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

[Mame89]

Lol at the people hyper focusing on the golden ball award when the real prize was claimed by Spain for their outstanding team game dominance throughout the entire tournament. I couldn't care less as to who wins the other awards frankly speaking.

Same logic applies to literally every sports tournament out there. Rodri won the golden ball which is good for him, but the true prize is the FIFA WC trophy which is all that matters at the end of the day to most people.

The reason is that the awarding of the Golden Ball to Rodri sparked debate among legends and many others. It does seem a bit strange, since Rodri didn’t score a single goal or record a single assist at the World Cup. However, Messi, Haaland, and Mbappé scored plenty of goals and provided many assists but didn’t win the Golden Ball. Winning the World Cup trophy is one thing, but individual awards are also important for a player. That’s why, out of the various individual award categories at the World Cup, only the Golden Ball has sparked widespread debate because it’s considered unusual. The others aren’t a topic of discussion because the winners truly deserved them.

I think Rodri is truly deserving of the Golden Ball. Many people argue about this because they focus on goals and assists. If the benchmark for winning the Golden Ball is goals and assists it's true that Rodri won't win it. But for me, goals and assists aren't the only criteria for winning the Golden Ball rather it should be seen as a player's contribution to the team. In fact, I think Rodri was a very impressive player at this World Cup because he set the rhythm for Spain, controlled the midfield and cut off the opponent's attacks. His game is also very calm, simple, and tactical. So, City and Spain are very fortunate to have players like Rodri.

Furthermore, since the arrival of players like Rodri football has finally begun to appreciate individuals who aren't visible in the statistics of goals and assists, but whose contributions are actually crucial. So, Rodri has indeed proven that contributions to a team can't always be measured by goals and assists. But sometimes his contribution is to make the opponent unable to do anything as happened in the final against Argentina and even made Unai Simon not have to work extra in the final match.

[$weetne$$]

Argentina played simple football, winning twice in the final minutes against teams that aren't even truly top teams, the only match that deserved i feel like saying was played against a subpar England team who got scared and didn't play like England, otherwise in my opinion Argentina didn't show much football at all, they were only pumped up by the presence of Messi at their last World Cup.

The presence of Messi was a huge motivation for the team and as seen in their playing style, we could see that they had that chemistry that was geared towards seeing that Messi is able to get more goals and good performance which in turn will be in the interest of the team by getting them to proceeding to the next stage of the competition respectively. In my own opinion, Argentina did not paly an exceptional football that really got me through out the competition, they only had the advantage of Messi on the team that got them looking fierce to others which happened to be probably average teams.

[famososMuertos]

Lol at the people hyper focusing on the golden ball award when the real prize was claimed by Spain for their outstanding team game dominance throughout the entire tournament. I couldn't care less as to who wins the other awards frankly speaking.

Same logic applies to literally every sports tournament out there. Rodri won the golden ball which is good for him, but the true prize is the FIFA WC trophy which is all that matters at the end of the day to most people.

The reason is that the awarding of the Golden Ball to Rodri sparked debate among legends and many others. It does seem a bit strange, since Rodri didn’t score a single goal or record a single assist at the World Cup. However, Messi, Haaland, and Mbappé scored plenty of goals and provided many assists but didn’t win the Golden Ball. Winning the World Cup trophy is one thing, but individual awards are also important for a player. That’s why, out of the various individual award categories at the World Cup, only the Golden Ball has sparked widespread debate because it’s considered unusual. The others aren’t a topic of discussion because the winners truly deserved them.

I think Rodri is truly deserving of the Golden Ball. Many people argue about this because they focus on goals and assists. If the benchmark for winning the Golden Ball is goals and assists it's true that Rodri won't win it. But for me, goals and assists aren't the only criteria for winning the Golden Ball rather it should be seen as a player's contribution to the team. In fact, I think Rodri was a very impressive player at this World Cup because he set the rhythm for Spain, controlled the midfield and cut off the opponent's attacks. His game is also very calm, simple, and tactical. So, City and Spain are very fortunate to have players like Rodri.

