The 2026 FIFA World Cup

[VinnyVideo]

It's coming to North America! It has too many teams, and it's ludicrously expensive to attend, but it'll still be fun to follow along.

I'm torn between picking Spain and France to win it all.

I ended up picking Spain to beat Argentina in the final because of how the brackets worked out.

What do y'all think?

[littlelum]

Given that there's more teams in play, I'm disappointed that Venezuela didn't qualify this time, as my family is from there. Not counting my home country, I'm rooting for Morocco. It would be cool to see an African nation win, and out of the ones playing, Morocco has the best shot by far, as they got 4th last time (although my grandma is a little salty that they knocked out Spain).

Apparently, two of the teams are staying in my state during the tourney.

Looking at the group stage matches, it looks like Morocco will be going up against Brazil, so they won't have it easy. They are also up against Scotland and Haiti. Given that Scotland doesn't really make it to knockout, I'm fairly confident that Morocco will make it.

[Louis Paul]

I'm quite impressed that Italy managed to stay out of the World Cup thrice in a row, given that it won four titles.

For my country, considering the qualification performance, I think that it would qualify to the knockout stage along with Morocco, and be eliminated in the Quarterfinals.

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[DJ Coco]

Austria will win for sure this time.

[MarioStar]

Yes! Brazil hopes to win this coming Saturday! This is the FIFA World Cup 2026!

And lastly, who is Brazil in the quarterfinals? I can't wait to play soccer!

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[littlelum]

So, after the first matches, 3 red cards have been issued already, all three being in Mexico vs South Africa. Apparently one of the red cards was due to a slap in the face. Mexico won 2-0. South Korea also beat the Czech Republic 2-1.

[Louis Paul]

Here's my prediction for Brazil in the group stage: of the three matches, the match against Morocco would be the toughest one, and I think the match would be a draw.

For the other two matches, Brazil would win against Haiti, the weakest team in the group, and would win against Scotland, an average team.

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[VinnyVideo]

@littlelum Yeah, I'm thinking Morocco will be strong again. I had them losing to France in the quarterfinals in the bracket I made. We shall see!

@Louis Paul It's kind of incredible that Italy has now missed three World Cups in a row! And they haven't made it out of the group stage since they won in 2006.

Brazil should be strong again, but I'd be a bit surprised if they made the final.

@DJ Coco That would be something to see!

The United States looked great against Paraguay last night - quite a bit better than I was expecting. Though Paraguay came out really flat in the first half.

Also, the American TV broadcast didn't show the opening ceremony with Shakira, a puzzling decision considering that Shakira is quite a popular act (and considering that the TV broadcasters always show the opening ceremony).

Course clear! You got a card.

[littlelum]

Some more interesting stuff:

Qatar got it's first World Cup goal by complete accident, tying with Switzerland.
Scotland beat Haiti, and Morocco tied with Brazil, putting Scotland in the lead for that group.
Germany beat poor Curaçao 7-1. Some of my family has been to Curaçao, it's an island near to where my grandma was born. It also has its own fruit, the lahara.

[DJ Coco]

Germany beat poor Curaçao 7-1.

Germany loves destroying nations 7-1

[VinnyVideo]

@DJ Coco Ha, indeed they do!

Cape Verde tied Spain yesterday. That was quite an interesting result. Now I'm starting to question my pick for World Cup champion.

Course clear! You got a card.

[NowhereMan]

EXCITED TO WATCH ARGENTINA TONIGHT.

[littlelum]

Cape Verde tied Spain yesterday. That was quite an interesting result. Now I'm starting to question my pick for World Cup champion.

Oh wow! We may have found this year's dark horse of the tourney, then.

[VinnyVideo]

@NowhereMan You had good reason to be... Messi had quite a showing with three goals!

Course clear! You got a card.

[NowhereMan]

@NowhereMan You had good reason to be... Messi had quite a showing with three goals!

A couple of sports I watched this summer (besides basketball and some slight baseball) that I normally do not view was the Stanley Cup Finals (my team lost) and now The World Cup. Like The Summer Olympics, The World Cup only comes around every 4 years, a non-national event; a global event. I rather love the Olympics, because of the variety of games and sports. This year, The World Cup takes place in the Americas, which makes it even more spectacle here at home.

