2026 World Cup - News, Updates and discussions

[xabuep2]

The good thing about 12 groups of 4 is that it guarantees more games in Vancouver and Toronto.

[RJB]

10 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Along with a senseless proposal for an international qualifying round to get to 32 teams for 2026… which would make so many host cities unnecessary ......wait for it....

He wants Canada to have to qualify for 2026.

If you have Twitter give him an earful...

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/football/blog/2022/dec/11/globalise-the-final-round-of-qualifying-and-a-32-nation-world-cup-may-still-add-up

 

I don't think this is a terrible idea.  What he is proposing is a lot more interesting of a final round: imagine Italy having to travel to Honduras for a proper qualifying match!!?? 

[Unnamed Trialist]

3 hours ago, RJB said:

I don't think this is a terrible idea.  What he is proposing is a lot more interesting of a final round: imagine Italy having to travel to Honduras for a proper qualifying match!!?? 

You think Canada should have to qualify for 2026?

And that they should do away with a third of the host cities.

And not let anyone but local fans see key World Cup matches played elsewhere instead of at the World Cup?

[Free kick]

3 hours ago, RJB said:

I don't think this is a terrible idea.  What he is proposing is a lot more interesting of a final round: imagine Italy having to travel to Honduras for a proper qualifying match!!?? 

I didnt think it was terrible either.  it says more or less that the world cup starts with 80 teams (20 groups of four) and each group is made up of participants from different confederations each playing home and away matches throughout several WCQ windows ( lets say 6 windows) .  Top two advance to the finals (ie.:  the actual WC as we know it) which is to be played at Neutral site.    Yeah,  it would be cool seeing those euro sides going into Honduras.  It also eliminates the need to attributes slots (and determine how many slots) to different regions and hence no more whining and complaining that this or that regions doesnt get enough slots.

Edited December 11, 2022 by Free kick

[Free kick]

50 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

You think Canada should have to qualify for 2026?

And that they should do away with a third of the host cities.

And not let anyone but local fans see key World Cup matches played elsewhere instead of at the World Cup?

But the US and Mex are also listed in those groups.   So everyone has to qualify.  Even the hosts.  so lets say,  they auto qualify Mex, Can, and US.   It doesnt really change the proposal.  It just says the host qualify automatically for the round after the 80 teams round.    there is still a WC of 48 or 32 or 64 teams (whatever) played played at a neutral site (at who ever is awarded the WC).    

I think you mis read the proposal.   Either that,  or maybe I misread it

Edited December 11, 2022 by Free kick

[RJB]

32 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

You think Canada should have to qualify for 2026?

And that they should do away with a third of the host cities.

And not let anyone but local fans see key World Cup matches played elsewhere instead of at the World Cup?

I think a host nation should qualify automatically, of course.  The tournament would suffer if they didn't.

But his example was for 2030, and you can see that Portugal and Spain both qualify as hosts.  Remember, this is a qualifying tournament that he is proposing, to select 32 nations for the actual World Cup that would follow.  

I just like the spitballing that he's doing, and I think that it solves lots of problems.  Yes, it also creates new ones, but as an idea it's not that bad and like he says, will add some flair to what is otherwise mostly predictable qualifying.  

[red card]

Since the Wahl thread is locked. His brother has walked back his statements.

 

Edited December 13, 2022 by red card

[TGAA_Star]

My guys Dominic Rich and Football Pharaoh giving their early predictions for the 48 teams that will qualify including playoff teams from each confederation except Europe for the Inter confederation playoffs...it inspired me to come up with my own 48 teams so that being said, my 48 go as follows:

 

My early predictions for who qualifies:

AFC (8)- Saudi Arabia, Iran, Japan, Australia, South Korea, China, Qatar, Vietnam (playoff team Uzbekistan)

CAF (9)- Senegal, Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia, Mali, Algeria and Cameroon (playoff team Ivory Coast)

CONCACAF (6)- Canada, USA, Mexico, Panama, Jamaica, Costa Rica (2 playoff teams for me would be El Salvador and Honduras)

OFC (1)- New Zealand (playoff team would be Solomon Islands)

CONMEBOL (6)- Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Uruguay, Paraguay, Colombia (playoff team Venezuela)

UEFA- France, Norway, England, Belgium, Scotland, Portugal, Croatia, Ukraine, Switzerland, Netherlands, Italy, Czech Republic, Germany, Serbia, Spain (16)

Playoff tournament

Ivory Coast for Africa giving Africa 10 teams and Venezuela qualify giving South America 7 teams

[RJB]

I wonder if South America will change their qualifying at all, because 6 of 10 going through automatically, and a seventh getting a playoff is hardly interesting in a full league format.  I don't know what a solution could look like because ten is tough to work with. 

[TGAA_Star]

On 12/11/2022 at 2:21 PM, xabuep2 said:

The good thing about 12 groups of 4 is that it guarantees more games in Vancouver and Toronto.

Which I actually would like and it gives us fans more chances to go to games depending on who plays in said games

[BearcatSA]

Since the Grant Wahl thread is locked:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/grant-wahl-cause-of-death-aortic-aneurysm-wife-dr-celine-gounder-interview/

(If a mod wants to move this to the Wahl thread then re-lock it, go to it)

[Shway]

20 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

Since the Grant Wahl thread is locked:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/grant-wahl-cause-of-death-aortic-aneurysm-wife-dr-celine-gounder-interview/

(If a mod wants to move this to the Wahl thread then re-lock it, go to it)

[quote] The wife of prominent soccer journalist Grant Wahl said Wednesday that the writer’s death last week while covering the World Cup was caused by an aortic aneurysm. 
 

