African Football Discussion Thread Current Topic: 👉 FIFA WorldCup 2026.

[MainIbem]

I still can't understand if people are just jealous of Argentina because they don't want them to take it this time around for the feel genuinely been intimidated by the flawless victory they have been achieved in ever since the start of this world cup, anyone can have a reason to argue about the judgment being preceded by the governing authorities or even the referees that are in this world cup match, the question is what if it was other country that make it to this stage, will there be continuous attack in this manner.

I feel a lot of people are against Argentina winning this year's FIFA World Cup not because of jealousy but because they feel like they got too many decisions wrongly awarded in their favour. Not a fan of Argentina but in the last two games, they've won them because they deserved it but against Egypt, I think they would've been eliminated of the right decisions were made. In the group stages, they also were favoured more than their opponents, that's why a lot of people are against them and doesn't want to to defend the World Cup title.

While there's an aspect of jealousy when such individuals notice unfairness they are going to push more against such team and the hate will intensify and this is what we saw against the Argentina team.

The team has been quite remarkable over all and currently those having hate watch are tired and so we are just watching the game and waiting for the world cup to end for us to focus on our club league and other tournaments.

FIFA gave rival fans of the G.O.A.T debate reasons to spread conspiracirs about the Argentina team, there were too many errors that favour them so people got pissed about the unfair and began to spread lots of conspiracies Lots of people are even saying that the finals cause stage, and used reference of an old photo of Messi bathing Yamal 19 years ago and they bought graduated from LA Marsa and wore same jersey number, if you think dip, it sounds convincing but that's a conspiracy and mostly from people that are slightly jealous of the success of Argentina in the competition.

[Jaycoinz]

There is something I have been thinking concerning this ongoing World Cup, the number of countries that participated, does it favors the African countries or not? Because from what I have seen is like a chance to see how far Africa countries would go base on the numbers we Africans have. Only if Africa countries who are in the World Cup are the stronger ones and they are also making use of there chances I think we would have had more African countries in the round of 16 but since they all performed poorly they were all eliminated. If this chance comes up again can Africa do better than they did in this year's World Cup?

I hope you know that it can be very hard for most of the African countries to compete with other non African countries that have good football history and top players in their league. This is football and we shouldn't bring sentiment to it and countries will skill players are the ones that will have high chances of winning the world cup. The world cup has been unfair to some countries and that has made us to see the favoritism in the world cup matches.

Quantity isn't the problem here because at the end of the day quality will still over shadow the quantity you are talking about, I mean even if you put 20 African nations and 10 European nations and then 10 South America and North America with Asian team, the chances of the winning team coming from the European nations will be higher because of the quality of players and style of football in terms of quality of players that is in the respective league of these nations.

[Antotena]

FIFA gave rival fans of the G.O.A.T debate reasons to spread conspiracirs about the Argentina team, there were too many errors that favour them so people got pissed about the unfair and began to spread lots of conspiracies Lots of people are even saying that the finals cause stage, and used reference of an old photo of Messi bathing Yamal 19 years ago and they bought graduated from LA Marsa and wore same jersey number, if you think dip, it sounds convincing but that's a conspiracy and mostly from people that are slightly jealous of the success of Argentina in the competition.

You see this GOAT debate right, I have stopped wasting my energy on trying to engage Ronaldo fans with their agenda because it's of not use in exchanging fact while they bring absolute opinion. It's okay to give your opinion but I will come with a fact, that's a big difference between people that see Messi as the greatest. That talk they are saying about Fifa is because Ronaldo is no longer in the game, so it's okay for them to point fingers at imperfections.

There is no way in any game there wouldn't be errors, it's unavoidable but if we are talking about honesty, I believed this world cup has been one of the best since Semi final and I don't meant to include the USA card review, they were supposed to even talk more about this one but they don't have problem with that one of course because it does not involve Messi. If it involves him, they will do anything to chase clout.

