Pre-World Cup Friendlies

[Bobrox]

I’m very shocked and surprised with this result, France and Spain are the two major countries everyone is believing will lift the World Cup, but looking at this yesterdays result I believe the World Cup will surprise everyone the country that may win this World Cup may not actually be the country we expect.
Yes I understand that this match is just a friendly match and some people may say they didn’t take it serious but I really don’t believe they didn’t take it serious, don’t be surprised when you see results like this in the World Cup.
The question to ask those who are saying France and Spain did not take this match seriously so was it Iraq or ivory coast that took it seriously?
The World Cup match results is going to actually surprise everyone.

I am really shocked two matches result of Pre World Cup Friendlies match last night, Spain playing with full team holding a draw by Iraq as not favorable team in World Cup 2026, playing with full possession dominance not guarantee for Spain team easily winning the match but have got draw and both teams scoring at first half match. Most shocking result when France team defeating by Ivory Coast indeed playing full teams but France have got bad result, I don't think both team Spain and France not serious for this Pre World Cup friendly match because playing almost regular players but can't winning the match.

Upcoming fixture, Spain team will face Peru as last Pre-World Cup friendly match and I seeing what the new formation use how possibility get the victory or not? Spain team without have Real Madrid player in the squad list for World Cup its bring positive or negative effect?

[red4slash]

I’m very shocked and surprised with this result, France and Spain are the two major countries everyone is believing will lift the World Cup, but looking at this yesterdays result I believe the World Cup will surprise everyone the country that may win this World Cup may not actually be the country we expect.
Yes I understand that this match is just a friendly match and some people may say they didn’t take it serious but I really don’t believe they didn’t take it serious, don’t be surprised when you see results like this in the World Cup.

I personally don't find this result to be a strange thing because even though the initial goal was a friendly match as well as finalizing the squad for the world cup but on the one hand this match was also used as a testing ground for schemes and plans because they definitely wanted to see some of the attack plans that were prepared would be suitable or not if applied at the world cup later.

As for this result I feel that they are still holding back because if they show too much dominance they will clearly be noticed more so as to hide the plans that will be carried out at the world cup later they try more strategies and players do not care about the results or the final score.

Don't look too high for an exhibition because if you force yourself to force yourself especially betting then we ourselves will be messed up with some bets that are not too in line with expectations.

[Floczy]

I watched Sweden's performance today against Greece, and I honestly don't think they will Last in the world cup with this type of performance,
first of all their keeper is underperforming so bad, that is part of the first things they have to work on urgently before going for the world cup,
Nevertheless I love the fact that they subbed all their players after the first half, to avoid injuries and fatigue against the world cup

[Julien_Olynpic]

To be honest, I’ve never really watched friendly football matches. In fact, I don’t even fully understand their purpose. As a rule, they aren’t "real" matches—or at least not 100% real, so to speak. Teams don’t play at full strength, don’t push hard for the win, or don’t defend particularly vigorously. I always get the feeling I’m watching a wrestling match where two fighters strike heroic poses and pretend to grapple—looking spectacular in the process—yet the outcome is either predetermined or simply a matter of chance.

[famososMuertos]

OP: These matches aren't meant for betting based on their future outcome; in fact, I don't even consider them friendlies. They're more like a match between the starting eleven and the substitutes;pure training.

In my case, with the Algeria vs. Netherlands match, my prediction was that Algeria wouldn't lose, and it worked, but any friendly game at this stage is a risky bet.

Actually, you should watch the matches from the first round of the teams you're interested in, as it's very difficult to watch so many games.

[yenerbatmaz]

Serbia lost 5-1 after leading 0-1.
Mexico showed they were ready for the World Cup.
Serbia isn't in the World Cup, but even in a friendly match, a 5-1 defeat is a heavy loss for them.

France lost 1-2 to Ivory Coast. France also lost 1-2 after taking the lead.

The match between Spain and Iraq ended 1-1. I was expecting Spain to win easily, but it seems it's not easy to concentrate during friendly matches.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

Serbia lost 5-1 after leading 0-1.
Mexico showed they were ready for the World Cup.
Serbia isn't in the World Cup, but even in a friendly match, a 5-1 defeat is a heavy loss for them.

