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World Cup 2026: Mexico, USA and Canada

One thing I'm taking away from this World Cup is that, contrary to a popular claim, the gap at the top isn't getting closer - it's getting wider.

When you think about it, which of the teams that lost in quarter finals could have made it to the semis, let alone win the whole thing? Switzerland? Please. Morrocco? They were a distant second best to France. Belgium? They saved their best performance for Spain it still wasn't enough. Norway? Maybe... Brazil were ranked 5th and they never looked like getting very far in the tournament.

The real final was Spain vs France. Even Argentina couldn't get a single shot in 100 minutes against Spain, in the biggest match of them all.

Sure, every now and then, depending on specific circumstances, a lesser team could hang with one of the big guns, but not for long and not in the long run. But honestly, which was unlucky to miss out on the semis? Argentina have played in the last two finals. France have been ever present in the top 4 for the past three World Cups. Spain will likely do the same now. Maybe Argentina will find life without Messi a bit tougher and someone will take their place but, at the moment, it's only a level playing field between also-rans.

I hope someone will prove me wrong, but with FIFA offering clear pathways to the semis for the top 4 teams in their rankings, I can only see this trend getting stronger and stronger.
 
Mr Gogolak said:
One thing I'm taking away from this World Cup is that, contrary to a popular claim, the gap at the top isn't getting closer - it's getting wider.

When you think about it, which of the teams that lost in quarter finals could have made it to the semis, let alone win the whole thing? Switzerland? Please. Morrocco? They were a distant second best to France. Belgium? They saved their best performance for Spain it still wasn't enough. Norway? Maybe... Brazil were ranked 5th and they never looked like getting very far in the tournament.

The real final was Spain vs France. Even Argentina couldn't get a single shot in 100 minutes against Spain, in the biggest match of them all.

Sure, every now and then, depending on specific circumstances, a lesser team could hang with one of the big guns, but not for long and not in the long run. But honestly, which was unlucky to miss out on the semis? Argentina have played in the last two finals. France have been ever present in the top 4 for the past three World Cups. Spain will likely do the same now. Maybe Argentina will find life without Messi a bit tougher and someone will take their place but, at the moment, it's only a level playing field between also-rans.

I hope someone will prove me wrong, but with FIFA offering clear pathways to the semis for the top 4 teams in their rankings, I can only see this trend getting stronger and stronger.
Click to expand...

Tbf, haven't FIFA always offered "clear" pathways to the semi-finals for the top ranked teams?
There are usually one or two flops amongst the top ranked teams (including Spain and Germany, recently, not to mention Italy who have been failing spectacularly over the last decade) and we shouldn't assume there won't be others going forward. Who knows, this might be the peak for this Spain side and they might not get out of the group stages next time...

I think whichever country can produce attackers who can be relied on to score regularly will always give themselves the best chance of success.
 
Overall I'm pleased it's over, for me there were too many games. Few teams played progressive football and games were instantly forgettable. England got further than I expected although they only played well in short periods.
Going to be interesting on how the players involved in the later stages cope with the league when it starts, many look knackered and I expect some carry mental scars from the experience.
Many are saying Tuchel shouldn't take all the blame and players not following instructions, that may have some truth in it. Few of our players appear to have confidence in themselves or their ability, it's the manager/coaches job to install that belief. With so many teams in PL obsessed with stopping their opponents playing football it's going to be difficult to get players expressing themselves.
Personally I don't think it's been a good advert for the game, the only positive is that there appeared to be little bad behaviour from fans.
 
glorygloryeze? said:
I agree, they aren't "great in voctory".
But at least he is acknowledging that they have to behave better in at least one of those scenarios....a far cry from what i'd have expected: a diatribe on their "warrior spirit given that the whole world is against them etc etc"
Click to expand...
They aren't very good in defeat based on what I saw last night. They play on the edge and veer into thuggery and scumbag behaviour when things don't go their way.
 
glorygloryeze? said:
Tbf, haven't FIFA always offered "clear" pathways to the semi-finals for the top ranked teams?
There are usually one or two flops amongst the top ranked teams (including Spain and Germany, recently, not to mention Italy who have been failing spectacularly over the last decade) and we shouldn't assume there won't be others going forward. Who knows, this might be the peak for this Spain side and they might not get out of the group stages next time...

I think whichever country can produce attackers who can be relied on to score regularly will always give themselves the best chance of success.
Click to expand...
From what I read, it dates back to France 98, where France insisted on making sure they wouldn't meet Brazil before the final (if everything went according to plan, of course). Haven't checked whether that's actually the case or not.

Italy and Germany are good examples because they have a great history, but evolution has passed them by. The media hype them up, Germany were even quoted as potential 'dark horses' when, in fact, they were extremely mediocre. There were absolutely never going to even come close to winning the whole thing, and were knocked out by another team of nobodies.

It's difficult to foresee what football will be like in ten years or so. There are plenty of people who want to change the game at FIFA (notably, Wenger). Whether they will be able to implement that or not is another story. Then again, having too many quality forwards can turn out to be a curse: France's firepower was second to known, but they were undone by their average midfielders.

What's changed though - I think - is that football academies basically tell you who the favourites are. Football is moving further and further away from the street game and the countries with the best youth systems (France and Spain) are really on top now. The French in particular have the best of both worlds, with a talent pool full of players with outstanding athletic abilities and an academy system that finally emphasis technical ability.