Furthermore, since the arrival of players like Rodri football has finally begun to appreciate individuals who aren't visible in the statistics of goals and assists, but whose contributions are actually crucial. So, Rodri has indeed proven that contributions to a team can't always be measured by goals and assists. But sometimes his contribution is to make the opponent unable to do anything as happened in the final against Argentina and even made Unai Simon not have to work extra in the final match.

The reason Rodri won it is because Spain is, above all, a team that defends well, and that's their strength. He's the one who makes them shine in that bridge between defense and attack.

On the other hand, I think the point of the debate this generates is that people always believe the Ballon d'Or should be won by forwards or midfielders, and rightly so, since they're the ones who generate the most important aspects of a game: goals and assists. That's why this award is so significant. Perhaps the FIFA award shouldn't be called the Ballon d'Or, but rather the MVP.

[Zackz5000]

Argentina played simple football, winning twice in the final minutes against teams that aren't even truly top teams, the only match that deserved i feel like saying was played against a subpar England team who got scared and didn't play like England, otherwise in my opinion Argentina didn't show much football at all, they were only pumped up by the presence of Messi at their last World Cup.

The presence of Messi was a huge motivation for the team and as seen in their playing style, we could see that they had that chemistry that was geared towards seeing that Messi is able to get more goals and good performance which in turn will be in the interest of the team by getting them to proceeding to the next stage of the competition respectively. In my own opinion, Argentina did not paly an exceptional football that really got me through out the competition, they only had the advantage of Messi on the team that got them looking fierce to others which happened to be probably average teams.

Messi had more influence in Argentina team he was also the reason why most of the teams that Argentina played where playing defensively after they got a goal, the surprising one was against England. England was supposed to do what Spain did to Argentina in the final but they used because of the influence of Messi to play a defensive game after scoring a goal which lead to their elimination. Spain wasn't afraid of this team infact they never saw Messi in that field they made Messi and Argentina useless in that final all thanks to Argentina goal keeper Spain would have make it look like it was basketball they played.

[Ale88]

The problem with Spain and his "dominance" is they dont generate real danger against the goal of the other team its one of his only "weakness" maybe, they have the ball for sure and play in your side of the field but they dont create so much danger, you can see it because most of their game ended up with winnings for small margins, only against the weaker Saudi Arabia they score a good ammount of goals.

I don't think you understood Spain's style: they are not a team that attacks like crazy, that is not the point. They want to control the match, they want the opponent to run after them to try steal the ball, and in that moment they need just a few passes to create a goal opportunity. They first thing they care about is always having the ball. Then they choose whether it's time to increase the tempo or not.

[HustleZ]

I think Rodri is truly deserving of the Golden Ball. Many people argue about this because they focus on goals and assists. If the benchmark for winning the Golden Ball is goals and assists it's true that Rodri won't win it. But for me, goals and assists aren't the only criteria for winning the Golden Ball rather it should be seen as a player's contribution to the team. In fact, I think Rodri was a very impressive player at this World Cup because he set the rhythm for Spain, controlled the midfield and cut off the opponent's attacks. His game is also very calm, simple, and tactical. So, City and Spain are very fortunate to have players like Rodri.

Furthermore, since the arrival of players like Rodri football has finally begun to appreciate individuals who aren't visible in the statistics of goals and assists, but whose contributions are actually crucial. So, Rodri has indeed proven that contributions to a team can't always be measured by goals and assists. But sometimes his contribution is to make the opponent unable to do anything as happened in the final against Argentina and even made Unai Simon not have to work extra in the final match.

With that criteria of yours every player is deserving of a golden ball because every single player plays his part in the victory of the team, if the co ordination of a single player is not good then the team suffers so only one player ( rodri) cant be responsible for rythm, only the player that has showed himself on the pitch should be awarded. Messi showed himself on the pitch by scoring as well as assisting and he is in my opinion the true deserving golden ball winner.

[katanic97]

The problem with Spain and his "dominance" is they dont generate real danger against the goal of the other team its one of his only "weakness" maybe, they have the ball for sure and play in your side of the field but they dont create so much danger, you can see it because most of their game ended up with winnings for small margins, only against the weaker Saudi Arabia they score a good ammount of goals.

I don't think you understood Spain's style: they are not a team that attacks like crazy, that is not the point. They want to control the match, they want the opponent to run after them to try steal the ball, and in that moment they need just a few passes to create a goal opportunity. They first thing they care about is always having the ball. Then they choose whether it's time to increase the tempo or not.

