World Cup 2026

[bullcitygamer]

Any International Soccer fans in here? I am excited for this tournament to kick off tomorrow. This is the largest World Cup in History with 48 Countries being represented.

Will be rooting hard for Mexico and USA. Mexico is playing at a very high level right now. The US Men’s National Team is the most talented team in U.S. Men’s Soccer history with a lot of the guys playing overseas throughout their club seasons.

This will be the Final World Cup for many of this generation’s soccer legends:

Messi (Argentina)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Neymar (Brazil)
Neuer (Germany)
Modric (Croatia)
Ochoa (Mexico)

My Final 4:
Spain
France
Argentina
Belgium

Spain is my pick to Win the 2026 World Cup.

What is everyone else’s thoughts?

 

[DuckDevil]

There’s nothing like the World Cup. I think it’s time for the US “golden generation” to prove that they’ve always deserved that designation. I’m cautiously optimistic, but it’s been an up and down last few years. I hope they shock the world, though.

HBO released a documentary called U.S. Against the World covering the US Men’s National Team over the last few years. It’s very well put together and does a great job of highlighting many of the players on the squad. If you haven’t seen it, I’d highly recommend giving it a watch before the tournament kicks off. It provides some great insight into both the players and the expectations surrounding this group.

 

[GillJET]

I’m a little concerned about this expanded World Cup watering down the Group Stage.
Either way still pumped for the US game tomorrow night!

 

[bullcitygamer]

I believe USA will win 2-0 or 3-0 against Paraguay tonight. Chris Richards (USA’s best defender has been cleared to play in the World Cup).

I wasn’t happy with the way the U.S. performed against both Belgium and Portugal, but no team in USA’s group will be as tough as Belgium, Portugal, Sengal, nor Germany (USA’s last 4 opponents).

 

[DuckDevil]

The game between South Korea and Czechia last night was amazing. The level of play in the actual tournament is so much higher than in the friendlies. I feel good about the match against Paraguay. If we get a win tonight, it will make the group stage much more pleasant to watch, haha. For once, it would be nice to cruise into the knockout stage rounds.

 

[bullcitygamer]

Heck of a clinic put on by USA last night against Paraguay.

 

[GillJET]

Heck of a clinic put on by USA last night against Paraguay.

Yes it was, what an exciting game to watch with the USA goal explosion. My only complaint is why are we doing hydration breaks in a domed stadium?

 

[DuckDevil]

Yes it was, what an exciting game to watch with the USA goal explosion. My only complaint is why are we doing hydration breaks in a domed stadium?

I think they mandated it for all of the games because some of the locations are going to have terrible heat and humidity, at least by European standards haha. The U.S. got to pick where they wanted to be based, and that’s why they chose the West Coast. No humidity and great weather this time of year.

I still can’t believe they gave that guy a yellow card for taking a dive yesterday. That’s a game changer and a much needed change to the sport.

 

[denverexpat]

This is how to sing an anthem....Flower of Scotland...

 

[GillJET]

Let me ask you guys, why not a 64 teams in the World Cup instead of 48 teams?

 

[DuckDevil]

Let me ask you guys, why not a 64 teams in the World Cup instead of 48 teams?

I assume they figure it would lessen the importance of the qualifying tournaments and the general buildup to the World Cup itself. I don’t know that I necessarily agree with that, though. Looking at the “small” teams that got in this time around, like Scotland and Norway, and what they’ve brought to the table, such as the atmosphere around Scotland’s games and, for Norway, seeing arguably one of the world’s best strikers, Erling Haaland, finally get to play in the World Cup, makes it worth it.

All that to say, I would have no problem with 64 teams. Just build in byes that can only be earned through the other tournaments to keep them relevant.

 

[DuckDevil]

I’ve never heard this explained quite like this, but I think I agree with him.

How’s everyone feeling about the matchup with Australia on Friday? Personally, I think we keep the party rolling.

 

[bullcitygamer]

He makes a great point when talking about the MLS rewarding losing. The other soccer leagues in the world punish bottom feeders by demoting them to the 2nd division/minor leagues until they Earn their way back to the Top Division by Winning Again.

as far as Friday goes. I’m going with:

USA - 2
Australia - 0

 

[bullcitygamer]

The Stars showed up yesterday between MBappe, Haagland, and Messi.

let’s see if Cristiano Ronaldo, Kane, and Modric follow suit today.

Also, Argentina may not get scored on in group play. Meanwhile England, Croatia, Ghana, and Panama are in the Group of Death .

 

[DuckDevil]

The Stars showed up yesterday between MBappe, Haagland, and Messi.

let’s see if Cristiano Ronaldo, Kane, and Modric follow suit today.

Also, Argentina may not get scored on in group play. Meanwhile England, Croatia, Ghana, and Panama are in the Group of Death .

I unfortunately had a meeting that ran extremely late last night and missed the Argentina game, but I kept getting texts from people watching it without any context, and I was like, what the heck is going on?

A hat trick for Messi at 38 years old. All I can say is wow. The bar has now been set pretty high for the other guys now, haha.

These opening days of this tournament have been absolutely fantastic. The quality of play and the atmosphere have been everything you could hope for. Our country and all of the teams have really delivered.

