Topic: FIFA World Cup 2026 :Canada/Mexico/United States: Discussion Thread - page 153. (Read 63325 times)

As this is the active World Cup thread, I'll post it here
If many here are already thinking it's bad that the World Cup will be played in 3 countries, take a look at this news that just came out:

The 2030 World Cup will be played in 3 continents and 6 countries

A brief summary: Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay (South America) will play the first matches of each team in their own country, to celebrate the centenary of the World Cup
After that, the World Cup will be played "normally" in 3 countries: Portugal, Spain and Morocco (Europe and Africa).

It was FIFA's way of holding the World Cup where it prefers, while still paying tribute to the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup

So, what do you think? A good way for FIFA to please everyone?

Yeah, I think Messi now is busier with media contracts, making ads, and things like that, more than football itself.

I think that is actually the smart thing to do for him as he will be able to make ads for longer than the amount of time he will be able to play soccer.

We still see ads with Pirlo for example.

By 2026 I doubt if Messi would participate in the world cup but then if turns out that they want him to I think nit will be basically for the purpose of business by this I mean more tickets would be sold and it will definitely attract tons of fans to that stadium to watch him play the last world cup appearance before he retires and it will automatically give the Argentine side more fans on days where the teams of those fans are not playing.

Secondly his presence in the team will serve as a motivating factor to new starts who will be playing along side Soni don't see his presence there as in anyway stopping others from coming to Play or getting an opportunity to rather it will be basically a moral boost to play with such a national hero just before he retires from national foot ball and just like last world cup, he will most likely be their captain.

But then age might not be on his side to play but then I feel he could be given some preference that's if the coach wants him and he accepts to play aswell. I don't think him playing in the MLS is not a factor that will cause him not to be selected as he is performing very well in the MLS as his influence on the league is obviously, ever since his arrival the MLS gained more attention that it has ever gotten so it's definitely not going to be a reason he will not be considered.

FIFA has announced that only two stadiums are remaining in the race to host the final match of 2026 World Cup. The remaining contenders are MetLife Stadium in New Jersey (where NFL franchises New York Jets and New York Giants play their home matches) and AT&T Stadium in Dallas (where home matches for Dallas Cowboys are hosted). I would rather prefer the New Jersey stadium, as Dallas weather conditions can be quite hot and humid during the scheduled timeframe. SoFi Stadium (costliest sports facility in the world) has gone out of contention, as the owners didn't agreed to revenue-sharing terms proposed by FIFA.

     

I don't see Messi as a player that will retire in the next two years. He might not be playing in a top league recently but his performance is still high. He has helped to change the fortune of a relatively unknown club. Argentina's national team coach made it clear immediately after the team won the World Cup that Messi is always welcomed in the national team. Coach Lionel Sebastián Scaloni understands that Messi's experience will always benefit the team and he can serve as a form of motivation even if his performance reduces. I foresee that unless Messi is injured or faces any other problems, he will be given the privilege of joining the world champion for the next World Cup. I don't also think that he is taking the space of younger players rather he will be on the team to guide them and also assist the coach in some ways. Age isn't always a barrier to some players they are just special.

2026 is still three years away. Do you believe that Messi would still be motivated to take part in the next world cup? He has achieved whatever he wanted to achieve in football. So why should he carry on playing anymore? Lionel Scaloni may want him in the squad, but even if he includes him a lot of questions will be asked. Another factor that may impact his participation is the fact that Messi no longer plays in one of the stronger leagues. At this point he represents Inter Miami, in Major League Soccer (MLS).

If until the 2026 World Cup, Argentina is still coached by Lionel Scaloni, of course he will understand better whether Lionel Messi as a core player can bring good things to the Argentine national team or not, but seeing how Argentinian players really respect Messi, it is very possible that he will still be there in the Argentina squad but not as a main player but will play when the coach feels it is necessary to use him to play because even though his physical condition has declined, his experience is very valuable for the Argentina squad.
However, it is also very important for young players to get a lot of playing time because regeneration is very necessary.

Possibility with Lionel Messi will play for next World Cup depend his condition exactly when closing time for player registering, current Messi condition still on injured and he was absent almost three matches with Inter Miami. I don't think problem for Messi although not playing on the top level competition he still become important player for Argentina after his contribution and success won FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. Still left two years all possibilities happening for Lionel Messi participant in next World Cup or not but depend with his performance and on injured condition or not.

Indeed next World Cup Lionel Messi have absent, I don't think FIFA World Cup 2026 keep excited because many new star will get chance for playing in the top level, but if still have Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo actually will make more interested and many fans excited for seeing last performance from both star in World Cup.

