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

[KingsDen]

I don't think Argentina can reach the World Cup finals again unless Messi is in the team. Whether old or young, Messi was a unique player, and we will never see another player like him.
For Argentina's success to continue, at least 2-3 more players need to shine. Otherwise, I don't think this team has the potential to reach the final. If Messi hadn't been here this season, I think they would have been eliminated much earlier

It is without doubt that Messi is one of the best Argentine football of all time, he has helped this country reach where they never dreamt of reaching. But saying that Argentina can't reach the World cup finals again is not true. I know that Messi is irreplaceable, but there are still younger generation of players yet to be recognised.

Remember Maradona was once the king and hope of the Argentines,
nobody knew who was Messi at that time, but today he is now known as the Argentine hero. This same way we will see another young star carry on from where Messi stopped.  There is a saying that "As the final chapter of a legend closes the first page of the rising star begins".

[W Jr.]

the Argentine players don't like violence but they have been, they are very aggressive and have always beaten their opponents, and they have clearly demonstrated that they don't know how to lose a football match, there is certainly a lot of competitive spirit and they want to win at all costs but this is not the case, you don't play like that.

If anyone still remembers 2022, they showed that they couldn't win with dignity. I can't recall a single team that could have embarrassed themselves so much with winning a tournament. So it only took two tournaments to prove to everyone that they were pathetic, both in victories and defeats. Many explain this by complexes regarding Brazil - Argentina has always been a secondary team in relation to Brazil, but still, considering that Brazil has not been able to win anything for 20 years, the current generation of Argentine players should be free of this complex.

I was so much disappointed with the way Argentina behave, because if all the teams that played World Cup and got eliminated behave the way Argentina did, honestly it will be a very big disappointment for the entire world. I was so much happy when Spain won the trophy, a lot of people were supporting Spain, based on what Argentina were doing from the beginning against the backing of the referee. Messi could not hold himself emotionally to the extent that he could not be able to separate fight after he noticed them, the most painful part which I hate with him, he was standing and looking at his colleague were exchanging words but he failed to solve the problem.

Many fans supported Argentina due to their admiration for Messi. In fact, it was a huge battle between Spain and Argentina, and Messi fans wanted to see Lionel Messi win the World Cup one last time. However, Spain didn't allow it. They played a magnificent match and were the sole dominant team. Argentina showed no presence in the game. It was a game that even made you question how they reached the final. They had no chances. They couldn't even take a shot at goal in 120 minutes. Spain had a comfortable match and won the cup comfortably. The balance of the teams' squads will change until the next tournament. Spain, with its young squad, will probably advance to the final again. Their squad will be young and have many experienced players in the 2030 World Cup.

[Ale88]

Argentina showed no presence in the game. It was a game that even made you question how they reached the final. They had no chances. They couldn't even take a shot at goal in 120 minutes. Spain had a comfortable match and won the cup comfortably. The balance of the teams' squads will change until the next tournament. Spain, with its young squad, will probably advance to the final again. Their squad will be young and have many experienced players in the 2030 World Cup.

Well, Argentina reached the final because besides England, the didn't face any tough team. The phase group was insanely easy, without forgetting that Messi should have received a red card against Algeria. Then they really had to sweat it against Cape Verde. With Egypt and Switzerland they received, once again, help from the referee.

And I also have another question: besides Messi and Dibu Martinez, who else shined for Argentina? Maybe Romero? But what about the offensive players or any midfielder? Nothing.

[pewboy]

Well, Argentina reached the final because besides England, the didn't face any tough team. The phase group was insanely easy, without forgetting that Messi should have received a red card against Algeria. Then they really had to sweat it against Cape Verde. With Egypt and Switzerland they received, once again, help from the referee.

And I also have another question: besides Messi and Dibu Martinez, who else shined for Argentina? Maybe Romero? But what about the offensive players or any midfielder? Nothing.

He certainly had a favorable path, but this is part of the game, a bit of luck helps.
I have often seen super mega unlucky teams lose games that they really deserved to win, these are things that happen more than we think.

