The 2026 FIFA World Cup Thread

[BooksOrangePlanet]

turn the sound down on your phone

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[JosiahLee]

Man this ref was horrible. FIFA is known for corruption, he had it out for the US the whole game.

Will be extremely tough without Balogun, perhaps the best US striker ever talent wise. So unfortunate.

Belgium don’t exactly look like world beaters but it’s gonna be so tough…I wonder if Senegal would have been an easier or tougher opponent, we’ll never know. For our sake I’m hoping it was the latter.

 

[Crimson Warrior]

turn the sound down on your phone

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That is fire

 

[Russ Smith]

turn the sound down on your phone

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i'd ben watching the games by connecting my laptop to a tv via HDMI and watching the feed from Amazon prime which was in Spanish. I discovered the other day there's a feed on youtube in the Philippines for free in english so I watched it that way. The Spanish call is WAY better.

 

[BooksOrangePlanet]

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[Stout]

Over under on the number of water bottles hurled onto the field if El Tri loses?


I don’t know if you ever watch the gold cup or anything BGT but their fans aren’t too cool.

They won't have to lose for that to happen lol

 

[Stout]

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********. That was neve a red and it would've been overturned.

 

[Stout]

Very harsh. It looked bad on replay but Balogun was not doing anything careless and certainly not intentional. Balogun might have also been fouled. The refs have let rough play go in this World Cup.

The ref was bloody awful.

 

[Stout]

This team has handled adversity well.

There was a lot of complaining before the world cup about Tim Ream, but he and Richards have been nails at the back.

Have to admit I've been wrong about Ream.

 

[Stout]

As great as this win was--and it was epic great--we still need to beat Belgium to even consider this a successful WC. We always, with one exception, crash and burn in the Round of 16. Gotta get past that to the Quarters.

 

[BACH]

One of my best friends is inside and pretty high up in the football world. He’s been hired by FIFA to be “key account manager” for FIFA for one of the teams during this World Cup.

Anyway. His conclusion on the US team. Super impressed by how well the PR for the US team has been and what they have accomplished and how big the support is for the USNT.

Not very impressed with the quality of the team considering MLS has moved up to be the 7th or 8th best league in the world. He believes 16 round is the max level of the US team.

(don’t shoot the messenger)

 

[Adrian]

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[Lorenzo]

One of my best friends is inside and pretty high up in the football world. He’s been hired by FIFA to be “key account manager” for FIFA for one of the teams during this World Cup.

Anyway. His conclusion on the US team. Super impressed by how well the PR for the US team has been and what they have accomplished and how big the support is for the USNT.

Not very impressed with the quality of the team considering MLS has moved up to be the 7th or 8th best league in the world. He believes 16 round is the max level of the US team.

(don’t shoot the messenger)

None of that is breaking news IMHO. I lived in England for 3 years and I know how people in Europe and soccer elites, even in America, view US Soccer. Most of the time they are right about this team. But I do think that there are many players on this USA squad that don't get the respect that they deserve.

the USA came into the tournament ranked at 17, and while I don't agree with rankings most of the time, so far that has proven to be correct. So, it is up to the team to prove people wrong. I would look at Germany a top 10 team by all accounts that is already eliminated by Paraguay. The USA had Paraguay defeated at half time and most people dismissed Paraguay as a weak side.

If you look at the preferred starting 11 for the USA most of them do not play in MLS. Most of them developed abroad. Even Tim Ream who is in the twilight of his career now, captained an PL team. and before someone says, well it was Fulham, Fulham have been a solid PL team for several years now. It's not your older brother's Fulham anymore. Adams at Bournemouth, Richards at Crystal Palace, Pulisic at Dortmund, Chelsea, and Milan winning titles along the way scoring and causing goals everywhere. McKinnie at Juventus. balogun came up at Arsenal and is probably going to find his way back to a top club. I pray that he signs at spurs. The list doesn't stop there. Anthony Robinson might be the USA's best 2-way player. Pulisic aside, a lot of those guys didn't even look gassed at the end of the game in spite of playing a man down.

I think a lot of people are overlooking the quality of both USA and even to some degree Morocco. You talked about PR. I think a lot of that comes from the momentum that has been put in place by this particular team if you look at their core. A lot of them came up together and had a lot of success along the way. USA has yielded results in junior tournaments, player development, and Morocco is another example of that coming to fruition now as well. Morocco has been yielding results for quite some time now and yet no one that I heard was pumping them up to beat Netherlands.

 

[Lorenzo]

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It was funny hearing Dempsey tell Landon to take his hat off and show his hair. Demote Lalas and promote dempsey!