[Mayor of ogba]

The outcome of the game isn't going to be decided by what people want but who's the strongest and luckiest between Spain and Argentina. If Argentina is able to outplay Spain, they will definitely win the cup but if they can't, Spain will win the finals. I'm not supporting any of them. I will just relax and watch beautiful football.

Argentina being able to outplay Spain only won't even make them win the final, because in football being a better team isn't a gateway you will win your match all the time, and we have seen where teams that outplayed its opponents end up losing. So for either Spain or Argentina to lift the World Cup today, they need defend very well and be clinical enough to make use of their chances.

[knowngunman]

You see this GOAT debate right, I have stopped wasting my energy on trying to engage Ronaldo fans with their agenda because it's of not use in exchanging fact while they bring absolute opinion. It's okay to give your opinion but I will come with a fact, that's a big difference between people that see Messi as the greatest. That talk they are saying about Fifa is because Ronaldo is no longer in the game, so it's okay for them to point fingers at imperfections.

There is no way in any game there wouldn't be errors, it's unavoidable but if we are talking about honesty, I believed this world cup has been one of the best since Semi final and I don't meant to include the USA card review, they were supposed to even talk more about this one but they don't have problem with that one of course because it does not involve Messi. If it involves him, they will do anything to chase clout.

What happen if both side hold onto their GOAT?

It pissed me off when people attempt to force Messi on everyone to accept him as their goat. This sport is very wide and people are free to choose their prefer player based on their own judgement. It's a sort of hypocrisy to say people who choose Ronaldo as their Goat are dumb or whatsoever. Of course, it's ok to say your opinion about who you believe is your Goat but it's not ok to look down on others that choose the opposite.

And yes, errors happen in any game as you said but I hope you're aware that error that happens once is a mistake but if the errors happen repeatedly, it's not longer error but a deliberate action. Moreover, why the error always happens in Argentina games? I will disagree with you, this year's world cup is far from being one of the best World cup. Since I start watching World Cup, I have never seen the one with complaints like this year.

[Different patterns]

The outcome of the game isn't going to be decided by what people want but who's the strongest and luckiest between Spain and Argentina. If Argentina is able to outplay Spain, they will definitely win the cup but if they can't, Spain will win the finals. I'm not supporting any of them. I will just relax and watch beautiful football.

Argentina being able to outplay Spain only won't even make them win the final, because in football being a better team isn't a gateway you will win your match all the time, and we have seen where teams that outplayed its opponents end up losing. So for either Spain or Argentina to lift the World Cup today, they need defend very well and be clinical enough to make use of their chances.

Very true and if in any way, Spain are able to win the first goal, they will need to defend well because Argentina are very good in comebacks as they have done it before, I was disappointed in England coach, tuchel because he was supposed to learn from the previous games of from Argentina but he did not and he conceded at the last minutes of the game. If Spain want to win even though they win two goals first, they should still continue attacking with full defense and for Argentina, they must defend well because Spain has the strength of creating good chances and their conversion rate is very high. I wish both teams success.

[Tonimez]

The outcome of the game isn't going to be decided by what people want but who's the strongest and luckiest between Spain and Argentina. If Argentina is able to outplay Spain, they will definitely win the cup but if they can't, Spain will win the finals. I'm not supporting any of them. I will just relax and watch beautiful football.

Argentina being able to outplay Spain only won't even make them win the final, because in football being a better team isn't a gateway you will win your match all the time, and we have seen where teams that outplayed its opponents end up losing. So for either Spain or Argentina to lift the World Cup today, they need defend very well and be clinical enough to make use of their chances.

Very true and if in any way, Spain are able to win the first goal, they will need to defend well because Argentina are very good in comebacks as they have done it before, I was disappointed in England coach, tuchel because he was supposed to learn from the previous games of from Argentina but he did not and he conceded at the last minutes of the game. If Spain want to win even though they win two goals first, they should still continue attacking with full defense and for Argentina, they must defend well because Spain has the strength of creating good chances and their conversion rate is very high. I wish both teams success.

