2026 World Cup - News, Updates and discussions

[Bigandy]

22 minutes ago, MtlMario said:

Of course nobody has a crystal ball (except me or course😄) but there's not much time to figure all these things out is what I'm saying.Cheers.

for sure! And I want a guy like ali on before oso and crepeau over borjan as well. But its not like we have someone better than hoilett to take his spot. Vitoria still provides huge value over ZMG/LM/Bombito etc.  Its tough when we dont have youngsters who have clearly surpassed any of the vets. 

[johnyb]

3 hours ago, MtlMario said:

So basically 2026 team will be 2022 team just 3.5 years older.😄

 

Reminds me of 2010 when Marcelo Lippi brought back virtually the same team that won him the WC in 2006. What a disaster!

[SthMelbRed]

15 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

That is one of the things I like about basketball - the refs take no shit whatsoever.  Chirp at the ref?  Technical.  Generally act like an asshole?  Technical.   Five fouls and you are hitting the showers, so if you want to take a Tech for something dumb that is on you.  The result?  Almost no crowding the refs or screaming in their faces.  None of the bullshit.  And guess what - the NBA still manages to put out a really entertaining product that doesn't view the BS drama as an integral part of the game.  

Well, basketball referees openly cheat in favour of the star players and veterans, so there's far less need to moan at the referees, since everybody just accepts that this absurdity will occur for/against you, depending on your stature, real or perceived, in the league.

[Shway]

17 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

That is one of the things I like about basketball - the refs take no shit whatsoever.  Chirp at the ref?  Technical.  Generally act like an asshole?  Technical.   Five fouls and you are hitting the showers, so if you want to take a Tech for something dumb that is on you.  The result?  Almost no crowding the refs or screaming in their faces.  None of the bullshit.  And guess what - the NBA still manages to put out a really entertaining product that doesn't view the BS drama as an integral part of the game.  

I don't know if you've been following NBA convos but referring has been complained about at an all time high. Plus the NBA is thee worst to mention about referring. It's thee most subjective refereeing in all of sports, it's the reason why I struggle to watch games because I can't take how inconsistent the rules are applied, and how consistent the whistle is blown. Way too many times refs are making make-up calls or like @SthMelbRed mentioned favouring the star players.

There's 3 refs, to 10 players. All 3 have the power to throw a player out the game if something is said to them. Fouls are similar to cautions. You just get a lot less warnings in soccer before your kicked out the game and suspended for the subsequent game(s) where basketball you get a flagrant 2 and you can play tomorrow night.

The NBA is entertaining because its product is consistent. There's scoring every 15 secs which feeds to peoples attention spans. There's also many timed stoppages of play which does the same thing (at games fans can chat endlessly. There isn't elements to dictate how players perform, there's manufactured environments (makeeee some noiosee) that sustain entertainment

To make sense of your comparison, I think if lineman's are given the equal share of the power of the main ref to make any calls it could change things.

There's 2 refs (ARs are .5) to 22 players.
Plainly put, it's a lot for a single ref to manage...and like Kayne raps "No one man should have all that power"

[dyslexic nam]

2 hours ago, Shway said:

I don't know if you've been following NBA convos but referring has been complained about at an all time high. Plus the NBA is thee worst to mention about referring. It's thee most subjective refereeing in all of sports, it's the reason why I struggle to watch games because I can't take how inconsistent the rules are applied, and how consistent the whistle is blown. Way too many times refs are making make-up calls or like @SthMelbRed mentioned favouring the star players.

There's 3 refs, to 10 players. All 3 have the power to throw a player out the game if something is said to them. Fouls are similar to cautions. You just get a lot less warnings in soccer before your kicked out the game and suspended for the subsequent game(s) where basketball you get a flagrant 2 and you can play tomorrow night.

The NBA is entertaining because its product is consistent. There's scoring every 15 secs which feeds to peoples attention spans. There's also many timed stoppages of play which does the same thing (at games fans can chat endlessly. There isn't elements to dictate how players perform, there's manufactured environments (makeeee some noiosee) that sustain entertainment

To make sense of your comparison, I think if lineman's are given the equal share of the power of the main ref to make any calls it could change things.