Thats for sure, the decision makers will be the Legendary players. As he had won the Qatar World Cup, he could prefer to retire from active football. However we can't be sure of it, because the players mentality used to different. Argentina have won three World Cups and this is the first time Messi is part of the team. Whenever a team with the popular one fails the responsibility will be forced upon the coach, and the winning credits used to be taken by the players. This is completely wrong and the coaches need to be obeyed and given respect. What Fernando Santos faced could've been a big issue, but it got off.

In the end, it will depend on whether Messi wants to play or not. I am 80% sure that he will pull out of the tournament and may retire from active football much before 2026. Right now he has a deal with one of the MLS clubs and I am not sure whether he will extend that deal or not. In case he doesn't retire by then, the Argentine coach will be in a lot of dilemma. If he prefers some of the younger player ahead of Messi, and if that player doesn't perform well, then he will be in a lot of trouble. We all know what happened to Fernando Santos after Qatar 2022.

Seriously who think Messi would play the next world cup. That guy has won a lot including the World Cup Trophy. There is nothing to fight for again perhaps I also think that before then he could be above the age to participate in the World Cup according to FIFA rules. I think he should be 36 am not certain but am kind of close.

Surely letting Messi play in the next World Cup will not be good for Argentine and their team because even if we consider Messi can have a good performance in when he is a 39 year old palyer, but still, Argentine should give more space to the younger players and let them play to see better performance from them in the next years.

I wouldn't be too sure about it. I doubt that he will play 90 minute games. I guess that doesn't make sense and may not physically be possible on the level that is required at a World Cup. But having him on the team could still boost some extra hype and when he gets substituted for some player during the game, I think the audiences would go nuts.

Your math about his age is correct, but Ronaldo has not retired yet either. These guys are in the game for records and Ronaldo is probably going to try and play one more hoping for his team to win it and equalize the difference to Messi. It is also an incredible event in terms of size.

Yeah, I think at the end of the day FIFA should focus more on the actual sport instead of the drama people create around the sport.

It is a shame what happened to the WWC

I do not think that you have "seen" them. That is the weak soft USA politics that people just try to focus on because you do not have real troubles. You think all those are "problems" because you do not have people murdering each other for food and starving to death on the streets and so forth. You want real troubles? Look around you, there are nations with people who are dying because of war, you want starvation? Look at what Venezuela went through? You want corruption? Look at China and Russia.

USA doesn't have troubles, Hollywood cancelled a dude for saying he doesn't respect pronouns? Grow up, that is not a trouble, that is being a little crybaby. There are nations people die due to lack of food USA has no right to cry about the problems that they are facing, it is a big wealthy good nation everyone would love to live in.

All these are issues I'm very sure FIFA is aware of so they will work around putting modalities in place to make sure no form of the said incidents happens to affect the world cup. Before thinking of hosting the world cup in such venue all this should be put into consideration, usually the culture and the traditions of the people are put to consideration before hosting the games in any location.

It's no new that freedom of speech and all that has to do with every form of standing up against anything they don't find comfortable is prominent in the US but then they would as well have to respect the fact that not everyone will definitely agree with whatever they practice and they would have to be fine with the reactions of the visitors who are there for the games and would leave immediately after, protest or uproars against people not accepting their practice will be unnecessary.

There are agencies from the hosting countries who will definitely take responsibility of maintaining decorum for the success of the game especially in the states where a good number of the games will be held, they will definitely put control measures in place to curb some unnecessary actions that may want to disrupt the games, and am very sure the government wouldn't want to have a bad record as it regards how well they hosted the games.

Maybe the Argentinian coach at that time would still call Messi to the national team. Maybe Messi will no longer be in the starting XI but Messi will be an encouragement and very positive for the mentality of young players. I think Messi's presence in the national team will motivate young players at that time to show their best performance. If there is a goalkeeper who specializes in saving penalty kicks, then Messi is a specialist in free kicks and penalty kicks which I think is an important point for the Argentine national team.

It depends on what the coach of Argentina wants at the time, it is known some teams bring a specialist goalkeeper which is great at saving penalty kicks in the case the game gets to those instances, and since Messi is so effective at penalty kicks it would not surprise me if he was invited to participate at the world cup using the same logic, what I do not know is if Messi will accept such a specific role, after all he was considered to be the best player around the world and he may not like to assume such a role.

It is not just up to Messi. Even if he wants to participate in the 2026 tournament, the Argentine coach needs to take a decision whether to include him in the squad. At 39 years, I am not sure how much he can contribute to the team performance and there is a good chance that he will take away chances from good younger players. I just don't want Lionel Messi in 2026 to end up like what Cristiano Ronaldo at Qatar 2022. Defending the world cup trophy can be very tempting, but he should go for it only if he feels that he is 100% fit.