Whale.io 🐳 | ⚽ FIFA World Cup 2026: Tournament Discussion Thread

[igebotz]

They haven't been tested, they're getting good results but I'm still not impressed with their overall performance- they're too loose at the back, but they have a decent goalkeeper to keep them out. If Allison wasn't in goal, Scotland would have scored more than three goals tonight and that's worrisome.

If they go up against a proper team with good attackers it's game over for them 

That is exactly how I feel. If Brazil face any of the strong teams in the next round, they will probably be out. Scotland deserved a goal and if they had scored it would have been a fantastic game to watch.

Scotland didn't help themselves, they made it easy for Brazil last night - they're a young squad and they'd learn from those silly mistakes at the back but in tournaments like this, you don't have luxury of time to correct mistakes; you get punished for it.

Scotland were fantastic but lacked enough quality to execute most of their tactics; they made it very uncomfortable for Brazil at the back more than anyone has in this tournament. Good thing they're still in the gray area and might qualify as one of the best losers depending on other results.

[JollyGood]

If Scotland manage to get through to the knockout stages (by virtue of being one of the best third placed teams), they will probably learn a lot from what happened to them in the Brazil match. The result was misleading, I think it was very harsh on Scotland. They are probably hoping for just one chance to at least show the other teams they are much better than that.

Scotland didn't help themselves, they made it easy for Brazil last night - they're a young squad and they'd learn from those silly mistakes at the back but in tournaments like this, you don't have luxury of time to correct mistakes; you get punished for it.

Scotland were fantastic but lacked enough quality to execute most of their tactics; they made it very uncomfortable for Brazil at the back more than anyone has in this tournament. Good thing they're still in the gray area and might qualify as one of the best losers depending on other results.

[igebotz]

If Scotland manage to get through to the knockout stages (by virtue of being one of the best third placed teams), they will probably learn a lot from what happened to them in the Brazil match. The result was misleading, I think it was very harsh on Scotland. They are probably hoping for just one chance to at least show the other teams they are much better than that.

Scotland didn't help themselves, they made it easy for Brazil last night - they're a young squad and they'd learn from those silly mistakes at the back but in tournaments like this, you don't have luxury of time to correct mistakes; you get punished for it.

Scotland were fantastic but lacked enough quality to execute most of their tactics; they made it very uncomfortable for Brazil at the back more than anyone has in this tournament. Good thing they're still in the gray area and might qualify as one of the best losers depending on other results.

If they miraculously survived and qualify as one of the best losers through to the knockout stage, that might be the end of their journey; bear in mine that all qualified best losers will be playing top teams from each groups which I doubt they'd be able to do anything with that "inexperienced" backline and toothless attack against any of those group leaders

I'm looking forward to how Japan will perform against this Sweden attack tonight. I placed something on Japan

[pawel7777]

When you look at the world cup finals history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_FIFA_World_Cup_finals we almost never see any underdog winning, it's always one of the favourites. Maybe except for Uruguay, who won the very first tournament back in 1930, but I have no clue whether they were considered one of the favourites or an underdog back then.
But if we are to see a surprising winner, I think Norway is in a good spot this year. They had a perfect performance in qualifiers, winning all of their games, and so far they won 2 out of 2. Tomorrow they are playing against France, which should tell us a lot about their abilities playing against a highly-rated team.
France is a strong favourite, but I feel Norway can surprise them.

[igebotz]

When you look at the world cup finals history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_FIFA_World_Cup_finals we almost never see any underdog winning, it's always one of the favourites. Maybe except for Uruguay, who won the very first tournament back in 1930, but I have no clue whether they were considered one of the favourites or an underdog back then.
But if we are to see a surprising winner, I think Norway is in a good spot this year. They had a perfect performance in qualifiers, winning all of their games, and so far they won 2 out of 2. Tomorrow they are playing against France, which should tell us a lot about their abilities playing against a highly-rated team.
France is a strong favourite, but I feel Norway can surprise them.

They're one of the teams I'm looking forward to seeing how far they'll progress, they're fun to watch and are scoring too many goals too but conceeding quite some which is the only weak side of their game. The fans are amazing too

They're on the difficult side of the brackets; they're likely going to meet and must beat Ecuador/Ivory Coast, Brazil/Germany, and Spain to get to the final; with Halaand in top form anything is possible I guess.

Personally, I'd like to see an underdog win the World Cup, and if there would be any, it'll definitely be this one- too many interesting underdog teams.