[martinom]

Many fans supported Argentina due to their admiration for Messi. In fact, it was a huge battle between Spain and Argentina, and Messi fans wanted to see Lionel Messi win the World Cup one last time. However, Spain didn't allow it. They played a magnificent match and were the sole dominant team. Argentina showed no presence in the game. It was a game that even made you question how they reached the final. They had no chances. They couldn't even take a shot at goal in 120 minutes. Spain had a comfortable match and won the cup comfortably. The balance of the teams' squads will change until the next tournament. Spain, with its young squad, will probably advance to the final again. Their squad will be young and have many experienced players in the 2030 World Cup.

I think the reason is basically just that, the deep admiration for a living legend, i also respect and respect and admire Lionel Messi very much, which is why i like Argentina.
With him leaving, i have to be honest, i like him a lot less.

[Saltysugar99]

Well, Argentina reached the final because besides England, the didn't face any tough team. The phase group was insanely easy, without forgetting that Messi should have received a red card against Algeria. Then they really had to sweat it against Cape Verde. With Egypt and Switzerland they received, once again, help from the referee.

And I also have another question: besides Messi and Dibu Martinez, who else shined for Argentina? Maybe Romero? But what about the offensive players or any midfielder? Nothing.

He certainly had a favorable path, but this is part of the game, a bit of luck helps.
I have often seen super mega unlucky teams lose games that they really deserved to win, these are things that happen more than we think.

There is no denying that Argentina faced a relatively easy opponent. And there was some controversy over the referee's decisions during the match. The main point here is that what happened was within the rules. The referee has no power to do anything outside of FIFA rules. However, when the same judgment is not made with other teams and only one team is given a chance repeatedly based on FIFA rules, then people will criticize it. Many people around the world like the star players of different teams including Argentina, France, Spain, Brazil, England, Portugal. This is why the FIFA World Cup has gained the reputation of being the greatest show on earth. So if all the good teams play at the beginning and if they keep losing, then people will not get the fun of playing the World Cup in the end. If their favorite teams get knocked out at the beginning, then they will not have interest in the game. That's why FIFA also wants the good and popular teams to stay until the end of the World Cup. This may be part of the business. Because I have heard many people say that FIFA has now become a money-making machine. Where they are making money by showing extra adds, by increasing the price of tickets and giving two extra breaks in between the games. If you think about everything together, it is understood that FIFA really wants the strong and popular teams to play many matches in the World Cup. This may also be why Argentina has been given a special advantage.

[bastisisca]

It is without doubt that Messi is one of the best Argentine football of all time, he has helped this country reach where they never dreamt of reaching. But saying that Argentina can't reach the World cup finals again is not true. I know that Messi is irreplaceable, but there are still younger generation of players yet to be recognised.

Remember Maradona was once the king and hope of the Argentines,
nobody knew who was Messi at that time, but today he is now known as the Argentine hero. This same way we will see another young star carry on from where Messi stopped.  There is a saying that "As the final chapter of a legend closes the first page of the rising star begins".

He was certainly one of the best, but this World Cup he played very badly, or rather if we want to be precise and picky: he didn't play.
How many balls did he touch in the final? How many inventions and magic tricks did he make?
I answer, no one. He was a shadow of his former self.

[sergiorus]

Argentina showed no presence in the game. It was a game that even made you question how they reached the final. They had no chances. They couldn't even take a shot at goal in 120 minutes. Spain had a comfortable match and won the cup comfortably. The balance of the teams' squads will change until the next tournament. Spain, with its young squad, will probably advance to the final again. Their squad will be young and have many experienced players in the 2030 World Cup.

Well, Argentina reached the final because besides England, the didn't face any tough team. The phase group was insanely easy, without forgetting that Messi should have received a red card against Algeria. Then they really had to sweat it against Cape Verde. With Egypt and Switzerland they received, once again, help from the referee.

And I also have another question: besides Messi and Dibu Martinez, who else shined for Argentina? Maybe Romero? But what about the offensive players or any midfielder? Nothing.

Not only the opponents all were relatively weak, they also beat them by pure luck, clearly failing to dominate on the pitch. Even with Cape-Verde, which was insane. They simply couldn't manage to beat them by class.

As per Messi, his stats per 100 minutes play aren't impressive at all (especially given practically no tough opponents). For example, he played 320(!) minutes more than Erling Haaland but scored only 1 more goal than him.
Not even to mention Mbappe, who scored 2 goals more than Messi whilst playing almost 100 minutes less.
And yet they will keep saying "Messi dominated the World Cup at 39 years old".