This game today is going to surprise many people after the game because Spain is going to present another masterpiece today. Argentina has the attack and they're very good at comeback too, but then I think that Spain defence is equal to the task and that is where their strength lies. Messi will be a big threat to the Spanish defenders but I believe someone like cucurella can take care of him and if he is controlled, the pressure will definitely reduce.

Argentina knows how to mount serious successive pressure and cause you to make a mistake that could lead to goal or penalties. Again, Messi is in desperate need of at least 3 goals today which could also ruin their hopes if he decides to be goal conscious instead of maintaining the team spirit. How goals today could only be from Penalties today. On the contrary, if Spain score first in the first half or even third quarter, there would be higher chances of loosing if they want to rely on defending because Argentina is master in breaking any team that wants to depend on defending just like we saw against England. So the best will be for Spain to play an open game and push to score more instead of sit back to defend.

[Ronsbit]

As the world cup tournament is finally coming to an end. We saw lot's of unexpected surprises and performance from national teams we never thought of, both big teams were taken by surprise how the smaller national teams performed and that made this world cup tournament edition very interesting. Although it wasn't short of drama drama as there were lots of occurrences and events that played out which left fans, well-wishers and supporters question the integrity of the officials, FIFA and the FIFA president. All these are just a occurrences  which could emanate in events as it progresses forward.

While we await the world cup tournament final, the WAFCON would kick start in just a week time. This tournament is becoming more interesting as year passes with lot's of African teams aspiring to be the champions of the African Women Football. This tournament is gradually attracting international interest as the performance of the teams involved is very entertaining with lot's of enthusiasm from the player's.

The previous WAFCON winners Nigeria has been at the top line for years lifting the trophy back to back with an undefeated records in the history of female football. The Falcons has been the champions of African Women Football for years with no national team bean able to beat them them. They play entertaining football not just entertaining, they win them all taking the price for whatever they play for. The host nation morroco has been the only contending team but would need extra efforts to win the Falcons if they can but I think the possibility of it happening is slim.


Would Nigeria Falcons still retain the AFCON tittle and go unbeaten for a straight 11 years of WAFCON tournaments or do you think another winner would emerge this 2026 tournament?

Here's the match timetable for this year WAFCON tournament.

[Webutxo]

This game today is going to surprise many people after the game because Spain is going to present another masterpiece today. Argentina has the attack and they're very good at comeback too, but then I think that Spain defence is equal to the task and that is where their strength lies. Messi will be a big threat to the Spanish defenders but I believe someone like cucurella can take care of him and if he is controlled, the pressure will definitely reduce.

Argentina knows how to mount serious successive pressure and cause you to make a mistake that could lead to goal or penalties. Again, Messi is in desperate need of at least 3 goals today which could also ruin their hopes if he decides to be goal conscious instead of maintaining the team spirit. How goals today could only be from Penalties today. On the contrary, if Spain score first in the first half or even third quarter, there would be higher chances of loosing if they want to rely on defending because Argentina is master in breaking any team that wants to depend on defending just like we saw against England. So the best will be for Spain to play an open game and push to score more instead of sit back to defend.

I'm not going to exaggerate this match like the way other people have been doing recently but I will be honest with you that Argentina are going to deal with Spain. Since this world cup started, there has never been any team that us successfully completed their game, not even a draw since this world cup stater and Spain is not even the best team since this tournament started, they have done well but this team can't take Argentina back home.

I know that this match is going to be tough, both teams are going to stress each other but we all know teams that do find their way out when if it's just 2 minutes before the referee blow the final whistle, the best coaches in this world cup have all tried to stop Messi but they never had the chance, even now Spain can only try but they can't stop him here too. I believe in Argentina to win this game fairly but may concede goals.

[Mayor of ogba]

This game today is going to surprise many people after the game because Spain is going to present another masterpiece today. Argentina has the attack and they're very good at comeback too, but then I think that Spain defence is equal to the task and that is where their strength lies. Messi will be a big threat to the Spanish defenders but I believe someone like cucurella can take care of him and if he is controlled, the pressure will definitely reduce.

