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Event FIFA World Cup 2026 thread

Blast

Blast

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The biggest sports tournament in the world starts in 1 week! This year's World Cup finals will be held in Mexico, Canada and the US featuring an extended playing field of 48 teams from all continents. Discuss the games, squads, happenings and share stories, pictures, videos, jokes and more of what is propagated to be the "biggest World Cup" ever in this thread. To start off, what team are you supporting? Did your country make it into the group stages? If not you're rooting for and why?

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Thegameandwatch said:
I find it strange that its being hosted in the US where football/soccer isn't that popular.
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I think my experience has totally been clouded by the fact the final is taking place in my neck of the woods, so the push for the World Cup this year has been huge. Also our mayor is (sadly, RIP) an Arsenal fan so its been popping up a lot more.

I'm not the biggest soccer fan but we're hosting some watch parties. I might watch a game or two because why not?
 
football runs in my blood at this point (at my house, there is a football match playing on tv every time i step out into the living room) so i apologize for the person i will turn into once the tournament starts.
for context: every time i go do paperwork or pay bills, the employees have been wearing argentina jerseys as well, its crazy, its everywhere.

of course, i will be rooting for my country of residence, argentina, the defending champion. as for other favorites, i also cheer for fellow latin american countries, and african countries as well (i'm really glad those teams are getting to shine! morocco did great in 2022!)

i'm really passionate about football lol so if you need a fellow world cup buddy, i volunteer!
 
Thegameandwatch said:
I find it strange that its being hosted in the US where football/soccer isn't that popular.
Click to expand...
Not that crazy. They've hosted before in 1994 which was considered a big success, and there have been attempts to build a sustainable league even before that from the late 60s onwards. I heard it's booming amongst certain demograhpics such as the Hispanic population too. Until recently Canada was a football dwarf as well. Just because it's not the number 1 sport in the country like in Mexico doesn't mean it's not reasonable. Plus the USWNT has been extremely dominant for a long time, Canada's women team isn't weak either.

Remember, since 2002 the World Cup has been hosted by KR and Japan, South Africa, Russia and Qatar. The first 3 don't have football as their national sport (baseball and rugby respectively). Qatar and Russia... Do your own research and make up your mind about them. Giving hosting rights to a sports-obessed nation such as the US with existing stadiums and experience hosting massive international events (Winter and Summer Olympics, World Cup, Gold Cup, WBC, etc.) is nothing out of the ordinary in this vein.
staticmoth said:
I think my experience has totally been clouded by the fact the final is taking place in my neck of the woods, so the push for the World Cup this year has been huge. Also our mayor is (sadly, RIP) an Arsenal fan so its been popping up a lot more.

I'm not the biggest soccer fan but we're hosting some watch parties. I might watch a game or two because why not?
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You don't like Arsenal? lol. My NT (NL) is currently residing in NY since yesterday. They're gonna have a practice match with Uzbekistan in a small stadium without spectators on 8th. If you're lucky you might see them around lol. I think they're gonna do some kind of event at Times Square too but not a lot is known about that. What games are you planning to watch?
recarmdra said:
football runs in my blood at this point (at my house, there is a football match playing on tv every time i step out into the living room) so i apologize for the person i will turn into once the tournament starts.
for context: every time i go do paperwork or pay bills, the employees have been wearing argentina jerseys as well, its crazy, its everywhere.

of course, i will be rooting for my country of residence, argentina, the defending champion. as for other favorites, i also cheer for fellow latin american countries, and african countries as well (i'm really glad those teams are getting to shine! morocco did great in 2022!)

i'm really passionate about football lol so if you need a fellow world cup buddy, i volunteer!
Click to expand...
Can we still be buddies if we're also budding intercontinental rivals? >_> I'm hope we can run into you again and knock out this time like in 1998. That was a great moment.