[Razmirraz]

Snip.

He was certainly one of the best, but this World Cup he played very badly, or rather if we want to be precise and picky: he didn't play.
How many balls did he touch in the final? How many inventions and magic tricks did he make?
I answer, no one. He was a shadow of his former self.

I actually see it from a different perspective, Messi really performed extraordinary in the 2026 World Cup, what Messi showed was very difficult for other players to do at the age of 39. He scored a hat-trick against Algeria, scored two decisive goals against Austria and continued to provide crucial assists in the knockout stages against Egypt, Switzerland and England. His extraordinary contribution made Argentina successfully advance to the final, unfortunately they had to lose to Spain with a score of 1-0.

I really lift the trophy for the Spanish players, they managed to frustrate all the Argentine players by not getting a single shot on target in 90 minutes of normal time, if it weren't for the brilliant performance of Emiliano Martínez, perhaps Argentina would have conceded more than two goals. Messi completely lost his magic in the final, not because he played badly, but because the Spanish player's boundless creativity made it difficult for all the Argentine players to develop their game.

[m4r1o]

Not only the opponents all were relatively weak, they also beat them by pure luck, clearly failing to dominate on the pitch. Even with Cape-Verde, which was insane. They simply couldn't manage to beat them by class.

As per Messi, his stats per 100 minutes play aren't impressive at all (especially given practically no tough opponents). For example, he played 320(!) minutes more than Erling Haaland but scored only 1 more goal than him.
Not even to mention Mbappe, who scored 2 goals more than Messi whilst playing almost 100 minutes less.
And yet they will keep saying "Messi dominated the World Cup at 39 years old".

I believe that Argentina had an easier path compared to many other national teams, in fact Spain, who were there on merit, were able to win with honour, while Argentina struggled a lot and didn't have a shot on goal, so this says a lot about the inadequate preparation of the team.

[changaa]

I was so much disappointed with the way Argentina behave, because if all the teams that played World Cup and got eliminated behave the way Argentina did, honestly it will be a very big disappointment for the entire world. I was so much happy when Spain won the trophy, a lot of people were supporting Spain, based on what Argentina were doing from the beginning against the backing of the referee. Messi could not hold himself emotionally to the extent that he could not be able to separate fight after he noticed them, the most painful part which I hate with him, he was standing and looking at his colleague were exchanging words but he failed to solve the problem.

I was disappointed when the match ended, the brawl was really out of place
you lost, you have to have fair play and admit that your opponent is stronger than you
go there and shake hands and win the sport

Behaving like that, looking for fights and blows, doesn't give a good image of Argentina.

[HustleZ]

It is without doubt that Messi is one of the best Argentine football of all time, he has helped this country reach where they never dreamt of reaching. But saying that Argentina can't reach the World cup finals again is not true. I know that Messi is irreplaceable, but there are still younger generation of players yet to be recognised.

Remember Maradona was once the king and hope of the Argentines,
nobody knew who was Messi at that time, but today he is now known as the Argentine hero. This same way we will see another young star carry on from where Messi stopped.  There is a saying that "As the final chapter of a legend closes the first page of the rising star begins".

Perfectly said, messi is retiring so this doesn’t mean that Argentina has to stop playing because they have no good players but they will have newer, younger talent  that might or might not surpass messi but that is not important. What is important is that they are well coordinated with each other and if they are coordinated enough they can easily reach the finals and win. Though they will suffer for some time and it will take time to find a replacement for the GREATEST lionel Messi.

[aipercoin]

Everyone plays to win but not everyone wins. There is a common word that there will be wins and losses in the game, so you have to be ready to accept any result. Argentina is a good team. They played well in this World Cup. The team lost very badly in the final and when they could not take this loss normally, their behavior was revealed. Not by supporting any team or opposing team, but if we think impartially, that incident was not expected particularly from the Argentina team. Despite being such a good team, I was very upset by the behavior on the field in the final. The team has reached the final, it is certainly appreciated but it is unacceptable that they will behave aggressively. Despite Argentina's behavior being so bad, Spain has shown a lot of patience. After all the influence of the players should be limited to the game.

Argentina is a good team, in fact they proved it by reaching the final.
This should already be enough to dispel any doubts. You can have no doubts about the outgoing world champion returning to the final again four years later.
It would be disingenuous to say so.