Spain and Argentina has performed wonderfully well in this World Cup defeating both weak teams and big teams before they got to the final, so I don't think that today's World Cup final there's going to be a surprise because any team that becomes the finalist at the end of the match deserve it. Spain has a more team play than Argentina and if they can be able to cage Messi, they would likely win their second World Cup.

[Halifat]

FIFA gave rival fans of the G.O.A.T debate reasons to spread conspiracirs about the Argentina team, there were too many errors that favour them so people got pissed about the unfair and began to spread lots of conspiracies Lots of people are even saying that the finals cause stage, and used reference of an old photo of Messi bathing Yamal 19 years ago and they bought graduated from LA Marsa and wore same jersey number, if you think dip, it sounds convincing but that's a conspiracy and mostly from people that are slightly jealous of the success of Argentina in the competition.

One thing I understand is that Messi is a very good player which can be able to escape some judgments even though they are unfair, a lot of errors as happen in this world cup which give the whole world talking bad about FIFA, because honestly it is very cleared to the extended the FIFA president is even showing that on his face, I have watched so many clips that show  FIFA president showing serious happiness when Argentina win every match, I was totally not comfortable with that behavior because I expected him to be neutral even though inside his mind he will have a candidate.

[Roseline492]

There is no continent it didn't favour, adjustment can only limit some continents a bit but doesn't mean they are not going to benefit it So actually it favours Africa a lot and if this was done on the previous one in Qatar super eagles would have make it because it was limited to five or six countries then I think but on this world Cup if you were able to count them you will see that it was a double of the participated country before so actually we are happy for the countries that came. However even if most Africa got a repeated opportunity next time is a match you will no predict because we are not sure if they are coming with a reluctant form or better than this.

Next world cup would see many countries participation. Few days ago I came across an online news where it was published that FIFA is looking at opening more slots from the current number to 62 or thereabouts which I think is Cool to give opportunity to other national team to participate in the next FIFA world cup. This will actually now elongate the time frame of FIFA world cup tournament and also expenses would be much more but this would give smaller nation's the opportunity to be an to feature in the work cup.

It that is what they would do then it will become a 14 extra country additional to this 48 we have this year, actually some persons thinks that more countries will reduce the fun in world Cup but I didn't see any less fun on this one because it was almost more fun than before and secondly if it was the former number of countries in world Cup the tournament wouldn't have lasted till this date of July so actually if they add more countries it would become a two months tournament or more and it will continue to be as fun as we have known the tournament. So actually FIFA shouldn't even be looking at it but should just give it approval.

[Stepstowealth]

This game today is going to surprise many people after the game because Spain is going to present another masterpiece today. Argentina has the attack and they're very good at comeback too, but then I think that Spain defence is equal to the task and that is where their strength lies. Messi will be a big threat to the Spanish defenders but I believe someone like cucurella can take care of him and if he is controlled, the pressure will definitely reduce.

Spain has a more team play than Argentina and if they can be able to cage Messi, they would likely win their second World Cup.

Has any team been able to successfully cage Lionel Messi for complete 90 minutes of a game since the history and the time he has been playing football up to now?
I don't think it has ever really worked because he's a very good player with finding space on the football pitch and even if you're able to man mark him for more than half of the game you would only be creating opportunities for other players to exploit which he would definitely use very well because he's also good with creating assists as we all know. Spain need to come up with a good plan for Messi becase being his last World Cup dance, I am sure he will be turned on from the beginning of the game to the end.

[reagansimms]

Spain has a more team play than Argentina and if they can be able to cage Messi, they would likely win their second World Cup.

Has any team been able to successfully cage Lionel Messi for complete 90 minutes of a game since the history and the time he has been playing football up to now?
I don't think it has ever really worked because he's a very good player with finding space on the football pitch and even if you're able to man mark him for more than half of the game you would only be creating opportunities for other players to exploit which he would definitely use very well because he's also good with creating assists as we all know. Spain need to come up with a good plan for Messi becase being his last World Cup dance, I am sure he will be turned on from the beginning of the game to the end.