[tokeweed]

^  I like Argentina, Germany, England and USA USA USA!! 

Would be nice to see USA in the final for the lulz.  But mostly I like them because Poch is coaching the team. 

Anyway, what do you guys think of Czechia vs Mexico?  Mexico just lucked out on their goal against South Korea and they looked kinda  style on the attack.  Thinking of putting a little bet on Czechia +0.5 at around 1.85.

I like those teams too but if they get matchup against Argentina I'm always going to support Argentina - I have some special connections there.

I've seen a lot of Czechia games and I wouldn't recommend you take that bet against Mexico gearing up to finish at the top so they can play the best loser in group F.

I'd take that bet in the other fixture; both teams will be fighting for the 2nd position.

Yeah...  Good thing I made the bet small.  Lolol.  So no biggie. 

Did you guys watch the USA vs Turkey match?  First half was so good but kinda slowed down at the start of the second half then started to pick up again towards the end and of course Turkey just had to score a goal. 

Lost another bet there btw...  But yeah, next bets for me are Spain straight up at 1.62 and Colombia +0.5 at 1.90.  Those matches should be good. 

[JollyGood]

If they miraculously survived and qualify as one of the best losers through to the knockout stage, that might be the end of their journey; bear in mine that all qualified best losers will be playing top teams from each groups which I doubt they'd be able to do anything with that "inexperienced" backline and toothless attack against any of those group leaders

I'm looking forward to how Japan will perform against this Sweden attack tonight. I placed something on Japan

That game ended in a draw but it was not boring. Japan looked very strong going forward, they finished second in the group and Sweden with four points should easily qualify as one of the best third placed teams. As expected, the Netherlands finished the group as winners.

Germany and the USA have qualified for the knockout stages but it was fantastic watching Ecuador beat Germany and also Turkey beating one of the host nations (USA) too. Turkey are out but Ecuador could make it through as one of the strongest third placed teams with four points.

When you look at the world cup finals history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_FIFA_World_Cup_finals we almost never see any underdog winning, it's always one of the favourites. Maybe except for Uruguay, who won the very first tournament back in 1930, but I have no clue whether they were considered one of the favourites or an underdog back then.
But if we are to see a surprising winner, I think Norway is in a good spot this year. They had a perfect performance in qualifiers, winning all of their games, and so far they won 2 out of 2. Tomorrow they are playing against France, which should tell us a lot about their abilities playing against a highly-rated team.
France is a strong favourite, but I feel Norway can surprise them.

France are probably favourites to win the match. Having said that, both teams have already made it through to the knockout stage therefore the pressure is less. If it were a knockout game, I think France would probably win.

Yeah...  Good thing I made the bet small.  Lolol.  So no biggie.  

Did you guys watch the USA vs Turkey match?  First half was so good but kinda slowed down at the start of the second half then started to pick up again towards the end and of course Turkey just had to score a goal.  

Lost another bet there btw...  But yeah, next bets for me are Spain straight up at 1.62 and Colombia +0.5 at 1.90.  Those matches should be good.  

Turkey played a brilliant game to win. It is a shame they did not play the other two games with the same focus as they probably would have made it through to the next stage.

Uruguay need to beat Spain to ensure they make it to the next stage because anything less for them and a win for Saudi Arabia will mean they will probably be going home.

[igebotz]

Yeah...  Good thing I made the bet small.  Lolol.  So no biggie. 

Did you guys watch the USA vs Turkey match?  First half was so good but kinda slowed down at the start of the second half then started to pick up again towards the end and of course Turkey just had to score a goal. 

Lost another bet there btw...  But yeah, next bets for me are Spain straight up at 1.62 and Colombia +0.5 at 1.90.  Those matches should be good. 

I haven't seen any of the USA or Turkey games; unfriendly timed and none of the fixtures deserved my sleep. I'm only losing sleep for worthy games.

Turkey's players now had something to take home after their government's fancy send off; the pressure was on Turkey to win and not go home without scoring a goal, whereas the USA had already qualified for the next round.  I doubt the US had a quality lineup in that game. How did I miss that odds

I have a 7 legs parlay still running - I only need Spain and Egypt to produce 0.5 goals each to land the betslip.

[Mia Chloe]

~snip

One match I did miss and I regret missing was the last Japan match. Honestly, I like the energy Japan put in this season and it was pretty surprising mostly because everyone was expecting them to be like a bonus point to the team they meet. So far I'll say they play pure strategy.

If you observe w you'll notice they have a very high IQ and calculative coach and most of their goals so far were coming from tight angles and corners.