The last time I was watched more than one consecutive soccer (association football) game was in 2010 during that World Cup!!!! Hockey and soccer are somewhat similar. The players maneuver an object (a puck or ball) past defenders and into the opponent's net to score, both relying on continual movement and fluid tactical buildups, often a low-scoring environment.

Yes, that's right. After scoring three points in their last game, Lionel Messi (of Argentina) has tied with Miroslav Klose (of Germany, whom I have never heard of) for most points in World Cup history, a total of 16.

So as I watch all of the games and game highlights this year, Lionel Messi is the one true soccer player, who I should say, makes it look easy! I watched him make one shot (that was taken off due to penalty) and then score another one, for show, it almost seems. And then two more, quite the player. He is in control.

[SUPERBLOCK]

I don't know much about football and I don't usually watch it, but I did see the Switzerland vs Bosnia and Herzegovina match and part of the Spain vs Cape Verde game and it seems very close. I think Switzerland won by 4 points and B&H by 1 point; it seems they didn't do well.

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[NowhereMan]

I don't know much about football and I don't usually watch it, but I did see the Switzerland vs Bosnia and Herzegovina match and part of the Spain vs Cape Verde game and it seems very close. I think Switzerland won by 4 points and B&H by 1 point; it seems they didn't do well.

Anybody who are fans of soccer (football) and The World Cups, the Switzerland vs. Bosia and Herzegovina is a good recap game to watch, better second half than the first. Also the Canadian versus Qatar shows how in-depth Canadian's game is, most the highlights at Qatar's goal line. 




*The United States plays Australia in about an hour and a half. Should be a great game.

[VinnyVideo]

It's crazy to be able to say this, but the United States has actually been one of the most impressive teams so far. They got a great win over Paraguay, as well as a nice win over Australia despite being without their highest-profile player. Usually the United States makes the knockout round but gets there in nail-biting fashion - but this time they've clinched first place in the group after just two games.

I was surprised to see Turkey be one of the first two teams eliminated from the tournament. Sorry @Mors! Turkey made the quarterfinals of Euro 2024 and seemed to have a strong team - just a team that has apparently forgotten how to score goals.

Also, Curaçao just got a draw against Ecuador for their first World Cup point. That was quite a showing - this tiny country knows a thing or two about goalkeeping!

Course clear! You got a card.

[littlelum]

Some other interesting stuff not yet mentioned:

Canada won their first world cup match, beating Qatar 6-0. Among them was a hat trick and an own-goal. Qatar also got two red cards, one of which was due to possibly breaking another player's leg.

Both Brazil and Morocco won their matches, eliminating Haiti. Haiti still has a match against Morocco, though. I think this puts Morocco in a better position than Brazil.

Germany and Mexico has also qualified for the next round.

Interestingly, while Sweden beat Tunisia 5-1, the lost to the Netherlands 5-1 in their very next game!

Congo DR also got their first World Cup win against Portugal.

Apparently, the next world cup will also be cohosted by three countries: Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. The one after that might possibly be in Saudi Arabia.

It's crazy to be able to say this, but the United States has actually been one of the most impressive teams so far. They got a great win over Paraguay, as well as a nice win over Australia despite being without their highest-profile player. Usually the United States makes the knockout round but gets there in nail-biting fashion - but this time they've clinched first place in the group after just two games.

Yeah, it's really surprising that the USA is actually doing well. That may convince me to actually watch some games this year! (Maybe).

[NowhereMan]

It's crazy to be able to say this, but the United States has actually been one of the most impressive teams so far. They got a great win over Paraguay, as well as a nice win over Australia despite being without their highest-profile player. Usually the United States makes the knockout round but gets there in nail-biting fashion - but this time they've clinched first place in the group after just two games.

Somebody was telling me about a final match USA vs. England. I disagree that the United States is the most impressive team, as I saw major flaws in both the United States and Australia. ****Although, I don't know any of the players, nor their absent players, either.

Also, I watched half of Germany vs Côte D’ivoire thinking that Germany was the other team, and vice versa, lol, not to confuse the people I was watching it with. 

And finally, I am sure, as I know a lot of Brazilians apparently (and MFGG has a lot), that a lot of people are excited for their wins. 

Other than that I still don't have a main focus on any team in particular, but yet, Belgium is playing today in an hour, although (probably) not a finals team.