I think very few teams have managed to contain Messi, most teams that focus on stopping Messi will end up losing. The proof is that when Argentina managed to beat England, in that match Messi did not score a goal, but he was the main creator in the process of the two goals scored by Enzo Fernandez and Martinez. It's very difficult to contain Messi for 90 minutes because he's the type of player who is good at finding space, not waiting for the ball. It takes two or more players to contain Messi, but there's a risk of leaking into other positions.

Spain must play with their identity when facing Argentina by dominating Ball Possession, they must also not create space in the last 30 meters because Messi is very dangerous in that area, Spanish players must succeed in closing down that area and force Messi to pick up the ball from Argentina area. Yes, this is his last chance in the World Cup, usually if he knows it's his last, he will give his all, so the best strategy for Spain is not to stop Messi, but to stop Argentina when Messi has the ball.

[Webutxo]

One thing I understand is that Messi is a very good player which can be able to escape some judgments even though they are unfair, a lot of errors as happen in this world cup which give the whole world talking bad about FIFA, because honestly it is very cleared to the extended the FIFA president is even showing that on his face, I have watched so many clips that show  FIFA president showing serious happiness when Argentina win every match, I was totally not comfortable with that behavior because I expected him to be neutral even though inside his mind he will have a candidate.

The same way Ronaldo is been faired too is same way I think Messi is treated too. There is no injustice in this world cup of any kind. The truth is, they both are icon in this world cup so the referee are very careful in the way they handle them because they know the mob will not like it but it doesn't stop them from doing the right thing if it warrant a red card or yellow card, what we have seen they wave is nothing serious thag need any judgement of the referee.

Another thing is that what we are seeing people complain is normal thing, it's football culture. If Messi fans are disappointed, they complain and if Ronaldo is affected the fans complain but Ronaldo fans complain too much because they are no longer in the tournament. I don't like to even argue with them because they know the truth and knows how to make up things.

[Emitdama]

Argentina being able to outplay Spain only won't even make them win the final, because in football being a better team isn't a gateway you will win your match all the time, and we have seen where teams that outplayed its opponents end up losing. So for either Spain or Argentina to lift the World Cup today, they need defend very well and be clinical enough to make use of their chances.

Very true and if in any way, Spain are able to win the first goal, they will need to defend well because Argentina are very good in comebacks as they have done it before, I was disappointed in England coach, tuchel because he was supposed to learn from the previous games of from Argentina but he did not and he conceded at the last minutes of the game. If Spain want to win even though they win two goals first, they should still continue attacking with full defense and for Argentina, they must defend well because Spain has the strength of creating good chances and their conversion rate is very high. I wish both teams success.

Here, just scoring a goal is not enough for Spain they need to keep aggressive after having a lead. This will help them because if they go like England after scoring a goal and play with only a defensive approach, this will never help them.

Argentina is always good in comebacks because they use their counterattack tactics and outclass their opponents defense, but if the opponent also has enough depth to keep attacking, this will bring good balance. Spain has a good style of play, as they did against France after having a lead. Keep working. Still, it's not easy to predict the winner, but here Spain is looking good to lift the trophy due to their better defense and balanced midfield.

[Swordsoffreedom]

Argentina is always good in comebacks because they use their counterattack tactics and outclass their opponents defense, but if the opponent also has enough depth to keep attacking, this will bring good balance. Spain has a good style of play, as they did against France after having a lead. Keep working. Still, it's not easy to predict the winner, but here Spain is looking good to lift the trophy due to their better defense and balanced midfield.

It is impossible to predict the final match. Two worthy teams are going to face each other in the  final. Both have strong squads. Even their  managers are very experienced and clever. So anything can happen in the match today.

I would call Argentina a mediocre team. Even till 60 minutes of the match, their performance is like that of a mediocre team. But in the last 30 minutes, their performance is out of the world. Looking at  their performance in the last  30 minutes, it seems that this team is  capable of defeating even the best XI in  the world.

Managers have to be careful in deciding the match strategy  in this match. Such a match has to be performed very carefully. Even a small mistake can be the reason  for defeat. I have not seen a good performance from Argentina's goalkeeper Martinez in this world cup. My  expectations will be higher from him today.