[Unsoldier]

I don't think Argentina can reach the World Cup finals again unless Messi is in the team. Whether old or young, Messi was a unique player, and we will never see another player like him.
For Argentina's success to continue, at least 2-3 more players need to shine. Otherwise, I don't think this team has the potential to reach the final. If Messi hadn't been here this season, I think they would have been eliminated much earlier

It is without doubt that Messi is one of the best Argentine football of all time, he has helped this country reach where they never dreamt of reaching. But saying that Argentina can't reach the World cup finals again is not true. I know that Messi is irreplaceable, but there are still younger generation of players yet to be recognised.

Remember Maradona was once the king and hope of the Argentines,
nobody knew who was Messi at that time, but today he is now known as the Argentine hero. This same way we will see another young star carry on from where Messi stopped.  There is a saying that "As the final chapter of a legend closes the first page of the rising star begins".

Argentina has a rich football tradition and a strong pool of players, so I think even after Lionel Messi retires, they will reach another World Cup final more than once. However, it's unlikely Argentina will produce a player of Messi's caliber in the coming years—and honestly, we might not see a player like him anywhere in the world anytime soon. I hope I'm wrong and we do get to witness a new legend, but for now, I just don't see anyone like that.

[Rhow]

I don't think Argentina can reach the World Cup finals again unless Messi is in the team. Whether old or young, Messi was a unique player, and we will never see another player like him.
For Argentina's success to continue, at least 2-3 more players need to shine. Otherwise, I don't think this team has the potential to reach the final. If Messi hadn't been here this season, I think they would have been eliminated much earlier

It is without doubt that Messi is one of the best Argentine football of all time, he has helped this country reach where they never dreamt of reaching. But saying that Argentina can't reach the World cup finals again is not true. I know that Messi is irreplaceable, but there are still younger generation of players yet to be recognised.

Remember Maradona was once the king and hope of the Argentines,
nobody knew who was Messi at that time, but today he is now known as the Argentine hero. This same way we will see another young star carry on from where Messi stopped.  There is a saying that "As the final chapter of a legend closes the first page of the rising star begins".

Argentina has a rich football tradition and a strong pool of players, so I think even after Lionel Messi retires, they will reach another World Cup final more than once. However, it's unlikely Argentina will produce a player of Messi's caliber in the coming years—and honestly, we might not see a player like him anywhere in the world anytime soon. I hope I'm wrong and we do get to witness a new legend, but for now, I just don't see anyone like that.

I like your neutral statement. But some Messi fans here don't want to accept it. They think that if Messi retires, no one will come like him. Many Messi fans also say that if Messi retires, Argentina won't be able to go to the final again. It's ridiculous. Messi's contribution cannot be denied. But it's hard to convince them that even before Messi played in the World Cup, Argentina played in the final many times.

[banana33]

There is no denying that Argentina faced a relatively easy opponent. And there was some controversy over the referee's decisions during the match. The main point here is that what happened was within the rules. The referee has no power to do anything outside of FIFA rules. However, when the same judgment is not made with other teams and only one team is given a chance repeatedly based on FIFA rules, then people will criticize it. Many people around the world like the star players of different teams including Argentina, France, Spain, Brazil, England, Portugal. This is why the FIFA World Cup has gained the reputation of being the greatest show on earth. So if all the good teams play at the beginning and if they keep losing, then people will not get the fun of playing the World Cup in the end. If their favorite teams get knocked out at the beginning, then they will not have interest in the game. That's why FIFA also wants the good and popular teams to stay until the end of the World Cup. This may be part of the business. Because I have heard many people say that FIFA has now become a money-making machine. Where they are making money by showing extra adds, by increasing the price of tickets and giving two extra breaks in between the games. If you think about everything together, it is understood that FIFA really wants the strong and popular teams to play many matches in the World Cup. This may also be why Argentina has been given a special advantage.

that's what everyone thinks, Argentina had a much easier and less selective path than Spain who in fact proved to be much stronger, with this i is not saying that they were favoured, of course, but they were very lucky to have a world championship with these matches.

[IceLincoln]

It is without doubt that Messi is one of the best Argentine football of all time, he has helped this country reach where they never dreamt of reaching. But saying that Argentina can't reach the World cup finals again is not true. I know that Messi is irreplaceable, but there are still younger generation of players yet to be recognised.

