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

[Fivestar4everMVP]

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.

I don't or do not think Argentina's failure in the world Cup finals against Spain was as a result of inadequate preparation, they were simply over powered by the Spanish players.
If you watched the semi finals played by same Spain and France, you discover that exactly same thing happened to France where they were unable to get any shot on goal against Spain, does this mean that France also did not prepare adequately to face Spain in that semi finals? The answer is no, Spain's national football team has some incredible players and that a fact.

[BitBakerr1]

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’m very sure when Maradona was playing some people may have said the same thing you are saying now, that know one can replace him in the Argentina international football or no one can do the things he did in football, all those people were proven wrong with the arrival of Lionel Messi.
I believe that someone who is going to play more better than him is actually going to come out from Argentina international football in the future. No doubt Lionel Messi is a great player but the future is unknown someone may actually play more better than him in the future we may not be alive to witness it.

[EarnOnVictor]

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.

I love to be fair in football, which is why I found it difficult to believe that FIFA could favour Argentina/Messi, but with that Trump's phone call did during the world cup, I have no single respect for FIFA, Gianni Infantino and their officiation.

Why am I saying this? It's because of the easy opponent you mention, and such could be well planned right from the group stage, even outside Argentina's group, through possibilities. I don't think it's coincidence that Argentina didn't face any traditional football giant countries until the semi-final. And what happened? They survived one (England), but could survive the next (Spain). I wonder what would have happened if they'd faced France or Spain earlier. Besides, a lot of officiating partialities, which makes it more annoying.

[Oluwa-btc]

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.

The game against Egypt though,  the officials and VAR failed to call back a foul leading to Argentina scoring a goal but they did the same canceling a goal which should have stand but, thry claimed Lisandro Martinez was stamped on aggressively.
I believe we should have seen them knocked out during that game but I don't know how they managed to ace through. I will not say it wad a direct help from the officials. The officials where ad we all saw a little bit biased in their favour.

Players like Lisandro Martinez had impacts, detecting their games from behind and also Cuti Romero. They had high performing players, even if they don't get the recognition they deserve. It should be evil to also talk down Enzo Fernandez. However, he remains a dirty player.

[ColdLava40]

Why am I saying this? It's because of the easy opponent you mention, and such could be well planned right from the group stage, even outside Argentina's group, through possibilities. I don't think it's coincidence that Argentina didn't face any traditional football giant countries until the semi-final. And what happened? They survived one (England), but could survive the next (Spain). I wonder what would have happened if they'd faced France or Spain earlier. Besides, a lot of officiating partialities, which makes it more annoying.

Nothing is fair, including football.

The fact that FIFA made everything look suspicious and later claimed to be clean makes it more sketchy. But we do not want to draw un proved conclusions do we?

The world cup was interesting but I was finding it difficult when data began to present itself that the whole game was setup to make sure Two different countries would meet at the finals. Not the first time hearing such but all roads led to Messi and yamal, which were the main characters of the drama.

[Muba20]

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.

I don't or do not think Argentina's failure in the world Cup finals against Spain was as a result of inadequate preparation, they were simply over powered by the Spanish players.
If you watched the semi finals played by same Spain and France, you discover that exactly same thing happened to France where they were unable to get any shot on goal against Spain, does this mean that France also did not prepare adequately to face Spain in that semi finals? The answer is no, Spain's national football team has some incredible players and that a fact.

There is no doubt that the Spanish national team has extraordinary players. The most powerful attacking style in football is the three-dimensional attack with small passes. Defending from such an attack is one of the most difficult tactics. Argentina and France were not lacking in preparation. They themselves knew very well how much power the opposing team would use and what tactics they would attack with. In this case, there was no other way but to play completely defensively to stop the opposing team. Spain likes to play by positioning the ball very much. Using such an attacking strategy with experienced and talented players in the team, they remained undefeated in the FIFA World Cup 2026. The Spanish national team has adopted the most powerful attacking strategy in football history as their daily strategy, which has made them undefeated.

[Bitcoin_Arena]

I don't know if you folks have come across this news-y-ness yet, but it looks like Fifa has plans to sell the commercial rights to its tournaments, including the World Cup, to private investors!
As if the corruption scandals and favorism surrounding the recently ended tournament were not enough, someone now wants to ruin the beautiful game by enriching themselves



Agree with me or not, but this whole thing has America's capitalism written all over it. The beautiful tournament may never be the same again.

I am siding with UEFA's stand to avoid this from happening

UEFA is accelerating efforts to hold an emergency meeting of its 55 member associations this week, sources told ESPN, to discuss plans, including a potential World Cup boycott, to oppose a FIFA proposal to raise $20 billion from a sale of equity to outside investors.

[Agathamay]

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.

It was shown in the final that Argentina didn't deserve to be there. They got dominated by Spain in the world cup final, it got me wondering if this is the same Argentina that were crown the 2022 world cup final and in this final, they got zero attempts on goal in the full 90mins. Argentina didn't deserve to be in the final, we watch all their matches from group stage to knock out phase, their oppositions were not fierce as the ones faced by Spain. 