 

[Lorenzo]

As great as this win was--and it was epic great--we still need to beat Belgium to even consider this a successful WC. We always, with one exception, crash and burn in the Round of 16. Gotta get past that to the Quarters.

This is 100% truth. I think this team has been very impressive from a visual point of view. I've never seen a USA side play this well to this point. But the results speak for themselves. Until they beat an elite top 10 team in the world, they will always have to be considered a fringe team at best. They need to beat Belgium. and IMO like Dempsey said, take the game to Belgium. do not change the way you play. Obviously, they will have to be careful of Belgium's ability to counter. and that will be a major problem regardless of who they play from now on. If they cannot beat Belgium, they have no business being on the pitch with France or Argentina.

 

[Lorenzo]

Have to admit I've been wrong about Ream.

I think the partnership with Richards has been great for Ream. He's not a one man show like 4 years ago.

 

[ajcardfan]

One of my best friends is inside and pretty high up in the football world. He’s been hired by FIFA to be “key account manager” for FIFA for one of the teams during this World Cup.

Anyway. His conclusion on the US team. Super impressed by how well the PR for the US team has been and what they have accomplished and how big the support is for the USNT.

Not very impressed with the quality of the team considering MLS has moved up to be the 7th or 8th best league in the world. He believes 16 round is the max level of the US team.

(don’t shoot the messenger)

I would say that is fair enough. Until the US actually, at the very least makes the semis, or better yet, a final, then they are a tier 2 team.

That said, I am sure your well connected sexual intellectual still thinks Germany and the Nederlands teams are far superior to this US team but they are already back home. With Germany getting knocked out by a team the US beat 4-1.

Any given day, sports are a funny thing.

 

[Lorenzo]

The ref was bloody awful.

It really was. He did not intervene in obvious yellow card situations for a long part of the match. And that puts pressure on the players to litigate the match. and it always leads to red cards. So, I do not understand the thought process of FIFA saying let them play and then VAR in that situation where two players are fighting for an aerial duel and neither player was reckless IMHO. That should have been a regular foul or no foul in my opinion. If that same thing happened to balogun in the box, he might not have been awarded a penalty.

 

[BACH]

None of that is breaking news IMHO. I lived in England for 3 years and I know how people in Europe and soccer elites, even in America, view US Soccer. Most of the time they are right about this team. But I do think that there are many players on this USA squad that don't get the respect that they deserve.

the USA came into the tournament ranked at 17, and while I don't agree with rankings most of the time, so far that has proven to be correct. So, it is up to the team to prove people wrong. I would look at Germany a top 10 team by all accounts that is already eliminated by Paraguay. The USA had Paraguay defeated at half time and most people dismissed Paraguay as a weak side.

If you look at the preferred starting 11 for the USA most of them do not play in MLS. Most of them developed abroad. Even Tim Ream who is in the twilight of his career now, captained an PL team. and before someone says, well it was Fulham, Fulham have been a solid PL team for several years now. It's not your older brother's Fulham anymore. Adams at Bournemouth, Richards at Crystal Palace, Pulisic at Dortmund, Chelsea, and Milan winning titles along the way scoring and causing goals everywhere. McKinnie at Juventus. balogun came up at Arsenal and is probably going to find his way back to a top club. I pray that he signs at spurs. The list doesn't stop there. Anthony Robinson might be the USA's best 2-way player. Pulisic aside, a lot of those guys didn't even look gassed at the end of the game in spite of playing a man down.

I think a lot of people are overlooking the quality of both USA and even to some degree Morocco. You talked about PR. I think a lot of that comes from the momentum that has been put in place by this particular team if you look at their core. A lot of them came up together and had a lot of success along the way. USA has yielded results in junior tournaments, player development, and Morocco is another example of that coming to fruition now as well. Morocco has been yielding results for quite some time now and yet no one that I heard was pumping them up to beat Netherlands.

No one is sleeping on Morocco. They were ranked #7 in the world going into the World Cup with some players on the best teams in the world.

I’m not trying to bash the USNT in any way. It’s a team ranked in the teens. Just trying to summarize what my friend is saying is that it should be better looking at the potential, population size and strength of the MLS.

 

[Crimson Warrior]

None of that is breaking news IMHO. I lived in England for 3 years and I know how people in Europe and soccer elites, even in America, view US Soccer. Most of the time they are right about this team. But I do think that there are many players on this USA squad that don't get the respect that they deserve.

the USA came into the tournament ranked at 17, and while I don't agree with rankings most of the time, so far that has proven to be correct. So, it is up to the team to prove people wrong. I would look at Germany a top 10 team by all accounts that is already eliminated by Paraguay. The USA had Paraguay defeated at half time and most people dismissed Paraguay as a weak side.