As you mentioned, top teams may have a poor showing, but it's a one-off. France were knocked out in quarter finals in 2014, but they bounced back. Spain is back on top after an early elimination in 2022. In Germany's or Italy's case, such failures aren't a one-off. It's par for the course.
 
Mcfee said:
Unfair on Spain, they play football. But I was surprised by how poor they were after they scored. Could barely put 2 passes together and Argentina could and probably should have equalised.
Click to expand...

They're fantastic in possession and I guess for a purist it's beautiful to watch (just as a defensive masterclass can be) but they didn't seem very incisive to me. Maybe they're that good that they didn't need to be and could just step it up if needed but it was controlled so heavily to the point of it being a little dull. All that possession but didn't do a huge amount with it, I expect some of that is because they don't really have great strikers but some is also just how they play and we should remember both their wingers were carrying an injury.

Mind you if we played like that I'm sure no one would be complaining.
 
What a detestable bunch those Argies are, their antics last night wade what Mourinho did during his previous stint at Madrid look positively saintly 😇

www.marca.com

Roberto Ayala caught hitting Dani Olmo during the chaotic World Cup Final brawl

Leandro Paredes wasn't the only one... Lionel Scaloni's assistant was also caught throwing punches.
www.marca.com www.marca.com

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Mr Gogolak said:
One thing I'm taking away from this World Cup is that, contrary to a popular claim, the gap at the top isn't getting closer - it's getting wider.

When you think about it, which of the teams that lost in quarter finals could have made it to the semis, let alone win the whole thing? Switzerland? Please. Morrocco? They were a distant second best to France. Belgium? They saved their best performance for Spain it still wasn't enough. Norway? Maybe... Brazil were ranked 5th and they never looked like getting very far in the tournament.

The real final was Spain vs France. Even Argentina couldn't get a single shot in 100 minutes against Spain, in the biggest match of them all.

Sure, every now and then, depending on specific circumstances, a lesser team could hang with one of the big guns, but not for long and not in the long run. But honestly, which was unlucky to miss out on the semis? Argentina have played in the last two finals. France have been ever present in the top 4 for the past three World Cups. Spain will likely do the same now. Maybe Argentina will find life without Messi a bit tougher and someone will take their place but, at the moment, it's only a level playing field between also-rans.

I hope someone will prove me wrong, but with FIFA offering clear pathways to the semis for the top 4 teams in their rankings, I can only see this trend getting stronger and stronger.
Click to expand...

I think it depends way more on the talent coming through in the various countries, and the coaches abilities to glue a team together rather than pathways to the final. It’s 7 games. If you have a good team, hit a purple patch and some rub of the green - the sky is the limit, to a degree. The top nations will always be the favorites, regardless of pathways. If you want to break into the top four, you need to be able to beat one of them. I’d say the bigger enemy is the refereeing bias towards supporting the bigger teams. I know it’s not a conspiracy, but there is a bias without a doubt. So many calls called in favor of the big teams that does not get called for the lesser teams.
 
SteveAWOL said:
Lovely to see those donkey-meat munching racist thugs getting it from all quarters after bottling the final, truly the ASSnal of national teams!

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Click to expand...

This is BLEEPING HILARIOUS!!!! The way the Mexican guy starts dancing!!

IF YOU COME ACROSS ANY MORE PLEASE POST!!!
 
SteveAWOL said:
What a detestable bunch those Argies are, their antics last night wade what Mourinho did during his previous stint at Madrid look positively saintly 😇

www.marca.com

Roberto Ayala caught hitting Dani Olmo during the chaotic World Cup Final brawl

Leandro Paredes wasn't the only one... Lionel Scaloni's assistant was also caught throwing punches.
www.marca.com www.marca.com

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Click to expand...

Bleep me, even Ayala!!

What's the story on why he did that?
I mean, we know the Argies can be, well, Argies...but did Spain do their own type of 'housery' too during the game?
 
Glenda's Legs said:
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Did that really happen?
Click to expand...

I’m not sure about that photo but the Argies definitely refused to talk to the media after the match, thus proving that they are neither magnanimous in victory nor defeat… clearly need to be taught some Rudyard Kipling!

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SteveAWOL said:
I’m not sure about that photo but the Argies definitely refused to talk to the media after the match, thus proving that they are neither magnanimous in victory nor defeat… clearly need to be taught some Rudyard Kipling!

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Click to expand...

Wow...

However, where did Scaloni give his post-match interviews? Do you know if it was it before or after this?
Indeed what horrible attitudes in defeat they always seem to have...brings memeories of that post match brawl between them and the Germans in 2006 when they were happy to try and put off the German penalty takers but couldn't take the goading responses from the Germans when they won the shootout
 
thfcsteff said:
...I was actually stunned by the post-match behavior of Paredes. On another note, I was glad that Fernandez was sent-off. I'd say quite possibly a game too late, but there we go!
And well done Spain. I readily admit they were in a pack of teams I thought might beat my pick for winners, France. In the end I did not take enough notice of their national structure and the system in place. ONE GOAL CONCEDED all tournament is just incredible. I believe @Baleforce is applying for Spanish residency in the morning ;)
Click to expand...

BaleForce must’ve been positively tumescent watching how Spain’s disciplined control made Argentina’s attack look positively turgid!

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