The 2026 FIFA World Cup Thread

[Lorenzo]

France…. Let the best team win

Yeah here’s my thoughts and rankings of each team in order of the ones I like the most.

Norway- halland and this group are the most likable. I feel like they are the favorite team for most to root for. They have the best fans.

Swiss-Don’t care if they win or lose. kind of neutral there. But they are the underdog so I want them to win. Would love to see them slay the giant tonight. Argentina have practically been asking for someone to beat them.

England- I really like some of their players from following them over the years. But their fans will be the most obnoxious if they win. The euro 2020
Final was a riot. Can’t imagine what will happen if they win this. As much as they want to bring it home, there’s probably a silent segment of the public there that hopes they lose to keep the status quo order in tact there.

France-incredible players all playing on the absolute best teams in the world. I love watching them. Clear favorites, probably facing their toughest challenge vs. Spain. Someone I know in Arlington said the final will be in Dallas stadium after all. (They were salty that New York got the final).

Spain-maybe the dark horse of this bunch only because of France and Messi getting all of the attention. They have only surrendered 1 goal in the WC. Not sure if I’ve ever seen that before.

Argentina-idk why but I went from really liking them when I was younger, to just being tired of them now. Wish they’d go back to what they were when they lived in Brazil’s shadow.

 

[BooksOrangePlanet]

i want thorway to get the upset so bad today

 

[Adrian]

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Polymarket
@Polymarket
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2h
JUST IN: Norway-England World Cup quarterfinal is forecast to be played in 107°F “feels-like” heat — hotter than either country’s all-time recorded air temperature.

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

Great game so far

 

[BooksOrangePlanet]

Great game so far

amazing game - and neither thor nor lannister have scored

 

[BooksOrangePlanet]

PLEASE LET THAT GOAL STAND

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

Taking away that goal was lame

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

On to ET

 

[ajcardfan]

To me it has felt like this game would come down to penalty kicks since the first half.

 

[BooksOrangePlanet]

dammit gumby

 

[ajcardfan]

All of the sudden, England puts the pressure on and gets the goal.

Bad play by Norway's goalie. He definitely should have caught that. The rebound off of him set it up for Bellingham.

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

Thank goodness they waived that

 

[BooksOrangePlanet]

no more thor - that's a wrap

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

Need a miracle here

 

[Russ Smith]

FIFA is denying claims from Norway that the kick by the goalie just prior to the England tying goal hit a cable over the field and by rule is supposed to stop play and be a drop ball. I've seen the replays and I can't tell at all but the ball has a chip in it so they're supposed to be able to detect this stuff

 

[FB94]

Some of these guys need to wear a skirt. I think the one guy from mexico is still laying on the turf

 

[Lorenzo]

All of the sudden, England puts the pressure on and gets the goal.

Bad play by Norway's goalie. He definitely should have caught that. The rebound off of him set it up for Bellingham.

On the slowed down replay it looked like he tried to catch it with his arms.

 

[BACH]

Another controversial call going for Argentina. I think it was the right call, but more drama.

Saw a great real comparing the teams to NFL teams. Argentina is the Patriots. The got the GOAT and always win despite not playing well.

France is the Chiefs with primetime Mahommes.

Spain is the Eagles. Ugly, boring, but winning.

England is the Cowboys.

 

[Lorenzo]

I thought the second yellow to the Swiss player robbed us of a better game and I didn’t like it at first. But it was a phantom yellow initially that came from a dive. I don’t know what the ref is supposed to do there when a player is manipulating the situation and he was already on a yellow which was not the ref’s fault. Ultimately we all want to see players get punished for diving. It’s a shame it wasn’t given nothing. No foul either way, but I can see why the ref gave the yellow in real time. It looked like a tackle from behind.

 

[Lorenzo]

Another controversial call going for Argentina. I think it was the right call, but more drama.

Saw a great real comparing the teams to NFL teams. Argentina is the Patriots. The got the GOAT and always win despite not playing well.

France is the Chiefs with primetime Mahommes.

Spain is the Eagles. Ugly, boring, but winning.

England is the Cowboys.

We have two great matches upcoming.

 

[Crimson Warrior]

Did England and Argentina fight over the faukland islands a long time ago? Wow that’s a weird memory that just popped up out of nowhere.

Anyway… back to soccer

So many red cards in this tournament.

The red punishment is too severe don’t you guys think?

 

[Lorenzo]

FIFA is denying claims from Norway that the kick by the goalie just prior to the England tying goal hit a cable over the field and by rule is supposed to stop play and be a drop ball. I've seen the replays and I can't tell at all but the ball has a chip in it so they're supposed to be able to detect this stuff

Yeah seems like a moot point anyway. All of these games are so close and it seems like a lot of people are whining because they are on the losing end. I think there was a clear goalkeeping gaffe that cost Norway the game. And Bellingham wanted that goal more than the Norway defenders wanted to clear the ball.

 

[Lorenzo]

Did England and Argentina fight over the faukland islands a long time ago? Wow that’s a weird memory that just popped up out of nowhere.

Anyway… back to soccer

So many red cards in this tournament.

The red punishment is too severe don’t you guys think?

Yes and that is a big part of the rivalry. There’s a good ESPN documentary about two Argentina players who played for Tottenham hotspur in North London. It is a great story that talks about the divide between the two countries. there’s a lot of World Cup history. The hand of god goal, that would have been taken away by VAR today. The 98 knockout match where Beckham gets sent off after being baited by Simeone. 2002 they played in the group stage in an incredible match. Beckham got his revenge on a penalty kick on a phantom flop by Michael Owen who was being defended by none other than Pochettino. again another play that imo would be overturned by VAR today.

 

[Lorenzo]

I don’t think the red card penalty is too severe especially when it’s two yellows in one game. I think that is up to the player to play a clean game after they get a yellow card. Most players manage this well and would prefer to be warned so that they can remain. Sometimes a straight red is too harsh as we saw with Balogun but then that turned stupid after the fact. The only thing I’d like to see changed is yellow accumulation. Getting a second yellow in a subsequent match causing a suspension for the next game. I always thought that is incredibly stupid and should go away.