Remember Maradona was once the king and hope of the Argentines,
nobody knew who was Messi at that time, but today he is now known as the Argentine hero. This same way we will see another young star carry on from where Messi stopped.  There is a saying that "As the final chapter of a legend closes the first page of the rising star begins".

He was certainly one of the best, but this World Cup he played very badly, or rather if we want to be precise and picky: he didn't play.
How many balls did he touch in the final? How many inventions and magic tricks did he make?
I answer, no one. He was a shadow of his former self.

Sometimes I wonder how some of you think and observe things what do you mean he was a shadow of his former self or he played badly, an aged player of 39years old carried an ageing Argentina squad all through the tournament to the finals with 8 goals and four assists and you still say he played badly.
Spain played a tactical game against Argentina and restricted balls from getting to Messi for most of it, Argentina were playing with 10 men without the ball even before the red card but with the ball is where you’ll see him play and Spain denied them that. You can’t use that to judge him.

[Sarah Azhari]

I don't think Argentina can reach the World Cup finals again unless Messi is in the team. Whether old or young, Messi was a unique player, and we will never see another player like him.
For Argentina's success to continue, at least 2-3 more players need to shine. Otherwise, I don't think this team has the potential to reach the final. If Messi hadn't been here this season, I think they would have been eliminated much earlier

I’ve been thinking the same thing as you. Messi’s influence on the Argentine national team is immense, and it’s hard for any player to replace him. Even if two or three other players shine, they might not necessarily be able to fill Messi’s role. As you said, without Messi, Argentina is just an average team. It might even take a long time for them to reach the World Cup final again. This situation reminds us of Maradona’s legacy: after he retired, Argentina never reached the World Cup semifinals or finals again until Messi arrived, and it took several years for Argentina to reach the World Cup final once more. History is bound to repeat itself.

[GIF-JOBS]

I don't think Argentina can reach the World Cup finals again unless Messi is in the team. Whether old or young, Messi was a unique player, and we will never see another player like him.
For Argentina's success to continue, at least 2-3 more players need to shine. Otherwise, I don't think this team has the potential to reach the final. If Messi hadn't been here this season, I think they would have been eliminated much earlier

I’ve been thinking the same thing as you. Messi’s influence on the Argentine national team is immense, and it’s hard for any player to replace him. Even if two or three other players shine, they might not necessarily be able to fill Messi’s role. As you said, without Messi, Argentina is just an average team. It might even take a long time for them to reach the World Cup final again. This situation reminds us of Maradona’s legacy: after he retired, Argentina never reached the World Cup semifinals or finals again until Messi arrived, and it took several years for Argentina to reach the World Cup final once more. History is bound to repeat itself.

Now Argentina just has to wait for a player who is equal to Messi, and it is unknown when he will be. I think Messi alone was 40% of the Argentina team, so it is beyond imagination how difficult it is going to be for Argentina to reach the final without Messi in the next World Cup. So I also think that it may take a long time for Argentina to reach the World Cup final again. I think Argentina's situation will be like Brazil's from now on, that is, they will go to the Quarter-finals at most and then be eliminated from the Quarter-finals. Anyway, now let's see how far Argentina can go without Messi and when they find another Messi. This was the last World Cup of this last golden era of legends.

[Ale88]

Well, Argentina reached the final because besides England, the didn't face any tough team. The phase group was insanely easy, without forgetting that Messi should have received a red card against Algeria. Then they really had to sweat it against Cape Verde. With Egypt and Switzerland they received, once again, help from the referee.

And I also have another question: besides Messi and Dibu Martinez, who else shined for Argentina? Maybe Romero? But what about the offensive players or any midfielder? Nothing.

He certainly had a favorable path, but this is part of the game, a bit of luck helps.
I have often seen super mega unlucky teams lose games that they really deserved to win, these are things that happen more than we think.

I know it's part of the game, but that was not my point. I was saying that Argentina barely made it to the final facing only 1 big team, England. So I find it a little to say that Messi and Argentina played a great World Cup considering the way they got to the final. Had they beaten all those teams 4-0 then yes, we could have said that Argentina had an easy path but clearly dominated every match showing their superiority. But it wasn't absolutely the case. They struggled in every single match, a lot.