one.

[Sithara007]

OK guys.. hope that everyone was able to digest Spain winning the final and lifting the trophy. Can we now have a discussion about the 2030 edition? I am quite excited, because Infantino hinted that the 2030 FIFA World Cup would be having a total of 64 teams. The 48-team format worked so fine, and therefore I guess the 64-team edition would be exciting as well. My only concern is about the CONCACAF region. The teams from that confederation (such as Haiti, Panama and Curaçao) were the weakest ones this time around. Even if the next world cup is played in a 64-team format, I would suggest that the number of spots from CONCACAF remains the same. Else we can have a combined Americas qualifier.

[OgNasty]

I just read that this World Cup was the most profitable sporting event in history. The organizers have to be thrilled to have the event be such a success. Especially at a time when the world is in calamity and the economy is slowing down. Everyone involved should be over the moon with this performance.

[jcojci]

It was disgraceful what the Argentina team did at the end of the match. To have lost in the manner they did and at the world’s biggest stage must have hurt a lot but, it wasn’t enough to portray themselves and the sport in the manner they did. They knew the world was watching and some of the very important personalities out there and to have resolved to fight in the manner they did was absurd.

I was also surprised by the Argentine players, who seemed unwilling to accept defeat in that match, to the point where one of their players resorted to unreasonable violence against several Spanish players. It wasn't just embarrassing, it showed who they really are and why they reached the final. If we examine the matches leading up to the final, there were many controversial incidents against them. So it was truly embarrassing because Argentina couldn't do anything in the final, and the referee was completely fair.

I agree with you. Argentina reached the final but in the last few matches there have been allegations of bias in favour of the team against the relevant match officials. Some of the players of the Argentina team behaved badly with the players of the Spanish team which spoiled the beauty of football. Their attitude was dirty because they could not accept their defeat. If FIFA authorities do not impose any sanctions against those players, their reputation will be further damaged and they will face more criticism. This highest governing body of football has already faced criticism due to biased behaviour.

Argentina seems difficult to leaves out the controversial especially in the last matched before they are in final. FIFA should do something to warns that players so they will not repeat it and remember that every eyes on them. They can feels sad but not harms others or doing something that can gives unpleasant to other people. That is not a gentlemanly behavior and attitude so they should realize and need to apologize in the public and promises that they will not do it again. We hope FIFA will release some good news related that case and investigate it and warn and if necessary, they can punish the players.

[Sithara007]

I just read that this World Cup was the most profitable sporting event in history. The organizers have to be thrilled to have the event be such a success. Especially at a time when the world is in calamity and the economy is slowing down. Everyone involved should be over the moon with this performance.

You are right. This edition generated more than $9 billion in revenues for FIFA. The media rights alone generated $4.26 billion (in part due to the increase in number of matches). Remainder was sourced from ticket sales, sponsorship and licensing. For comparison, the 2022 Qatar world cup generated revenues of $7.0 billion. But that one had just 32 participants and a total of 64 matches, while the 2026 edition had a total of 48 participants and 104 matches. The fact that this tournament took place in the largest economy in the world also helped. But then the expenses were also high. $871 million went as prize money. Another $3.8 billion was eaten up by expenses related to transport, broadcasting and support. 

[Adbitco]

Honestly, this is a country that really only wants victory and does not accept the final result of their match in the Final round, this incident began with a Spanish player who ran to approach his teammate to feel the victory but there was one Argentinian player who was emotional and pulled the shirt of the Spanish player, that's where the incident happened, but if I draw from several Argentinian matches when hosting France, that There was one Argentinian player who was too excessive in celebrating their victory in the semifinal round. I think this is a fitting response to what they have done so far.

KARMA IS THE REAL 

They are all sore losers, I saw on the news back home in Argentina, the citizens were attacking their police men all because they lost the final to Spain, you can imagine how weird that is, fight on the pitch, even few coaching crew members were running riots and looking for ways to hurt the Spanish players, I learnt FIFA are interesting in the case as few Argentina players and coaching crew will face disciplinary actions for unsportmanship. With the way they were acting, someone that didn't watch the match will think Argentina were robbed by Spain not knowing that for the entire 120 minutes+ Argentina was dominated throughout the game and should have lost with nothing less than 6 - 0 at least.