If you look at the preferred starting 11 for the USA most of them do not play in MLS. Most of them developed abroad. Even Tim Ream who is in the twilight of his career now, captained an PL team. and before someone says, well it was Fulham, Fulham have been a solid PL team for several years now. It's not your older brother's Fulham anymore. Adams at Bournemouth, Richards at Crystal Palace, Pulisic at Dortmund, Chelsea, and Milan winning titles along the way scoring and causing goals everywhere. McKinnie at Juventus. balogun came up at Arsenal and is probably going to find his way back to a top club. I pray that he signs at spurs. The list doesn't stop there. Anthony Robinson might be the USA's best 2-way player. Pulisic aside, a lot of those guys didn't even look gassed at the end of the game in spite of playing a man down.

I think a lot of people are overlooking the quality of both USA and even to some degree Morocco. You talked about PR. I think a lot of that comes from the momentum that has been put in place by this particular team if you look at their core. A lot of them came up together and had a lot of success along the way. USA has yielded results in junior tournaments, player development, and Morocco is another example of that coming to fruition now as well. Morocco has been yielding results for quite some time now and yet no one that I heard was pumping them up to beat Netherlands.

What is tragic is not having our best offensive player for the most important round of sixteen game in USMNT’s history!

A generation would be inspired by a victory on Monday!

And that atrocious call is made even worse since the bracket set up pretty favorably for us to reach the freaking semis!

 

[Stout]

No one is sleeping on Morocco. They were ranked #7 in the world going into the World Cup with some players on the best teams in the world.

I’m not trying to bash the USNT in any way. It’s a team ranked in the teens. Just trying to summarize what my friend is saying is that it should be better looking at the potential, population size and strength of the MLS.

I have a wager on Morocco to win it all. Also had one on the Dutch so it stunk they played each other. Couldn't lose but couldn't half win

 

[Lorenzo]

What is tragic is not having our best offensive player for the most important round of sixteen game in USMNT’s history!

A generation would be inspired by a victory on Monday!

And that atrocious call is made even worse since the bracket set up pretty favorably for us to reach the freaking semis!

True. it is dumb and Balogun has been our best player. But the good thing is he is just one guy and so many other players have a lot to offer. and we saw that after he was sent off. With or without Balogun it will always be difficult to defeat Belgium. But I think they are capable.

 

[Lorenzo]

No one is sleeping on Morocco. They were ranked #7 in the world going into the World Cup with some players on the best teams in the world.

I’m not trying to bash the USNT in any way. It’s a team ranked in the teens. Just trying to summarize what my friend is saying is that it should be better looking at the potential, population size and strength of the MLS.

maybe so. But I also don't think that many people view MLS in the same lens with other leagues in Europe. It is a great league for international players that can't play in Europe for whatever reason. Outside of Europe, ok yes. it is a strong league then. But if you look at USA's top players, they are playing in Europe, just as Morocco's players are. Like the USA, Morocco also has players that maybe were not recruited by other top Euro countries.

This is where the underrating of American Football internationally comes into play. Take for example Mason Mount vs Christian Pulisic. There's not a question of who the better player is. Yet mount was always favored ahead of Pulisic at Chelsea and was one of England's top guys for 2022. only to see Mount's career dip well below Christian's. I think Christian is on a similar trajectory as Dembele, maybe not as good, but he's developed along the same trajectory. I think Dembele even publicly acknowledged that he looked up to Pulisic for what he did at Dortmund as a teenager. Still yet no one around the world outside of maybe Milan, would put Christian on a French or England international level.

 

[Lorenzo]

I would say that is fair enough. Until the US actually, at the very least makes the semis, or better yet, a final, then they are a tier 2 team.

That said, I am sure your well connected sexual intellectual still thinks Germany and the Nederlands teams are far superior to this US team but they are already back home. With Germany getting knocked out by a team the US beat 4-1.

Any given day, sports are a funny thing.

especially at the world cup.

 

[Lorenzo]

I have a wager on Morocco to win it all. Also had one on the Dutch so it stunk they played each other. Couldn't lose but couldn't half win

I need to see France play, but it's hard to imagine a team that has the attacking power to touch them. Morocco is definitely elite and a good bet to make. It will be interesting to see them against Canada, coming off of the dutch game. not sure how that happens, but if Canada somehow upsets Morocco I think I will give up on picking games from now on.