[Chilwell]

Argentina being able to outplay Spain only won't even make them win the final, because in football being a better team isn't a gateway you will win your match all the time, and we have seen where teams that outplayed its opponents end up losing. So for either Spain or Argentina to lift the World Cup today, they need defend very well and be clinical enough to make use of their chances.

Very true and if in any way, Spain are able to win the first goal, they will need to defend well because Argentina are very good in comebacks as they have done it before, I was disappointed in England coach, tuchel because he was supposed to learn from the previous games of from Argentina but he did not and he conceded at the last minutes of the game. If Spain want to win even though they win two goals first, they should still continue attacking with full defense and for Argentina, they must defend well because Spain has the strength of creating good chances and their conversion rate is very high. I wish both teams success.

Here, just scoring a goal is not enough for Spain they need to keep aggressive after having a lead. This will help them because if they go like England after scoring a goal and play with only a defensive approach, this will never help them.

Argentina is always good in comebacks because they use their counterattack tactics and outclass their opponents defense, but if the opponent also has enough depth to keep attacking, this will bring good balance. Spain has a good style of play, as they did against France after having a lead. Keep working. Still, it's not easy to predict the winner, but here Spain is looking good to lift the trophy due to their better defense and balanced midfield.

Scoring goals is not enough because I have learned so many things in this competition which I begin to believe that early goals is not an advantage at all, because so many countries did the same thing but there could not hold it to the end most especially African countries. I was highly disappointed with their performance at the end of every match because having a very beautiful starting just few minutes to go things turnee against them.

I am fully behind Spain 100% this time around to stop Argentina from winning the trophy again, argentina has been favored a lot in this competition which was the reason why I don't like them to win this world cup. Spain have a lot to do to stop these guys, they are very dangerous not only on the pitch but also at the management level who normally helped them to succeed to this level, I just assume that Spain is playing against two teams which are Argentina and FIFA.

[PremiumcryptoHub]

The outcome of the game isn't going to be decided by what people want but who's the strongest and luckiest between Spain and Argentina. If Argentina is able to outplay Spain, they will definitely win the cup but if they can't, Spain will win the finals. I'm not supporting any of them. I will just relax and watch beautiful football.

Argentina being able to outplay Spain only won't even make them win the final, because in football being a better team isn't a gateway you will win your match all the time, and we have seen where teams that outplayed its opponents end up losing. So for either Spain or Argentina to lift the World Cup today, they need defend very well and be clinical enough to make use of their chances.

Spain will show an impeccable performance today but I think that Spain and Argentina will have to perform perfectly to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup final match today. It seems that both teams will be under mental pressure in this match but even then it is right that Spain will be able to ignore everything and give their best performance because we can see that every player of Spain is playing with great form now. On the other hand, Argentina's strategy is that they perform the most offensively after the break and counterattack.

So at this stage it seems that the Spain team will focus more on their defense in the final match of the World Cup because Argentina is very good at attacking, even then it seems that today's glorious final match of the World Cup will be very interesting because the two teams participating in this match, Argentina and Spain, are very skilled.

[Mayor of ogba]

Has any team been able to successfully cage Lionel Messi for complete 90 minutes of a game since the history and the time he has been playing football up to now?
I don't think it has ever really worked because he's a very good player with finding space on the football pitch and even if you're able to man mark him for more than half of the game you would only be creating opportunities for other players to exploit which he would definitely use very well because he's also good with creating assists as we all know. Spain need to come up with a good plan for Messi becase being his last World Cup dance, I am sure he will be turned on from the beginning of the game to the end.

Yes, football teams have successfully caged Messi in the whole of 90 minutes. I can't really remember the teams that have done that to Messi, the only team I could remember for now is Bayern Munich. Bayern Munich caged Messi when they met Barcelona in the semi finals of 2012/2013 Champions League. Messi couldn't do anything in that match. Bayern Munich won Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg and 3-0 in the second leg.