There's 2 refs (ARs are .5) to 22 players.
Plainly put, it's a lot for a single ref to manage...and like Kayne raps "No one man should have all that power"

Definitely not getting into the subjectivity issue, because I agree it can be frustrating in the NBA. In fairness to the refs, though, I have had 2 kids play bball for quite a while and I find basketball to be a lot harder to call on the margins because of the degree of contact that is allowed. The situation with a occer is a bit more straightforward.

Having said that I still think the way they deal with descent and pressuring of the referee is the right way to go. It should be penalized. This thing where a mob of players get to intimidate a referee into making a call is a far more dangerous form of subjectivity in my mind. That is really all I was talking about in the original post.

[dyslexic nam]

5 hours ago, SthMelbRed said:

Well, basketball referees openly cheat in favour of the star players and veterans, so there's far less need to moan at the referees, since everybody just accepts that this absurdity will occur for/against you, depending on your stature, real or perceived, in the league.

Alright.  I concede defeat.   
 

(but I still like the way they don’t take shit from players). 

[Shway]

2 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

Definitely not getting into the subjectivity issue, because I agree it can be frustrating in the NBA. In fairness to the refs, though, I have had 2 kids play bball for quite a while and I find basketball to be a lot harder to call on the margins because of the degree of contact that is allowed. The situation with a occer is a bit more straightforward.

It's funny you mention contact because I see basketball as a non-contact sport (it's not my fathers basketball anymore).

2 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

Having said that I still think the way they deal with descent and pressuring of the referee is the right way to go. It should be penalized. This thing where a mob of players get to intimidate a referee into making a call is a far more dangerous form of subjectivity in my mind. That is really all I was talking about in the original post.

I feel like you're overstating the surrounding of the referees. Gone are the days when a team like Barca would surround the referees on every decision and intimidate and influence the refs to make a decision...I think we only see it now when a VAR decision is to be made, and at that point it's pretty much out of the head refs hands as they are being influenced by VAR officials. 

If I'm not mistaken majority of the top professional leagues has rules against the surrounding of referees. 

[dyslexic nam]

24 minutes ago, Shway said:

It's funny you mention contact because I see basketball as a non-contact sport (it's not my fathers basketball anymore).

I feel like you're overstating the surrounding of the referees. Gone are the days when a team like Barca would surround the referees on every decision and intimidate and influence the refs to make a decision...I think we only see it now when a VAR decision is to be made, and at that point it's pretty much out of the head refs hands as they are being influenced by VAR officials. 

If I'm not mistaken majority of the top professional leagues has rules against the surrounding of referees. 

Basketball is definitely still a contact sport.  Not in the way hockey or football is, but there is a lot of contact in the paint.  My tall skinny kid tried to play centre against a lot of generally big bulky dudes and they def get to use the body to gain and hold position etc.    and it isn’t gentle.   I think that permitted degree of contact, in a port that doesn’t allow outright hitting, is what leads to the subjectivity.

And for the record I definitely still see players getting in the face of refs to pressure them into calls.  Maybe not the Barca mob anymore but it is still very much present.  
 

 

Edited November 30, 2023 by dyslexic nam

[Watchmen]

11 hours ago, SthMelbRed said:

Well, basketball referees openly cheat in favour of the star players and veterans, so there's far less need to moan at the referees, since everybody just accepts that this absurdity will occur for/against you, depending on your stature, real or perceived, in the league.

I mean, of the "big 4" sports in North America, it's the one that had a ref caught fixing games. And he was getting away with it (including in critical playoff games) because the officiating is so terrible no one could tell the difference.

[Neil R.]

Today's FIFA ranking update determined the pots for CONCACAF WCQ. 6 groups. 5 teams in each group. Each team plays the other 4 teams in their group once. The top 2 from each group advance to the next round.

This part of WCQ starts in June next year. Turks and Caicos Islands/Anguilla and British Virgin Islands/US Virgin Islands play a two-legged tie in March to see who gets the final 2 spots in Pot 5.

Pot 1

Panama
Costa Rica
Jamaica
Honduras
El Salvador
Haiti

Pot 2

Curaçao
Trinidad and Tobago
Guatemala
Nicaragua
Antigua and Barbuda
Suriname

Pot 3

Saint Kitts and Nevis
Dominican Republic
Guyana
Puerto Rico
Saint Lucia
Cuba

Pot 4

Bermuda
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Grenada
Montserrat
Barbados
Dominica

Pot 5

Belize
Aruba
Cayman Islands
Bahamas
Winner of Turks and Caicos Islands/Anguilla
Winner of British Virgin Islands/US Virgin Islands

Just based on Nations League results, I'd be wanting Antigua and Barbuda as my Pot 2 team. Guyana and Puerto Rico (both Pot 3) pretty much had their way with them throughout Nations League. Guyana defeated them 5-1 and 6-0. Puerto Rico defeated them 5-0 and 3-2. If either one of those 2 countries got Antigua and Barbuda in their WCQ group, I'd be liking their chances to finish second and advance to the next round.