[igebotz]

One match I did miss and I regret missing was the last Japan match. Honestly, I like the energy Japan put in this season and it was pretty surprising mostly because everyone was expecting them to be like a bonus point to the team they meet. So far I'll say they play pure strategy.

If you observe w you'll notice they have a very high IQ and calculative coach and most of their goals so far were coming from tight angles and corners.

I've never missed any of Japan's game, I like the way they play and I don't mind burning my sleep to watch them to play pure football without antics.

I've already mentioned it somewhere that Japan is arguably the best coached team in the tournament; they're tactically disciplined and there's no mistake in their games. It's a young team and they lack a bit to experience but  that's all.  They'll go places

[tokeweed]

Yeah...  Good thing I made the bet small.  Lolol.  So no biggie. 

Did you guys watch the USA vs Turkey match?  First half was so good but kinda slowed down at the start of the second half then started to pick up again towards the end and of course Turkey just had to score a goal. 

Lost another bet there btw...  But yeah, next bets for me are Spain straight up at 1.62 and Colombia +0.5 at 1.90.  Those matches should be good. 

I haven't seen any of the USA or Turkey games; unfriendly timed and none of the fixtures deserved my sleep. I'm only losing sleep for worthy games.

Turkey's players now had something to take home after their government's fancy send off; the pressure was on Turkey to win and not go home without scoring a goal, whereas the USA had already qualified for the next round.  I doubt the US had a quality lineup in that game. How did I miss that odds

I have a 7 legs parlay still running - I only need Spain and Egypt to produce 0.5 goals each to land the betslip.

Lol same...  I don't wanna lose sleep just to watch sports anymore.  It's not like I bet a lot of money in these matches.  Even in the UFC I've started being picky on which events I'd lose sleep over and watch live.  I'd rather watch the replays via my UFC Pass account.

So yeah, the World Cup...  Won my bet on Spain.  My last bet in the group stages is on Colombia +0.5 at 1.90 against Portugal.  Should be a decent game. 

[JollyGood]

Spain beat Uruguay (1-0) and also Egypt scored against Iran (1-1) therefore did that work for you?

Keeping that aside, did anyone actually believe Cape Verde would finish second (behind Spain) and qualify for the knockout stages as an unbeaten team in a group that also consisted of Uruguay and Saudi Arabia? That is probably the biggest story of the World Cup and the group stage is not even over.

I have a 7 legs parlay still running - I only need Spain and Egypt to produce 0.5 goals each to land the betslip.

[igebotz]

Spain beat Uruguay (1-0) and also Egypt scored against Iran (1-1) therefore did that work for you?

Keeping that aside, did anyone actually believe Cape Verde would finish second (behind Spain) and qualify for the knockout stages as an unbeaten team in a group that also consisted of Uruguay and Saudi Arabia? That is probably the biggest story of the World Cup and the group stage is not even over.

I have a 7 legs parlay still running - I only need Spain and Egypt to produce 0.5 goals each to land the betslip.

Yeah I hit the ticket, not a serious betslip but yeah it feels good to win again after losing for a whole now..

For someone who isn't new to watching Cape Verde, I expected they'd gain traction and capture the spotlight, but I never imagined them finishing second and going undefeated against Spain and Uruguay. They're one of the easiest games on paper because most non-AFCON fans are unfamiliar with them, but on the field, they're a tough opponent - they're defensively solid.

They'll face Argentina in the next round, and I'm urging some Argentina fans not to underestimate them because this will be more difficult than any previous game they've played in the group stage. They're tough and dangerous.

[JollyGood]

Yeah I hit the ticket, not a serious betslip but yeah it feels good to win again after losing for a whole now..

For someone who isn't new to watching Cape Verde, I expected they'd gain traction and capture the spotlight, but I never imagined them finishing second and going undefeated against Spain and Uruguay. They're one of the easiest games on paper because most non-AFCON fans are unfamiliar with them, but on the field, they're a tough opponent - they're defensively solid.

They'll face Argentina in the next round, and I'm urging some Argentina fans not to underestimate them because this will be more difficult than any previous game they've played in the group stage. They're tough and dangerous.

This is where things become interesting because anything can happen in a knockout competition. Cape Verde know they will receive a heavy defeat if they sit back and allow Argentina the freedom to play. The way Cape Verde played in the group stages, they deserved to qualify and they will not even hesitate to play their attacking style of football against Argentina.