[LUCKMCFLY]

I love to be fair in football, which is why I found it difficult to believe that FIFA could favour Argentina/Messi, but with that Trump's phone call did during the world cup, I have no single respect for FIFA, Gianni Infantino and their officiation.

Why am I saying this? It's because of the easy opponent you mention, and such could be well planned right from the group stage, even outside Argentina's group, through possibilities. I don't think it's coincidence that Argentina didn't face any traditional football giant countries until the semi-final. And what happened? They survived one (England), but could survive the next (Spain). I wonder what would have happened if they'd faced France or Spain earlier. Besides, a lot of officiating partialities, which makes it more annoying.

Well, it's hard not to have an opinion about the World Cup. What they did there was really awful, and it has to be said. I know a lot of Messi fans will say no, that it's a lie, but come on, we all know what happened, and luckily football won, and that's why Spain won. In fact, it wouldn't have been Spain if someone else had won instead of Argentina, because of everything that happened. So don't feel bad.

[EarnOnVictor]

I love to be fair in football, which is why I found it difficult to believe that FIFA could favour Argentina/Messi, but with that Trump's phone call did during the world cup, I have no single respect for FIFA, Gianni Infantino and their officiation.

Why am I saying this? It's because of the easy opponent you mention, and such could be well planned right from the group stage, even outside Argentina's group, through possibilities. I don't think it's coincidence that Argentina didn't face any traditional football giant countries until the semi-final. And what happened? They survived one (England), but could survive the next (Spain). I wonder what would have happened if they'd faced France or Spain earlier. Besides, a lot of officiating partialities, which makes it more annoying.

Well, it's hard not to have an opinion about the World Cup. What they did there was really awful, and it has to be said. I know a lot of Messi fans will say no, that it's a lie, but come on, we all know what happened, and luckily football won, and that's why Spain won. In fact, it wouldn't have been Spain if someone else had won instead of Argentina, because of everything that happened. So don't feel bad.

Feel bad? Far from it, except for the ignoble phone call that played out between Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino. Yet, football Karma struck the USA the hardest, with 1-4 win by Belgium in knockout stage, which is disgraceful enough for Trump, even as their person of interest (Folarin Balogun) wasn't able to produce a single goal in that match. So why should I feel bad? Even with the partial officiation in favour of Argentina, the country wasn't terrible on the pitch; they did well, so they deserve respect still. And for the obvious partiality, Argentina was still hammered hard by Spain. Not only that, Spain had an overwhelming 75% supporter to win the final match globally . That should tell you a lot already. The world of football has already been vindicated!

[X-ray]

I don't know if you folks have come across this news-y-ness yet, but it looks like Fifa has plans to sell the commercial rights to its tournaments, including the World Cup, to private investors!
As if the corruption scandals and favorism surrounding the recently ended tournament were not enough, someone now wants to ruin the beautiful game by enriching themselves



Agree with me or not, but this whole thing has America's capitalism written all over it. The beautiful tournament may never be the same again.

I am siding with UEFA's stand to avoid this from happening

UEFA is accelerating efforts to hold an emergency meeting of its 55 member associations this week, sources told ESPN, to discuss plans, including a potential World Cup boycott, to oppose a FIFA proposal to raise $20 billion from a sale of equity to outside investors.

So it's now UEFA, CONCACAF and AFC are against FIFA's decision to sell their stakes. I also in the same boat with you because of this will destroy the beauty of football.

Beside that i've heard that Trump's son-in-law is one of investors who want the stakes. This corruption is just going so crazy.

I hope all of major organizations can united to against this idea. What the heck is wrong with FIFA.

[Ruttoshi]

So it's now UEFA, CONCACAF and AFC are against FIFA's decision to sell their stakes. I also in the same boat with you because of this will destroy the beauty of football.

Beside that i've heard that Trump's son-in-law is one of investors who want the stakes. This corruption is just going so crazy.

I hope all of major organizations can united to against this idea. What the heck is wrong with FIFA.

Infantino is Trump puppet because he cannot say NO to what Trump tells him. I don't know what the heck is happening in football anymore because some persons want to use their influence to hijack the cup that made everyone come together to fight for.

FIFA has turned football in to pure business regardless if the will affect the quality and beauty of the game. Why trade the football asset . I love the fact that UEFA and CONCACAF is kicking against it. Money isn't everything.

[Ale88]

FIFA has turned football in to pure business regardless if the will affect the quality and beauty of the game. Why trade the football asset . I love the fact that UEFA and CONCACAF is kicking against it. Money isn't everything.

I just read an article, literally few minutes ago, that was explaining how UEFA would boycott the next World Cups if FIFA plans to sell stakes of the tournament to private investors would be approved. Basically they had an emergency meeting and all 55 member associations agreed to boycott the tournament. Good luck to FIFA then. Infantino is destroying football. He's worse than Blatter.