She ruled out anything suspicious about his death.[\quote]

Naw man I still don’t believe it, those Qataris are one of the most disgusting people known to man. 

Edited December 14, 2022 by Shway

[SthMelbRed]

8 hours ago, Shway said:

[quote] The wife of prominent soccer journalist Grant Wahl said Wednesday that the writer’s death last week while covering the World Cup was caused by an aortic aneurysm. 
 

She ruled out anything suspicious about his death.[\quote]

Naw man I still don’t believe it, those Qataris are one of the most disgusting people known to man. 

Just because they didn't assassinate an American journalist, let's not pretend that the Qatari regime isn't made up of horrible human beings.

[Unnamed Trialist]

Been thinking how little details can alter an entire narrative of a World Cup.

If we'd scored against Belgium and drawn it, that would have probably altered the way this WC played out through our side of the draw.

All teams in our group would have been tied going into matchday 2. Belgium would have been on the alert after their bad Canada result and would have been much tougher vs. Morocco. We would have been able to take the Croatia match more calmly, perhaps enabling to not be blown out and certainly not being so rash and out of control. Regardless of the result vs. Croatia, as long as any losing goal difference was 1 or 2, we would have gone into the last day with a chance to go through with a win. Morocco probably would not have won the group.

Then you have different match-ups in the R16 vs. Spain and Japan, and it all pans out differently.

[BearcatSA]

2 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Been thinking how little details can alter an entire narrative of a World Cup.

If we'd scored against Belgium and drawn it, that would have probably altered the way this WC played out through our side of the draw.

All teams in our group would have been tied going into matchday 2. Belgium would have been on the alert after their bad Canada result and would have been much tougher vs. Morocco. We would have been able to take the Croatia match more calmly, perhaps enabling to not be blown out and certainly not being so rash and out of control. Regardless of the result vs. Croatia, as long as any losing goal difference was 1 or 2, we would have gone into the last day with a chance to go through with a win. Morocco probably would not have won the group.

I think we would have played the same way vs Croatia, same midfield set up, same result. 

[BearcatSA]

I believe that this is the first time since South Korea in 2002 that a non UEFA/CONMEBOL team has reached the final four of the 32 team format.  Other quarterfinalists during this format have belonged to a nearly exclusive European and South American club, barring a few exceptions:  for CONCACAF, only two teams have made it with only one of them beating a non-regional opponent to get there (Costa Rica over Greece, while the 2002 round of 16 match up had the US beat Mexico).  So kudos to Morocco for getting this far on home continent soil.  Also, it makes you realize how challenging it is to break that round of 16 glass celing (in this 32 format, the Mexicans were never able to do so).

 

 

[TGAA_Star]

But with Morocco breaking new ground, 2026 the chances of a CONCACAF team going far in 2026 I just can't see it unless the CONCACAF team no matter who it is play exactly like Morocco did in this World Cup, I just can't see it happening. Why? Because now most teams are either going to start playing this way adopting that into their own style making it more predictable or they are going to start figuring out ways to scheme around that.

[Unnamed Trialist]

12 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

I think we would have played the same way vs Croatia, same midfield set up, same result. 

Maybe. We were arrogant after having lost to Belgium attacking them, and we may have taken that arrogance even further vs Croatia. Hard to tell. 

But a draw v Belgium would have taken pressure off the Croatia game, giving us a scenario to just beat Morocco to go through.

[SthMelbRed]

18 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

I believe that this is the first time since South Korea in 2002 that a non UEFA/CONMEBOL team has reached the final four of the 32 team format.  Other quarterfinalists during this format have belonged to a nearly exclusive European and South American club, barring a few exceptions:  for CONCACAF, only two teams have made it with only one of them beating a non-regional opponent to get there (Costa Rica over Greece, while the 2002 round of 16 match up had the US beat Mexico).  So kudos to Morocco for getting this far on home continent soil.  Also, it makes you realize how challenging it is to break that round of 16 glass celing (in this 32 format, the Mexicans were never able to do so).

 

 

While both Morocco and Qatar are Arab countries, they are not on the same continent. Qatar is on the Asian continent and Morocco the African.

[BearcatSA]

2 hours ago, SthMelbRed said:

While both Morocco and Qatar are Arab countries, they are not on the same continent. Qatar is on the Asian continent and Morocco the African.

My bad, oops.  Looks like I blew the Jeopardy Daily Double on that one!

[BearcatSA]

France had two starters absent from the semi due to a respiratory virus so I guess they are hoping that it doesn't spread.

[Unnamed Trialist]

On 12/11/2022 at 11:35 PM, Free kick said:

But the US and Mex are also listed in those groups.   So everyone has to qualify.  Even the hosts.  so lets say,  they auto qualify Mex, Can, and US.   It doesnt really change the proposal.  It just says the host qualify automatically for the round after the 80 teams round.    there is still a WC of 48 or 32 or 64 teams (whatever) played played at a neutral site (at who ever is awarded the WC).    

I think you mis read the proposal.   Either that,  or maybe I misread it

I'll read it again....

[narduch]

We might get to watch Club World Cup matches in Canada. 

 

[narduch]

Also mods please move this thread back into the CanMNT sub forum. 

It doesn't belong here

 

[TGAA_Star]

1 hour ago, narduch said:

We might get to watch Club World Cup matches in Canada. 

 

Rather the whole 2025 FIFA Club World Cup much like the 2026 FIFA World Cup is also hosted in all 3 countries as a test run. But then at the same time also we have the Inter Confederation Playoffs to determine the final 2 spots in the 2026 FIFA World Cup and apparently they want the Inter Confederation Playoffs to be hosted in one of the host countries at a neutral site