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Blast said:
You don't like Arsenal? lol. My NT (NL) is currently residing in NY since yesterday. They're gonna have a practice match with Uzbekistan in a small stadium without spectators on 8th. If you're lucky you might see them around lol. I think they're gonna do some kind of event at Times Square too but not a lot is known about that. What games are you planning to watch?
Click to expand...

Nahhh just feel bad for the team and all lol. times square is a little ways away from me but that sounds really cool! (eyes emoji)

Since my workplace is hosting the games, I'll probably whichever ones those are. \o/
 
as someone not into sports, I am curious as to why football and especially the FIFA world cup is so popular (football isn't as big where I live)
 
Blast said:
Discuss the ... jokes and more of what is propagated to be the "biggest World Cup" ever in this thread.
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www.espn.com

FIFA bans fans bringing water bottles into World Cup stadiums

FIFA has made a late change of policy to bar World Cup fans from bringing refillable water bottles into the tournament's 16 stadiums across North America.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
This sounds like a pretty huge joke to me. Like, I know they're claiming this is a safety issue for players, but you just know they're planning on selling people 600ml bottles of water at the stadium for some ridiculously marked up price.
 
recommendation_fluid said:
as someone not into sports, I am curious as to why football and especially the FIFA world cup is so popular (football isn't as big where I live)
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My theory is that it's a pasttime with an extremely low barrier to entry, something people of all body types and fitness level can do in many ways both alone or with any number of friends (shooting on goal, dribbling, keeping up the ball, learning tricks, etc.) and can be played on virtually all surfaces using whatever is on hand to make a goal. The rules are easy to understand and can be modified in whatever way you like too. Not to mention the influence of the British Empire spreading it around the world. Nowadays the fact that it's a global sport is an additional selling point to nations where it's not as popular yet, creating a positive spiral.

Archaic said:
www.espn.com

FIFA bans fans bringing water bottles into World Cup stadiums

FIFA has made a late change of policy to bar World Cup fans from bringing refillable water bottles into the tournament's 16 stadiums across North America.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
This sounds like a pretty huge joke to me. Like, I know they're claiming this is a safety issue for players, but you just know they're planning on selling people 600ml bottles of water at the stadium for some ridiculously marked up price.
Click to expand...
You could say FIFA itself has been a joke for a long time now lol. This would be funny if it wasn't such a pathetic cashgrab. I just hope no one suffers from heat stroke or other health issues. The lines to get drinks are sure to be crowded so who knows how quickly you can get access to water in a pinch. What about the safety of the fans????
 
Thegameandwatch said:
I find it strange that its being hosted in the US where football/soccer isn't that popular.
Click to expand...
It’s a joint production with Mexico (where soccer is massive) and Canada, but soccer isn’t all that unpopular in America: it’s just not the overwhelming phenomenon it is in Europe and Latin America (and elsewhere). We have a robust professional league that’s steadily growing.
 
"Biggest event in human history" starts today >_> I'm looking forward to it a lot and I'll try to watch all the matches (maybe not all live lol). In the past few days there's also been many more controversies surrounding all kinds of issues, such with the denying of the Somalian referee. Tonight there's a huge protest planned in Mexico City with about 100k people expected to participate. Gonna be a turbulent couple of weeks for sure. I'll be happy when the ball is rolling and we can enjoy the actual football, and at the same time I think it's important that attention is given to situation outside the pitch too. Unlike the previous 2 World Cups, the hosting nations are democratic countries meaning it's more likely real change can be achieved by highlighting the problems these nations are facing with the eyes of the world fixed on them. For this reason, I don't mind if tonights game is delayed or anything like that because some things (many things) take precedent over football even during the World Cup.

That said, I don't think South Africa is gonna upset Mexico today. South Korea - Czechia will be much more competitive. I'm rooting for the Asian and African teams so preferences for these matches should be clear lol.
 
Being Australian, normally we'd just be happy to have Australia manage to get out of the group stage. Though with the new format allowing so many 3rd place finishers through, there might be an expectation on the team that we'll get through this time.