France lost 1-2 to Ivory Coast. France also lost 1-2 after taking the lead.

The match between Spain and Iraq ended 1-1. I was expecting Spain to win easily, but it seems it's not easy to concentrate during friendly matches.

Oh Ivory Coast beating France really is a statement. Didn't imagie they would be such a threat. After all they are in the group with my German team so they better watch out. When I saw the group I had a good laugh but maybe I was laughing to early. Seems like IC might be a serious obstacle in there. Sure, friendlies don't really mean much but carrying such a win into the tournament definitely gives them some sort of momentum!

[eisen33]

Serbia lost 5-1 after leading 0-1.
Mexico showed they were ready for the World Cup.
Serbia isn't in the World Cup, but even in a friendly match, a 5-1 defeat is a heavy loss for them.

France lost 1-2 to Ivory Coast. France also lost 1-2 after taking the lead.

The match between Spain and Iraq ended 1-1. I was expecting Spain to win easily, but it seems it's not easy to concentrate during friendly matches.

Oh Ivory Coast beating France really is a statement. Didn't imagie they would be such a threat. After all they are in the group with my German team so they better watch out. When I saw the group I had a good laugh but maybe I was laughing to early. Seems like IC might be a serious obstacle in there. Sure, friendlies don't really mean much but carrying such a win into the tournament definitely gives them some sort of momentum!

Yesterday’s friendly matches involving Spain and France were quite surprising. On the one hand, they were only friendly games, so almost anything could happen.But when I saw France’s starting lineup, I got the impression that Deschamps was determined to win this match before the World Cup. After all, no team wants to end its preparation with a defeat.

I have never considered Ivory Coast to be one of the strongest teams at the World Cup or a serious contender for the title. But that is exactly what makes friendly matches so difficult to predict, they can produce the most unexpected results. Teams also tend to approach these games with less responsibility because the results do not have any direct consequences.

[Daniel91]

After a poor performance and defeat against Belgium, Croatia plays its last friendly match before the World Cup against Slovenia on Sunday.
The match against Belgium worried Croatian fans because Croatia looked slow, predictable and without real rhythm and play.
The match against Slovenia, a traditionally unpleasant opponent for Croatia, is the last chance to show good play and improve the atmosphere before the start of the World Cup.

The Croatian national team has problems of its own making - because if Dalic says "only those players who are fully fit will play", how do players who haven't played football for months or more than a year fit into that? If you build a team around players who are over 40 or a little under then you can't expect young players to gain experience because they don't get enough minutes, and consequently you have players who are slow and don't have enough experience.

Belgium took advantage of this, as did Brazil - especially when the concentration of the players starts to drop drastically towards the end of the game. The match with Slovenia is almost irrelevant, because the real test will be against England in less than two weeks.

I agree with you.
Dalic is sometimes very stubborn and always gives an advantage to older, more experienced players.
Of course, experience is important in football, but younger players should also be given a chance, because they also need to gain experience so that one day they are ready to replace the main players of the team.
In Croatia, it is often the case that panic sets in when, after a big competition, several key players retire and there is no one to replace them, as was the case with Brozovic.
I hope that Dalic will stop experimenting with 3 players in defense and that we will see a better game against Slovenia.

[Altryist]

I’m very shocked and surprised with this result, France and Spain are the two major countries everyone is believing will lift the World Cup, but looking at this yesterdays result I believe the World Cup will surprise everyone the country that may win this World Cup may not actually be the country we expect.
Yes I understand that this match is just a friendly match and some people may say they didn’t take it serious but I really don’t believe they didn’t take it serious, don’t be surprised when you see results like this in the World Cup.
The question to ask those who are saying France and Spain did not take this match seriously so was it Iraq or ivory coast that took it seriously?
The World Cup match results is going to actually surprise everyone.

At first, I wanted to say that this is normal for friendly matches. I didn't watch those games yesterday because I was busy. But today I had a chance to watch the highlights and look at the starting lineups, and I have to say that, especially in France’s case, they fielded a very strong lineup and clearly were not planning to lose that game. Therefore, it was not the best warm up match for Deschamps.