They didn't impress me at all in the group stage. I couldn't even tell who the traditional striker was or who was supposed to score the goals. Oyarzabal was the one who ended up scoring most of them.As the tournament went on, it was incredible to see how well the team functioned. The coach knew exactly when to bring on Merino, Torres, and Williams. They really are an excellent team well drilled, disciplined, and, above all, respectful.I do feel sorry for the magician Messi that he didn't win, but based on the way Argentina played, i don't think they deserved the title at all

[Jewan420]

They didn't impress me at all in the group stage. I couldn't even tell who the traditional striker was or who was supposed to score the goals. Oyarzabal was the one who ended up scoring most of them.As the tournament went on, it was incredible to see how well the team functioned. The coach knew exactly when to bring on Merino, Torres, and Williams. They really are an excellent team well drilled, disciplined, and, above all, respectful.I do feel sorry for the magician Messi that he didn't win, but based on the way Argentina played, i don't think they deserved the title at all

Spain have some problems with their attack but they won the World Cup based on their team performance. At the beginning I was hesitant about who their main striker would be? Ferran Torres never seems to be a reliable striker to score goals, his finishing is very weak. Mikel Oyarzabal has scored a few goals throughout the World Cup but he is not known as a great finisher. Even Lamine Yamal seemed weak in finishing. Especially in the group stage, they made us wonder if they were even worthy of being on the list of favorites to win the World Cup? But later they dispelled our doubts.

Their biggest strengths in the World Cup were the defense and midfield. In the midfield, Rodri would tie down the opposing team's players in such a way that the opposing team's players did not get the ball to perform. Their midfield was the most active, especially against strong teams like France and Argentina. The defense was also excellent, with the excellent performance of these two departments helping them win the World Cup without losing a single match and conceding only one goal.

[Unsoldier]

The problem with Spain and his "dominance" is they dont generate real danger against the goal of the other team its one of his only "weakness" maybe, they have the ball for sure and play in your side of the field but they dont create so much danger, you can see it because most of their game ended up with winnings for small margins, only against the weaker Saudi Arabia they score a good ammount of goals.

The Spaniards do hold a lot of possession, but there was very little real threat to the opponent's goal in their play. This was especially evident in the final. They registered plenty of shots on target against Argentina, but apart from the goal, every single one went straight into Emi Martinez's hands. And honestly, I don't think it was fair that Unai Simon was awarded the World Cup Golden Glove. He only conceded one goal, but he barely had any work to do all tournament because Spain gave their opponents almost nothing in front of goal. There were far better goalkeepers than Simon at this tournament.

[blomen]

in this world cup, we’ve seen that even if you don’t score many goals, you can still advance quite far and win the tournament as long as your defense is strong enough. normally, we don’t see a team that wins its matches with so few goals go on to become champion in any major tournament. for example, the teams that win the champions league are generally the highest-scoring teams, with attacking lines made up of the world’s best players. but when it comes to national teams, the quality of your roster can only take you so far. after that, it depends on what kind of team you are.

[Adbitco]

They didn't impress me at all in the group stage. I couldn't even tell who the traditional striker was or who was supposed to score the goals. Oyarzabal was the one who ended up scoring most of them.As the tournament went on, it was incredible to see how well the team functioned. The coach knew exactly when to bring on Merino, Torres, and Williams. They really are an excellent team well drilled, disciplined, and, above all, respectful.I do feel sorry for the magician Messi that he didn't win, but based on the way Argentina played, i don't think they deserved the title at all

Just like what Luis Enrique would say, he prefers 5 different scorers in his team than having just 2 scorers. What happens when these 2 scorers happens to have a bad game? I like how the Spanish team was structured in this world cup, Spain scored between 11 - 12 goal from the beginning to the end of the tournament and in all these goals, they have 8 different scorers if I'm not mistaken., that's the most by any team in the competition having different players on the score sheet. I like the fact that the team isn't reliant on one person to score the goal, apart from the defensive reliability which is also the best in the competition as well because the conceded only one goal all through the tournament.