[As-Soon-As]

It was disgraceful what the Argentina team did at the end of the match. To have lost in the manner they did and at the world’s biggest stage must have hurt a lot but, it wasn’t enough to portray themselves and the sport in the manner they did. They knew the world was watching and some of the very important personalities out there and to have resolved to fight in the manner they did was absurd.

I was also surprised by the Argentine players, who seemed unwilling to accept defeat in that match, to the point where one of their players resorted to unreasonable violence against several Spanish players. It wasn't just embarrassing, it showed who they really are and why they reached the final. If we examine the matches leading up to the final, there were many controversial incidents against them. So it was truly embarrassing because Argentina couldn't do anything in the final, and the referee was completely fair.

I agree with you. Argentina reached the final but in the last few matches there have been allegations of bias in favour of the team against the relevant match officials. Some of the players of the Argentina team behaved badly with the players of the Spanish team which spoiled the beauty of football. Their attitude was dirty because they could not accept their defeat. If FIFA authorities do not impose any sanctions against those players, their reputation will be further damaged and they will face more criticism. This highest governing body of football has already faced criticism due to biased behaviour.

The performance of the Argentine team in the final match is their real performance, if the Argentine team had not competed with weak teams, they would have been eliminated earlier. They competed with weak teams through bias, they came to the final match as planned, maybe they will do it here too, but they could not do it with the Spanish team.
As a result, their real mask has been revealed, the team with such a poor performance could not take a shot on target in the main time almost until the end of the game. However, the Spanish team gave a befitting reply to the Argentine team.

[Sithara007]

The performance of the Argentine team in the final match is their real performance, if the Argentine team had not competed with weak teams, they would have been eliminated earlier. They competed with weak teams through bias, they came to the final match as planned, maybe they will do it here too, but they could not do it with the Spanish team.
As a result, their real mask has been revealed, the team with such a poor performance could not take a shot on target in the main time almost until the end of the game. However, the Spanish team gave a befitting reply to the Argentine team.

There is no doubt that FIFA has some sort of a bias towards Argentina. And there are valid reasons. Argentina has fans all around the world. Even here in India, maximum number of football fans were supporting Argentina, followed by other teams such as Portugal, Brazil and France (in that order). And it seems to me that FIFA wanted to maximize the revenue and therefore made sure that Argentina faced relatively weaker opponents until the final. Even in the semi-final, they faced the weakest team (England). Unfortunately for them, despite all this bias they still failed to retain the trophy this time.

[mrquackquack]

It's crazy that they can throw Messi and the Argentinian team out like that. Like a piece of unwanted trash... People are saying the World Cup Final was rigged and it shows that anybody is Expendable... In other points of topic do you think people should invest in Yamal rookie cards

[Barcode_]

Frankly speaking, the Grand Finals in this year World Cup of Spain vs Argentina would be one of the most boring Grand Finals I have ever watched. I think most of the football fans around the world might not be enjoying watching the match except for Spain fans who are certainly enjoying every minutes of it as they watched Spain totally outplaying Argentina for the whole 120 minutes including the extra time added. Argentina just seems alike a tier 3 football club playing against a tier 1 football club and Spain does certainly deserved to be crown the World Cup trophy with their high quality of teamwork and skills.

[Ale88]

Spain looked amazing in the semifinal and the final. This team managed to completely suppress Argentina in the final and imposed their style of play on France in the semifinal. But the quarterfinal was probably very tough for Spain—the Portuguese created chances in front of their goal multiple times, which their subsequent opponents couldn't boast of. Portugal were unlucky to concede at the very end of the match and could no longer bounce back. Who knows, if not for the tragic death of Diogo Jota, perhaps things would have turned out completely differently for Spain in that match, and Portugal would have reached the final. But football has no room for hypothetical scenarios, and Spain became the champion.

Spain Road to final Is difficult then Argentina because they face more difficult team then Argentina but the main question is that's if you reach to the WorldCup final you definitely a better then whole 64 team. Spain play very beautiful football but there is big referee mistake which can cost Argentina to lose the final. Enzo red card Change the whole game and same for parades Yellow card is also unfair.  I can't blame referee but they have control to change the whole game and that's happen in the final matchs. Spain play good game but referee decision change the whole game.