[SpursFlu]

1 hour ago, Neil R. said:

Today's FIFA ranking update determined the pots for CONCACAF WCQ. 6 groups. 5 teams in each group. Each team plays the other 4 teams in their group once. The top 2 from each group advance to the next round.

This part of WCQ starts in June next year. Turks and Caicos Islands/Anguilla and British Virgin Islands/US Virgin Islands play a two-legged tie in March to see who gets the final 2 spots in Pot 5.

Pot 1

Panama
Costa Rica
Jamaica
Honduras
El Salvador
Haiti

Pot 2

Curaçao
Trinidad and Tobago
Guatemala
Nicaragua
Antigua and Barbuda
Suriname

Pot 3

Saint Kitts and Nevis
Dominican Republic
Guyana
Puerto Rico
Saint Lucia
Cuba

Pot 4

Bermuda
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Grenada
Montserrat
Barbados
Dominica

Pot 5

Belize
Aruba
Cayman Islands
Bahamas
Winner of Turks and Caicos Islands/Anguilla
Winner of British Virgin Islands/US Virgin Islands

Just based on Nations League results, I'd be wanting Antigua and Barbuda as my Pot 2 team. Guyana and Puerto Rico (both Pot 3) pretty much had their way with them throughout Nations League. Guyana defeated them 5-1 and 6-0. Puerto Rico defeated them 5-0 and 3-2. If either one of those 2 countries got Antigua and Barbuda in their WCQ group, I'd be liking their chances to finish second and advance to the next round.

Seems like a Battle Royal for the Intercontinental Title 

Edited December 1, 2023 by SpursFlu

[Free kick]

On 11/30/2023 at 1:26 PM, Watchmen said:

I mean, of the "big 4" sports in North America, it's the one that had a ref caught fixing games. And he was getting away with it (including in critical playoff games) because the officiating is so terrible no one could tell the difference.

Just to clarify.  It was point shaving rather than match fixing.   Some could argue that its one in the same but its really not and that's why that ref was able to get away with it.    That's because fixing the game to achieve a certain point spread is something that teams, players and coaches are not likely to notice or to take note of.  

PS.: as an aside this is going to become a bigger problem now now with legalization and proliferation of on-line gambling.   We already saw,  even in the NFL a couple of weeks ago that a team chose to kick a meaningless field goal as time expired when the results was already decided 

Edited December 3, 2023 by Free kick

[dyslexic nam]

38 minutes ago, Free kick said:

Just to clarified.  It was point shaving rather than match fixing.   Some could argue that its one in the same but its really not and that's why that ref was able to get away with it.    That's because fixing the game to achieve a certain point spread is something that teams, players and coaches are not likely to notice or to take note of.  

PS.: as an aside this is going to become a bigger problem now now with legalization and proliferation of on-line gambling.   We already saw,  even in the NFL a couple of weeks ago that a team chose to kick a meaningless field goal as time expired when the results was already decided 

As another aside, I have to say that it is really startling to see the proliferation of sports betting in all sports events.  It is pervasive in every aspect of pro sports now and that seems to have happened relatively quickly.  I know it is far from a brand new phenomenon, but the level of saturation seems to have exploded in the last decade.  They are huge sponsors of teams, intermission shows are dedicated to detailing the odds, and commentators have clearly been instructed to reference that aspect of sports on a very regular basis.  Don't get me wrong - I couldn't care less if someone chooses to bet on sports.  But as someone who has never really done it much, I find it really interesting how it has become such a dominant theme in sports coverage.  

[BearcatSA]

3 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

As another aside, I have to say that it is really startling to see the proliferation of sports betting in all sports events.  It is pervasive in every aspect of pro sports now and that seems to have happened relatively quickly.  I know it is far from a brand new phenomenon, but the level of saturation seems to have exploded in the last decade.  They are huge sponsors of teams, intermission shows are dedicated to detailing the odds, and commentators have clearly been instructed to reference that aspect of sports on a very regular basis.  Don't get me wrong - I couldn't care less if someone chooses to bet on sports.  But as someone who has never really done it much, I find it really interesting how it has become such a dominant theme in sports coverage.  