Spain did not perform particularly well either. Before that, the Netherlands produced a similar kind of performance. So there are two possible explanations, either the teams are still feeling the effects of a long club season and have not fully switched their focus to international football yet, or the players' form is currently declining and they are not at their best physically and mentally.

[Iranus]

I am really shocked two matches result of Pre World Cup Friendlies match last night, Spain playing with full team holding a draw by Iraq as not favorable team in World Cup 2026, playing with full possession dominance not guarantee for Spain team easily winning the match but have got draw and both teams scoring at first half match. Most shocking result when France team defeating by Ivory Coast indeed playing full teams but France have got bad result, I don't think both team Spain and France not serious for this Pre World Cup friendly match because playing almost regular players but can't winning the match.

Pre-World Cup matches are probably not taken seriously by the big teams. But they should have considered these matches as warm up matches. And tried to increase the bonding among themselves. This would have enabled them to play better in the World Cup matches. Their teamwork would have been stronger. But Spain drew 1-1  against a weak opponent  like Iraq. On the other hand, france, one of the star-studded giant teams  of this world cup, lost against a team like Ivory coast. This result  surprised everyone.

[chinhar]

France and Ivory Coast will face off in a World Cup warm-up match. France is, of course, the favorite in this match. They have a strong squad, and we can say they are one of the favorites this year as well. While France will play its first World Cup match against Senegal, Ivory Coast will face Ecuador. We can expect both teams to have some good matches in their groups, but I think it?s unlikely that Ivory Coast will advance from the group stage.

It will definitely be a walk in the park for France to take home the victory. I hate to say it, but they are clearly superior as a team, both in terms of squad and tactics. And there's no doubt that France is among the favorites, which is why I think they will definitely be among the finalists. As for the Ivory Coast, I also think it's unlikely they'll make it out of the groups.

[Ronsbit]

I’m very shocked and surprised with this result, France and Spain are the two major countries everyone is believing will lift the World Cup, but looking at this yesterdays result I believe the World Cup will surprise everyone the country that may win this World Cup may not actually be the country we expect.
Yes I understand that this match is just a friendly match and some people may say they didn’t take it serious but I really don’t believe they didn’t take it serious, don’t be surprised when you see results like this in the World Cup.
The question to ask those who are saying France and Spain did not take this match seriously so was it Iraq or ivory coast that took it seriously?
The World Cup match results is going to actually surprise everyone.

I did not really follow up with these particular matches, but these results I am seeing now are very surprising. People are looking up to France and Spain to be amongst the few teams that could possibly lift the world cup tournament trophy, but from these results, it is obviously clear there is a possible shift, and there will be lots of surprises in the forthcoming World Cup tournament. I wish Nigeria qualified for this world cup, it would have been a different game altogether.
France, we all know,, is filled with well-known players all around the world compared to the Ivory Coast with no strong football background unlike the Ivory Coast winning France in a friendly match. It is something to think of because no matter how or the nature of the match France is expected to win, except they would say they did not take the match serious then but they aproved of the friendlies to get engaged with Ivory Coast, so they should be prepared for it, and the result of the match clearly shows their stand except they go back to double up their efforts.

[Qhunman]

It will definitely be a walk in the park for France to take home the victory. I hate to say it, but they are clearly superior as a team, both in terms of squad and tactics. And there's no doubt that France is among the favorites, which is why I think they will definitely be among the finalists. As for the Ivory Coast, I also think it's unlikely they'll make it out of the groups.

France will come out top in thier group, they're the strongest team in the group I can see that they would go beyond the group stage. Senegal or ivory coast will likely do well in their groups because they are both strong teams, am not sure if they will make to the final I  doubt so because no africa team have make to the final. So far only few africa teams have made it to quarter final and the semi fina in the past l. So even if Senegal and vory coast manage to make it out of their groups it is unlikely they will reach final.

[Joca97]

Serbia lost 5-1 after leading 0-1.
Mexico showed they were ready for the World Cup.
Serbia isn't in the World Cup, but even in a friendly match, a 5-1 defeat is a heavy loss for them.

France lost 1-2 to Ivory Coast. France also lost 1-2 after taking the lead.

The match between Spain and Iraq ended 1-1. I was expecting Spain to win easily, but it seems it's not easy to concentrate during friendly matches.