I think our comedian Jimmy Rees thoroughly summed up a lot of Australian attitudes towards this World Cup in any case.
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@Archaic I just wanted to wish you good luck against the hosts... You're gonna need it even more after that lol. I'm rooting for the Socceroos too!
 
Archaic said:
We certainly choked on that match. ^^; Hopefully we can win our 3rd and still get through in the top 2. I suppose I need to hope that Turkey lose or draw tonight against Paraguay, and that we then beat or draw with Paraguay next week.
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Gonna be fighting with Paraguay for the second place directly. With a draw I think go through on goal difference in 2nd place. Losing could be game over after a promising start. All you gotta do is win and make it out with confidence to the KO stage.
 
Blast said:
Gonna be fighting with Paraguay for the second place directly. With a draw I think go through on goal difference in 2nd place. Losing could be game over after a promising start. All you gotta do is win and make it out with confidence to the KO stage.
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Yup, if Australia and Paraguay draw now, Australia goes through in 2nd place based on the goal difference (ahead of the match, Australia is at 0, Paraguay is at -2).
 
IT'S GOING DOWN TODAY!!! I'll be honest and say the group stage has felt more like warmup round so far with little true upsets. This is the problem with 48 team format in which only 16 teams get eliminated after 3 games. More than ever it feels most of the talk is about what the KO stage schedule will look like instead of who's gonna make it through their group, especially the big teams.

Remember, in 2022 powerhouses such as Germany, Senegal, Belgium, Uruguay and even Mexico (IYKYK) all fell at the first hurdle. There may still be some surprises in store, but many teams with 4 points are already pretty much certain to advance. Boring if you ask me. They sacrificed the dynamic and dangerous nature of the groups for just one extra KO round. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised that's where all the attention is at already.

The only "strong" teams that haven't all but secured advancement are Croatia, and Belgium and Uruguay again. Even then, Croatia only needs a draw against Ghana and Belgium a win against New Zealand to move on. Uruguay is in more danger since they failed to beat Saudi and Cabo Verde and are now facing Spain, but they can still make it happen. As it stands, Czechia would qualify with only a single point and a negative goal balance. Obviously it won't stay like that, but it illustrates the leniency the group stage allows now.

In particular with the extended playing field it's not like every team in a group is actually a top 32 team as it was before. That means there'll be a possibility of 2 subpar teams in the same group, rather than one weakling as it was before. No one in Portugal has to recon with the fact they drew with a like team DR Congo as one of the favourites because all they gotta do is beat Uzbekistan to go through in the next game. If all it takes is to get a draw and a win from with all my respect Congo and Uzbekistan to reach the KO stage at the World Cup, it's no surprise most of the powerhouses don't seem to care about the group stage anymore when it comes to whether or not they'll make it. It's very telling no one has been able to identify a clear group of death this time. You can talk about Group I and even then Senegal has been extremely disappointing. Even so, with a big win against Iraq they could still squeeze in with the best 3rd places after losing their first 2. Just a reminder in 2014 with 32 teams England and Italy were both Eliminated in group with Uruguay and the best Costa Rica team ever. 3 previous winners in a single group. Now we got Canada, Switzerland, Qatar and Bosnia with the possibility of only one getting eliminated. Again, no disrepect.

At this point, even a double group stage with 64 teams would be better. 64 > 32 > 8 or straight up with the top 32 playing KOs. I was sceptical with this format beforehand and it's playing out as I feared. Hopefully I'll have to eat my words and the final group stage matches will be spectacular. I'd rather look at the standing in the groups than the possible KO matchups DURING THE GROUP STAGE >_>
 
Am I just being salty, or were the refs in the Australia vs. Egypt and Cabo Verde vs. Argentina games today really inconsistent with how they were calling fouls? Nothing against refs who use the whistle a bit more/less than otthers, but only so long as both sides are being treated equally there.
 
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