The whole world excluding Argentina and Inter Miami fans will be behind Cape Verde 

[igebotz]

This is where things become interesting because anything can happen in a knockout competition. Cape Verde know they will receive a heavy defeat if they sit back and allow Argentina the freedom to play. The way Cape Verde played in the group stages, they deserved to qualify and they will not even hesitate to play their attacking style of football against Argentina.

The whole world excluding Argentina and Inter Miami fans will be behind Cape Verde  

Cape Verde are a very dangerous and unpredictable team I still don't understand why everyone thinks that Argentina are going to have a walk in the park against them. It looks very easy on paper but it's going to be Argentina real test against a proper team with solid defense. I'm afraid we might see the sucker of the tournament.

Haha you mean Ronaldo, Real Madrid and Manchester United fans ? Except these 3 I can't think of any other people who would be hate watching the Argentina game. You know it's difficult when your favorite player is having a difficult tournament- Ronaldo fans  .

[JollyGood]

Cape Verde are a very dangerous and unpredictable team I still don't understand why everyone thinks that Argentina are going to have a walk in the park against them. It looks very easy on paper but it's going to be Argentina real test against a proper team with solid defense. I'm afraid we might see the sucker of the tournament.

Before the tournament began, Argentina fans (in fact fans of any country) would have been happy if they knew they were going to face Cape Verde in the knockout stage. After the world saw Cape Verde play excellent football to remain unbeaten in the group stage, maybe they prefer to play a different team now  

Haha you mean Ronaldo, Real Madrid and Manchester United fans ? Except these 3 I can't think of any other people who would be hate watching the Argentina game. You know it's difficult when your favorite player is having a difficult tournament- Ronaldo fans  .

What I mean is that all of the neutral fans around the world and in the stadium during the game will probably want Cape Verde to win because they are the underdogs. It would be a brilliant story if Cape Verde won the match.

[tokeweed]

So what are your bets in the Ro32..?  I got all the favorites qualifying to the next stage except for Egypt.  I think Australia snags the win via pens and get to Ro16. 

Btw..  If I haven't told you guys already, but I think I already did, place some bets at Hyperliquid's outcome markets for the World Cup.  Not sure if you guys are familiar with airdrop farming but Hyperliquid gave out a life changing airdrop for many users...  They could do it again.

[JollyGood]

Egypt were on course to see their campaign ended at the group stage but their win over New Zealand gave them the opportunity to win the group. The only reason Belgium finished top of their group was because of goal difference. Egypt will go in to that match thinking they beat New Zealand and can beat Australia too.

Personally, I think Egypt will beat Australia therefore we have different opinions 

So what are your bets in the Ro32..?  I got all the favorites qualifying to the next stage except for Egypt.  I think Australia snags the win via pens and get to Ro16. 

[igebotz]

Before the tournament began, Argentina fans (in fact fans of any country) would have been happy if they knew they were going to face Cape Verde in the knockout stage. After the world saw Cape Verde play excellent football to remain unbeaten in the group stage, maybe they prefer to play a different team now 

Exactly what I thought too when they made their AFCON debut; everyone counted them out, easy fixtures on papers but different beasts on the field - they're like the Japan, no tailman just pure team work and discipline.

I'll be going for Cape Verde O.5 goals against Argentina ( I haven't checked the odds)!

So what are your bets in the Ro32..?  I got all the favorites qualifying to the next stage except for Egypt.  I think Australia snags the win via pens and get to Ro16. 

Btw..  If I haven't told you guys already, but I think I already did, place some bets at Hyperliquid's outcome markets for the World Cup.  Not sure if you guys are familiar with airdrop farming but Hyperliquid gave out a life changing airdrop for many users...  They could do it again.

I'm banking on Croatia and Morroco to progress to the next stage- nice odds on each games; they're both up against Portugal and Netherlands.

Share the link to hyperliqued

[BABY SHOES]

I'll be going for Cape Verde O.5 goals against Argentina ( I haven't checked the odds)!

Cape Verde over 0.5 odds of 2.45 is quite high, can this underdog team penetrate Argerntina's defense? I'm a little doubtful.

I'm banking on Croatia and Morroco to progress to the next stage- nice odds on each games; they're both up against Portugal and Netherlands.

I'm probably going to contradict you, Portugal and Netherlands are likely to go through, I don't want to see Ronaldo disappointed again for failing... I don't think I'd want to bet on the underdogs here.

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Now... is Brazil going to be a nightmare? First half already 1 goal down, Japan's defense is quite strong and hard to break through, however the second half looks like there will be a change.