You need to checkout the Serbian squad its not first team its not second team its mostly players that never played for national team,all the main players went on holidays and no body is playing for the team ,so im not surprised they lost by this much.  What i am surprised is that France lost 1-2 to Ivory coast and even in a friendly match that is really bad. They went out with their first squad and werent able to win this shows early alerts before the world cup.

[Warkop]

The match between Spain and Iraq ended 1-1. I was expecting Spain to win easily, but it seems it's not easy to concentrate during friendly matches.

Asian countries are currently strong, some even big countries are overwhelmed when they meet Asian countries, I think the many star players who play in the top European leagues make Asian players have developments in European games so it cannot be denied that Asian players can counter Spain with their strength.

[welovebit]

The match between Spain and Iraq ended 1-1. I was expecting Spain to win easily, but it seems it's not easy to concentrate during friendly matches.

Asian countries are currently strong, some even big countries are overwhelmed when they meet Asian countries, I think the many star players who play in the top European leagues make Asian players have developments in European games so it cannot be denied that Asian players can counter Spain with their strength.

African and Asian countries are doing good workouts for the World Cup their performance is much improved. This is a big boost. Recently, a few matches showed they are having a good chance of giving surprises in the World Cup, even though these matches are not worth enough, but still they can do good.
Spain was held by Iraq, and France lost to Ivory Coast, while a few days back, the Netherlands lost to Algeria. It's a good and much-needed change because if they keep performing with consistency and also keep surprising, this will increase fans intention, and also fans will have good balanced soccer to watch. One-sided games will not work, and soccer will have good spirit, which is much needed right now.

[uneng]

Yesterday’s friendly matches involving Spain and France were quite surprising. On the one hand, they were only friendly games, so almost anything could happen.But when I saw France’s starting lineup, I got the impression that Deschamps was determined to win this match before the World Cup. After all, no team wants to end its preparation with a defeat.

I have never considered Ivory Coast to be one of the strongest teams at the World Cup or a serious contender for the title. But that is exactly what makes friendly matches so difficult to predict, they can produce the most unexpected results. Teams also tend to approach these games with less responsibility because the results do not have any direct consequences.

France and Spain were definitely determined to win, despite it being just a friendly match. I watched Spain x Iraq match, and Spain was quite agile on the field. Their plays were fast and accurate along the field, although the conclusion of their plays were poor and ineffective most of times.

Despite Iraq's defensive lines being weak, and letting Spain reach close to the second goal quite often, the team as a whole still managed to take the draw until the end, besides scoring an outstanding goal against Spain.

Of course Spain was much more skilled and dominated the game, but the final outcome reveals it's still possible for more fragile teams to finish the matches with positive results if they are strategical, and why not, a little bit lucky.

[Smack That Ace]

France will come out top in thier group, they're the strongest team in the group I can see that they would go beyond the group stage. Senegal or ivory coast will likely do well in their groups because they are both strong teams, am not sure if they will make to the final I  doubt so because no africa team have make to the final. So far only few africa teams have made it to quarter final and the semi fina in the past l. So even if Senegal and vory coast manage to make it out of their groups it is unlikely they will reach final.

France played with their best XI. Yet they lost in this match. I would say it is a shame. Despite having such a strong squad, they could not play well. The squad had Mbappe, Thuram, Rabiot, Cherki, Olise and Tchouameni. Even then they were able to score only one goal in the match. They were able to take a total of 15 shots. They were able to create a lot of chances. But their finishing was weak.

France's squad is the strongest squad in this World Cup. They have the most star players. But the mutual understanding between the players is not good. We got the proof of this again in the match against Ivory Coast.

[X-ray]

France lost 1-2 to Ivory Coast. France also lost 1-2 after taking the lead.

The match between Spain and Iraq ended 1-1. I was expecting Spain to win easily, but it seems it's not easy to concentrate during friendly matches.

France looks so washed in this game. They were unable defending their lead, and this is showing how fragile they are without Saliba. So we can't expect them to have a cake walk in the group stage.

The lose against Ivory Coast is also decreasing France's position from the number one of men football team to the 3rd. I think they play without Saliba in WC, they're gonna knocked out earlier. 

Beside that this proves how African teams become rediculously strong atm.