[Dunamisx]

I believe the next world Cup will not be hosted by America and it will be more difficult to hear any controversies over any form of manipulations as this just concluded world Cup went, you already know some of the countries that we participate in the opening and closing ceremony along with the hosting of the main event tournament, it has never happened before that people complain this much about FIFA world Cup and I guess that it was because of the Host that make everything look more suspicious.

[Ale88]

I believe the next world Cup will not be hosted by America

That is a fact, the hosting countries for the 2030 World Cup have already been decided back in 2024. Also, FIFA have rotation rules, so a country cannot host the tournament if any other continental confederation has already hosted either of the two preceding editions. In this case, none of the CONCACAF teams/countries can host the World Cup until at least 2038.

[Volgastallion]

Anyone is seeing what is happening right now between Morocco and Spain? Im talking about the migration crisis in Ceuta.... this is for sure some movement from the Moroco goverment, and maybe is related to the fact that they want to steal the final from the upcoming 2030 world cup from Spain. They are pushing with everything they can, money and now blackmail.

[KTChampions]

I just read an article, literally few minutes ago, that was explaining how UEFA would boycott the next World Cups if FIFA plans to sell stakes of the tournament to private investors would be approved. Basically they had an emergency meeting and all 55 member associations agreed to boycott the tournament. Good luck to FIFA then. Infantino is destroying football. He's worse than Blatter.

It's become a meme: "What kind of guy do you have to be to make us miss Blatter?" Infantino truly represents a new stage in the evolution of corruption and vileness. It's funny that from the UEFA side, according to rumors, the president of PSG will be put in opposition to him (if they try to remove Infantino), I'm not at all sure that he is a holier man, if you know what I mean. In any case, I think UEFA has the upper hand when it comes to confrontation and they will be able to calm Infantino down.

[Ale88]

It's funny that from the UEFA side, according to rumors, the president of PSG will be put in opposition to him (if they try to remove Infantino), I'm not at all sure that he is a holier man, if you know what I mean.

In Italy we have a saying: "il più pulito ha la rogna", which would literally translate as "the cleanest one has mange", meaning that basically even the person that may seem the most honest, in reality has skeletons in his closet. It's usually used when we are talking about people of power, money, politicians, etc.

Let's also not forget one thing: you don't reach certain positions unless you play dirty. I'm not justifying anyone, I'm just saying that unfortunately in this kind of situation you have to choose the lesser of two evils.

[Mame89]

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.

I love to be fair in football, which is why I found it difficult to believe that FIFA could favour Argentina/Messi, but with that Trump's phone call did during the world cup, I have no single respect for FIFA, Gianni Infantino and their officiation.

Why am I saying this? It's because of the easy opponent you mention, and such could be well planned right from the group stage, even outside Argentina's group, through possibilities. I don't think it's coincidence that Argentina didn't face any traditional football giant countries until the semi-final. And what happened? They survived one (England), but could survive the next (Spain). I wonder what would have happened if they'd faced France or Spain earlier. Besides, a lot of officiating partialities, which makes it more annoying.

FIFA stance on Argentina is undeniable, as they consistently benefit from refereeing in almost every match. Against Tanjung Varde and Egypt it was clear that FIFA wanted to keep Argentina in the lead. Losing Argentina early in the World Cup would likely cost FIFA money, especially in ticket prices. That's also why memes about Argentina as FIFA's daughters/princesses have been circulating on social media, and Argentina and FIFA have become the subject of ridicule among netizens.

But I don't think Argentina has an easy path, as it's ultimately the fault of the other teams who couldn't secure first place in the group stage. For example, Portugal should have had the potential to meet Argentina in the quarterfinals if Portugal could win Group K. But unfortunately, Portugal failed to get full points when facing Colombia, which made Portugal finish in second place and Colombia as Group K champion, which put Colombia on the same path as Argentina. They faced Ghana in the round of 32, then lost to Switzerland in the round of 16, and Switzerland also in the quarterfinals finally losing to Argentina.

[Out of mind]

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’m very sure when Maradona was playing some people may have said the same thing you are saying now, that know one can replace him in the Argentina international football or no one can do the things he did in football, all those people were proven wrong with the arrival of Lionel Messi.
I believe that someone who is going to play more better than him is actually going to come out from Argentina international football in the future. No doubt Lionel Messi is a great player but the future is unknown someone may actually play more better than him in the future we may not be alive to witness it.

Basically in football we have seen many legendary players in the past, where many people said that no one could take their place and no one could be as legendary as them. But we can already see that many Argentine fans said that and we can already see that Messi has achieved more than him and you are a better player than Maradona. It can be said without a doubt that at some point in the Argentina team there will be a player who will play better than Messi and achieve more than him, it is natural. Messi is certainly an extraordinary player and a legendary player, to reach his place all the other players will have to work very hard which is impossible but in the future a better player may be produced if that is unknown. A better player than Messi may be produced then maybe not many and many may see it and again it may not be, it is very difficult to predict.