Certainly Spain's path to the final was much more difficult than Argentina's because we noticed that they faced last year's runner-up France in the semi-final. However, Spain easily defeated France in the semi-final and reached the 2026 final, but at that time we thought that Argentina might win the title for the second consecutive season. In fact, Spain's consistent performance allowed them to show their best performance against a team like Argentina and win the World Cup with a 1-0 victory. You are right that Enzo's red card ruined the whole game and it seems that it was a bit controversial because from then on Spain played more aggressively and completely defeated Argentina in the final match of this World Cup.

Enzo Fernandez didn't get a red card: he got a second yellow card that, of course, got him the red card. Reading your comments it looks like the referee gave him a straight red card, and this is not the case. Also, that was a clear foul and it totally deserved a yellow card. It's a miracle that Paredes wasn't sent off during the regular time. And I'm still not sure about the goal disallowed to Spain...

[Haunebu]

The most successful FIFA WC edition so far concluded in the best way possible for most fans including me around the world thankfully. FIFA tried their very best to indirectly help Argentina throughout the tournament, but that wasn't enough against epic Spain.

0 freaking shots on goal for the entire match? Lol Argentina! They crawled their way to the final just to embarass themselves against a dominant Spain. Also, some typical Argentinan players acting like sore, retarded losers at the end. La Roja!

[ZeroVinsonN]

I have friends and a family member currently living in Argentina, he told me there were people on the streets anyways, sharing, drinking and having a good time in spite of losing the final against Spain.

On the other hand, I would not be surprised there were people in Spain who had to go to their jobs today in the morning while suffering from hangover because of the crazy celebrations there in the peninsula.

People from Spain are quite known in Europe for their hardcore way to celebrate football victories, not even mentioning their that quite open minded when comes to ways to celebrate occasions like this one.

It's not out of place for people in Argentina to celebrate, they may have lost the world cup but they still out did themselves by going as far as the final, how many other countries wanted to pull off something like that and couldn't, how many countries are still to even get anywhere close to the final, they won the last one and still played this one to the very end of it, if that's not worth celebrating then I don't know what is.

[Merit.s]

It's not out of place for people in Argentina to celebrate, they may have lost the world cup but they still out did themselves by going as far as the final, how many other countries wanted to pull off something like that and couldn't, how many countries are still to even get anywhere close to the final, they won the last one and still played this one to the very end of it, if that's not worth celebrating then I don't know what is.

It's call for a big celebration because Argentina was favored all the way to the semifinals. It was from that time, I knew that Argentina wouldn't be able to win the finals. Finishing on second position is call for celebration even though, this isn't the first time.

Those celebrating are the ones that appreciate their players and understand what football is all about because they're lucky that they didn't clash with Spain till the finals.

[ZeroVinsonN]

It's not out of place for people in Argentina to celebrate, they may have lost the world cup but they still out did themselves by going as far as the final, how many other countries wanted to pull off something like that and couldn't, how many countries are still to even get anywhere close to the final, they won the last one and still played this one to the very end of it, if that's not worth celebrating then I don't know what is.

It's call for a big celebration because Argentina was favored all the way to the semifinals. It was from that time, I knew that Argentina wouldn't be able to win the finals. Finishing on second position is call for celebration even though, this isn't the first time.

Those celebrating are the ones that appreciate their players and understand what football is all about because they're lucky that they didn't clash with Spain till the finals.

Exactly, only those who don't really understand football will not feel the need to celebrate, they may not have won, I'm sure they wanted to buy an understanding of football will let anyone know that losing I a part of the game, it would have been painful for them if they had never won the world cup before and then losing after getting to the final, but they have won the world cup more than once so making it to the semi final and then not winning is still considered an achievement.

[pewboy]

That was a long game, I thought that Argentina will win but both shown great game. Congratulations to Spain, they deserve it. I know that Argentina also deserves it but this time, it's with Spain. Almost close to becoming a champ again for this FIFA world cup but not enough. My bet with Argentina also lost though.

I'm happy with how the match went, and it's right that Spain came out victorious, they dominated the match leaving their opponents with 0 shots on target for the entire 90 minutes of regulation, Spain dominated also for created actions, plus for the teams they met in the groups and it's right that Spain won this World Cup.