 

[bullcitygamer]

Spot on DuckDevil!!! This World Cup is Gaining some International Soccer Fans and that is a Great Thing !

 

[DuckDevil]

 

[GillJET]

USA is now going to play a friendly with Turkey. That’s not good. FIFA will need to make changes to the Group Stage moving forward, so it’s not so boring like it is this World Cup.

 

[bullcitygamer]

I understand where u r coming from GillJet, but make no mistake Turkey and any other country who isn’t a fan of USA are going 2 be doing 0 favors 2 allow USA 2 get an easy path in the World Cup.

 

[bullcitygamer]

If I am USA, i rest Pulisic and any of the other guys who have yellow cards in the final group match against Turkey. If you want to play Pulisic to shake off some of the rust before the Round of 32 game scheduled for July 1st, then maybe play him 15-20 minutes max in the game against Turkey and then rest him, just my 2 cents.

DuckDevil and GillJET, what are your thoughts?

 

[GillJET]

If I am USA, i rest Pulisic and any of the other guys who have yellow cards in the final group match against Turkey. If you want to play Pulisic to shake off some of the rust before the Round of 32 game scheduled for July 1st, then maybe play him 15-20 minutes max in the game against Turkey and then rest him, just my 2 cents.

DuckDevil and GillJET, what are your thoughts?

All that sounds good to me. I really love Pulisic, but he can’t be counted on.
With him, it feels like anything is possible for the US in this World Cup. I went back and watched that 1st half against Paraguay, what a thing of beauty that was.

Can’t wait for July 1st when all the anxiety and excitement I have gets to be released!

 

[bullcitygamer]

This World Cup has been very good! All the knockout stage games going into today have had crunch time goals and/or extra time, penalty shootouts.

Two Top 10 teams in the world have been eliminated in Germany and the Netherlands.

 

[bullcitygamer]

Big game tonight. I like USA 2 handle business.

USA - 3
Belgium - 1

 

[DuckDevil]

Well, it was a great run and a fantastic few weeks. Before the tournament, I had penciled in getting to the round of 16 as being a success for this team, and they accomplished that. I do wish they had put up a bit more of a fight in that last game, though.

Overall, I think it was a good showing. Tillman, Balogun, McKennie, and Berhalter all really impressed me with what they showed throughout the tournament. I think there are several “what ifs?” the US are going to think about for a long time, though. I don’t want to speak negatively about any of our players, but I think some of them should rightfully look at this tournament as a missed opportunity.

I’ll be interested to see who the next coach will be and how the next generation of prospects progresses over the next couple of years. Our attack looked great up until Belgium, but they still had multiple opportunities to score against them. The ball just didn’t fall our way though. The goalie position and the back line will need to be figured out as we move forward.

 

[GillJET]

Well, it was a great run and a fantastic few weeks. Before the tournament, I had penciled in getting to the round of 16 as being a success for this team, and they accomplished that. I do wish they had put up a bit more of a fight in that last game, though.

Overall, I think it was a good showing. Tillman, Balogun, McKennie, and Berhalter all really impressed me with what they showed throughout the tournament. I think there are several “what ifs?” the US are going to think about for a long time, though. I don’t want to speak negatively about any of our players, but I think some of them should rightfully look at this tournament as a missed opportunity.

I’ll be interested to see who the next coach will be and how the next generation of prospects progresses over the next couple of years. Our attack looked great up until Belgium, but they still had multiple opportunities to score against them. The ball just didn’t fall our way though. The goalie position and the back line will need to be figured out as we move forward.

I can’t see this as a successful tournament. They scored a lot of goals at this World Cup, which was great. But getting blown out again in the Round of 16 isn’t cutting it. Feels like the USMNT is going to be a “middle of the road” team forever.

 

[DuckDevil]

I can’t see this as a successful tournament. They scored a lot of goals at this World Cup, which was great. But getting blown out again in the Round of 16 isn’t cutting it. Feels like the USMNT is going to be a “middle of the road” team forever.

I think we will continue to struggle from a talent perspective until we scrap the pay to play system that dominates our youth leagues. It kneecaps player development, which then cascades across the entire system. Like everything else in this country, it’s become yet another way for individuals to turn a profit.

This is a U.S. Soccer Federation failure overall, and to fix it, you would have to tear down the whole thing and rebuild it from the ground up, which is exactly what we should do if we’re serious about winning. Another thought would be to scrap the salary cap for MLS teams to reflect what the top leagues in the world do. Raise the quality of play there, which would hopefully lead to better player development.

Our talent level increases with each generation, but our lack of depth and inability to change styles doomed us in this tournament. The silver lining is that this tournament and the exposure it generated will inevitably lead to the next generation of American stars.

 

[bullcitygamer]

All solid points by both DuckDevil & GillJET.

Imo Canada, Mexico, and USA all got to the round they needed 2 have the tournament not be a failure for either country.

Thought both Mexico and USA were capable of getting to the Quarterfinals and had that happened it would have been a Successful Tournament for either country.

unfortunately, USA was outcoached and outplayed throughout the whole game last night.

definitely need to get rid of the pay for play system.