[Pandorak]

The problem with Spain and his "dominance" is they dont generate real danger against the goal of the other team its one of his only "weakness" maybe, they have the ball for sure and play in your side of the field but they dont create so much danger, you can see it because most of their game ended up with winnings for small margins, only against the weaker Saudi Arabia they score a good ammount of goals.

I think the final result is still what matters most. In this case, Spain didn’t always win by a large margin. However, they looked dominant for almost the entire match, even against Portugal, a very tough opponent, they managed to build momentum that led to a goal. They were smart in capitalizing on the opportunities they had and luckily that goal came in the final minutes. Once again, i believe the final result is still what matters most.

[Lillominato89]

The problem with Spain and his "dominance" is they dont generate real danger against the goal of the other team its one of his only "weakness" maybe, they have the ball for sure and play in your side of the field but they dont create so much danger, you can see it because most of their game ended up with winnings for small margins, only against the weaker Saudi Arabia they score a good ammount of goals.

I don't think you understood Spain's style: they are not a team that attacks like crazy, that is not the point. They want to control the match, they want the opponent to run after them to try steal the ball, and in that moment they need just a few passes to create a goal opportunity. They first thing they care about is always having the ball. Then they choose whether it's time to increase the tempo or not.

This strategy – Tiki-taka – has been the key to success for many Spanish clubs and the Spanish national team.
It’s a style of play that can be extremely frustrating for opponents, who are often forced to run around in circles for long periods, wasting their energy.
Be that as it may, Argentina made a complete fool of themselves in the final, and not just because of the result

[|MINER|]

This strategy – Tiki-taka – has been the key to success for many Spanish clubs and the Spanish national team.
It’s a style of play that can be extremely frustrating for opponents, who are often forced to run around in circles for long periods, wasting their energy.
Be that as it may, Argentina made a complete fool of themselves in the final, and not just because of the result

Actually, Spain winning now will speak volumes for them and their strategy was good, I have to admit, but I really didn't expect Argentina to go through 90 minutes without being able to take a shot.

I was actually quite shocked by Argentina's performance in this match and shocked at what they were playing and what we expected from them. I would not have known that the final match was so one-sided if I hadn't seen it. What was even worse was that despite Lionel Messi being in the squad, he didn't do any better in this match. Basically, Argentina was humiliated badly by Spain at one stage.

[Jegileman]

The presence of Messi was a huge motivation for the team and as seen in their playing style, we could see that they had that chemistry that was geared towards seeing that Messi is able to get more goals and good performance which in turn will be in the interest of the team by getting them to proceeding to the next stage of the competition respectively. In my own opinion, Argentina did not paly an exceptional football that really got me through out the competition, they only had the advantage of Messi on the team that got them looking fierce to others which happened to be probably average teams.

The presence of players like Messi in every team will definitely boost the morale of the team. Anything they’ll be facing will also be a bit sceptical when facing Messi, because they already have this mindset that they’re playing against a bigger player and team than they are. So many times during the course of the World Cup, Argentina almost got eliminated but fortunately for them, they always get to come back into the game and qualify. Argentina was not the best team for the World Cup trophy and if they had met other big teams along their path before reaching the semifinals, they might have been eliminated long time ago in the competition before reaching the semifinals. They only faced a big team during their semifinal clash with England.

[criptoevangelista]

The presence of Messi was a huge motivation for the team and as seen in their playing style, we could see that they had that chemistry that was geared towards seeing that Messi is able to get more goals and good performance which in turn will be in the interest of the team by getting them to proceeding to the next stage of the competition respectively. In my own opinion, Argentina did not paly an exceptional football that really got me through out the competition, they only had the advantage of Messi on the team that got them looking fierce to others which happened to be probably average teams.

The presence of players like Messi in every team will definitely boost the morale of the team. Anything they’ll be facing will also be a bit sceptical when facing Messi, because they already have this mindset that they’re playing against a bigger player and team than they are. So many times during the course of the World Cup, Argentina almost got eliminated but fortunately for them, they always get to come back into the game and qualify. Argentina was not the best team for the World Cup trophy and if they had met other big teams along their path before reaching the semifinals, they might have been eliminated long time ago in the competition before reaching the semifinals. They only faced a big team during their semifinal clash with England.