You've got it!

 

 

[BearcatSA]

3 hours ago, Free kick said:

Just to clarified.  It was point shaving rather than match fixing.   Some could argue that its one in the same but its really not and that's why that ref was able to get away with it.    That's because fixing the game to achieve a certain point spread is something that teams, players and coaches are not likely to notice or to take note of.  

PS.: as an aside this is going to become a bigger problem now now with legalization and proliferation of on-line gambling.   We already saw,  even in the NFL a couple of weeks ago that a team chose to kick a meaningless field goal as time expired when the results was already decided 

Even with the video assistance of umpteen tv camera angles available, refs still make bizzarre calls in the NFL.

The NFL policy on its own players gambling seems to have shifted from significant  suspensions a few months ago (as well in many years past, like with Packer all time great Paul Hornung and Lions HoFer Alex Karras being suspended for a season) to a don't-ask-don't-tell policy.  Maybe a few star QBs would have been busted?

 

[Free kick]

7 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

As another aside, I have to say that it is really startling to see the proliferation of sports betting in all sports events.  It is pervasive in every aspect of pro sports now and that seems to have happened relatively quickly.  I know it is far from a brand new phenomenon, but the level of saturation seems to have exploded in the last decade.  They are huge sponsors of teams, intermission shows are dedicated to detailing the odds, and commentators have clearly been instructed to reference that aspect of sports on a very regular basis.  Don't get me wrong - I couldn't care less if someone chooses to bet on sports.  But as someone who has never really done it much, I find it really interesting how it has become such a dominant theme in sports coverage.  

I agree and i cant understand it.   Especially the idea of point spreads.   What point spreads do is that they eliminate informational advantage that a bettor or a sports fan possesses.  So where's the fun?, hell, you might as well bet on a coin flip instead of a game with two team and point spread inserted.      

[BearcatSA]

https://www.espn.com/sports-betting/story/_/id/19015998/nfl-oral-history-nfl-changing-stance-gambling-las-vegas

This is from 2018, spanning the opinions of the different NFL commishes but most notably (and, hypocritically) Goodell, who is now "all in" on Vegas, baby!

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/roger-goodell-completes-his-180-on-las-vegas

 

[red card]

 

[Obinna]

4 minutes ago, red card said:

 

I feel bad for the people who actually take this seriously. 

[Free kick]

B.C. Place hints at renovations required to host 2026 World Cup (msn.com)

 

Quotes:" they want to hire a construction manager so they can “hit the ground running” on projects that will have to be completed on short timelines."

Quotes:"PavCo’s RFP for construction manager, however, indicates B.C. Place, which marked its 40th anniversary this year, will need more VIP suites and hospitality space on the stadium’s Level 3, an upgrade to food-court concessions, renovation of washrooms identified as Grid-line 146 and installation of more elevators."

[scullion44]

I wasn't sure where to comment this and I don't know how official it is  but Haiti getting Konrad De La Fuente despite his recent struggle is good for them

[Joe MacCarthy]

On 12/10/2023 at 8:05 PM, Free kick said:

B.C. Place hints at renovations required to host 2026 World Cup (msn.com)

Maybe I've missed it but I would think there would be more news about the above and the BMO expansion by now.  BTW, anything you see from (below) John Rogers (Michigan State) you can take to the bank, there are few more knowledgeable about turfgrass.

FIFA requires stadiums to play the field, install natural grass for games
Alex Silverman sportsbusinessjournal.com November 6.2023

[Joe MacCarthy]

Before I got distracted by the turf issue, the reason I came to this thread is...Does anybody know if there is a clause where the Argos/TFC can't use the stadium for how long before and after the WC

I know there is, I just don't know the time frame or if I already saw it I forgot.

[The Ref]

In a letter FIFA threatened Brazil to prohibit Brazilean teams to participate in world cup events because Brazil's Government removed the Federation president apparently due to recent bad results of their national team.

[Free kick]

An article in the Athletic states FIFA will release in January the match schedule for the 2026 WC.  It also indicates that the host cities organizing committees have been desperately waiting for this for planning purposes.    Organizers state that once the schedule is out,  it will be easier to plan for things like transit and security