I also agree that Messi's presence makes any opponent worried, but in this final Argentina was completely dominated. They didn't see the ball at all and were totally shut down by the Spain team... Rarely in football have I seen a team get so thoroughly dominated, especially in a World Cup final, the most important tournament in football.

[danadc]

Vozinha has played really well. A few months ago, he was a nobody to the whole world. Now he has become a hero to the whole world. He has performed quite well behind this. He drew the match with Spain with many saves. And it was only because of his single-handed effort. This confidence will make their entire team stronger. Maybe in the future they will come back to play FIFA and then they will perform even better.

That's where it's confirmed that there's talent and that many countries have very good players, and that talent is wasted because the talent scouts in each country don't do much, or rather, they don't do anything. They don't go out looking for players, something like they used to do. Now it's all about money, all cronyism, like, "If the son of X, who's a politician, is the one who should play." So, it's been seen in many countries that things work this way. Vozinha was the player who exemplifies this, without help. Maybe a scout saw him and let him pass, we don't know how it happened, but his results were excellent.

[Ale88]

The problem with Spain and his "dominance" is they dont generate real danger against the goal of the other team its one of his only "weakness" maybe, they have the ball for sure and play in your side of the field but they dont create so much danger, you can see it because most of their game ended up with winnings for small margins, only against the weaker Saudi Arabia they score a good ammount of goals.

I don't think you understood Spain's style: they are not a team that attacks like crazy, that is not the point. They want to control the match, they want the opponent to run after them to try steal the ball, and in that moment they need just a few passes to create a goal opportunity. They first thing they care about is always having the ball. Then they choose whether it's time to increase the tempo or not.

They didn't impress me at all in the group stage. I couldn't even tell who the traditional striker was or who was supposed to score the goals. Oyarzabal was the one who ended up scoring most of them.As the tournament went on, it was incredible to see how well the team functioned. The coach knew exactly when to bring on Merino, Torres, and Williams. They really are an excellent team well drilled, disciplined, and, above all, respectful.I do feel sorry for the magician Messi that he didn't win, but based on the way Argentina played, i don't think they deserved the title at all

I guess you didn't understand Spain's tactic either because if you are looking for their striker then there is a problem. Why? Because Spain play without a striker. Have you ever heard about a position called "falso nueve", which would translate as "fake nine"? That's Spain. They usually play without a real striker. Back in the days many times they used Fabregas in that position.

[Sithara007]

I also agree that Messi's presence makes any opponent worried, but in this final Argentina was completely dominated. They didn't see the ball at all and were totally shut down by the Spain team... Rarely in football have I seen a team get so thoroughly dominated, especially in a World Cup final, the most important tournament in football.

Argentina got weak opponents right until the final. And in the final match, they had to face the toughest team in the tournament. And even in some of their previous matches, they struggled against the relatively weak teams (the match against Egypt is a perfect example). On the other hand, Spain had tough opponents throughout the tournament. Even in the semi-finals, they had to face a strong France who had Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé in the squad. Anyway, even before the tournament started, Argentina's odds were not as good as that of Spain.

[Gallar]

The presence of Messi was a huge motivation for the team and as seen in their playing style, we could see that they had that chemistry that was geared towards seeing that Messi is able to get more goals and good performance which in turn will be in the interest of the team by getting them to proceeding to the next stage of the competition respectively. In my own opinion, Argentina did not paly an exceptional football that really got me through out the competition, they only had the advantage of Messi on the team that got them looking fierce to others which happened to be probably average teams.

Yes,, that's what makes the Argentine national team special. Essentially, their unity is strong, allowing them to work together well as a unit. It's no wonder they advanced to the final of this World Cup. We all know they play well, and we can't deny that. Portugal, on the other hand, has a great player like Ronaldo, but unfortunately,, they haven't utilized him effectively. They've isolated him and rarely given him opportunities.

I think that's why Portugal couldn't advance in this World Cup.. It's a real shame. I'm sure if Portugal could work together better and utilize Ronaldo effectively,, they could have gone even further. Unfortunately, the Portuguese players were truly selfish, and now they're suffering the consequences. Even though I personally really wanted to see Portugal reach the final of this World Cup, unfortunately they couldn't.