Topic: FIFA World Cup 2026 :Canada/Mexico/United States: Discussion Thread - page 160. (Read 63291 times)

We should just accept the reality that in every era, there will be a star and we cannot really compare which is the best because even if we say it honestly, it's already biased as we already have our own preferences before we even get the chance to speak what we think. Sure, those players are good and will not be forgotten but the thing is, they are all a history now and the football will be revolving around the new players anymore and will give the limelight to the new ones. Those stars that we've mentioned, their time was already over, they were the best but only on their era as we cannot really tell what would happen if they had the chance to play in one single era.

There are many great players that never achieved stardom levels like Pele of Maradona. For example, in Brazil there was Rivaldo, one of the best players of that squad, but he never got the same recognition of Pele.

I think everyone remembers the bicycle kick goal of Rivaldo in the final though...

Comparisons are often difficult because often the metagame of a game or a sport is ignored and people just look at the stats to determine who was the best, I have no doubt that in terms of skill the current players are not below the players of the past, it is just the skills needed were different, Pele which is often considered to be the best soccer player ever, played at a time in which the game was slower, however the physical contact was way more intense and there were less fouls called because of it, while the ball was much heavier, so while Pele will not shine as much as he did back then if he played now, I doubt Messi and others like him will shine as they do now if they played under the rules, equipment and the metagame Pele faced at the time.

Well I wouldn't say that, one thing is what Ney has done in Europe where obviously his achievements are going to be very minimized, because he is not European, but it is like taking away the merit of a Mbappé being in Europe, because that's how he does everything wrong, to All of Europe will be almost like a hero, now the merits that Neymar has achieved are many, in fact he equaled and surpassed King Pelé in his country, he joined a Saudi League where I know he will do very well, the dam will not be there attacking him nor do I think that his teammates will attack him, there if he is more valued and above all wanted, what can't he do more? There is nothing worse than you leaving a soccer ball to a Brazilian and telling him that he is finished, because it eventually ends up infecting you and leaves you totally humiliated, because the Brazilians have so much talent that when they are made to get in a bad mood they score goals, or being told that they can't, we are talking about a star player, an icon of Brazil and the world , at this Moment Nyemar put Brazil in First place in the table of the Muncial qualifiers in CONMEBOL, and it is one of These players scored 2 goals, putting Brazil in its first game with 5 goals in favor, and in Brazil, and they say that Ney is not capable of doing more? I think that many people underestimate a lot of what a player can do, yes , he Went to Saudi football where many criticize him, for every minute that passes he makes money that none of us would regret having in 1 year , so nothing more There he is superior to anyone , and with Respect to what he can do, there are too many Things.

What has Stopped Ney is obviously his ankle injuries, but we all know that those of us who have always suffered from ankle injuries are something that is very difficult, because to strengthen the ankle it takes almost years, and any effort can to try to stabilize it again, that's what happens in football, that's like saying that Messi is finished, no, Messi is in a league that isn't at his level, that's why he shines easily, but he can hold on to this World Cup and he still wants another one and even so he could continue dancing like a world-class soccer Player.

After Brazil won the game friendly match against Bolivia to show how ready they were, another country in CONMEBOL played against Bolivia. We know Argentina and Brazil usually racing to become the best team there but recently Argentina showed better performance because of the performance they had in the last World Cup. Now Brazil is making progress and they want to show a better face in the 2026 World Cup.
In the friendly between Argentina and Bolivia, while Messi was not playing for his team still they won the game with a 3-0 result which can show that Argentina is strong even without their legendary palyer, Messi.
    

I can easily say that Neymar could be compared to Ronaldo, but not Ronaldinho. The difference is that Ronaldo played at a great time of Brazil, but he was consistently injured too, but won some stuff with his team as well. I believe that Neymar is a great player too, but he is constantly injured as well.

Ronaldo could have been one of the best players in history if he didn't get injured this much, and Neymar could have been the best of his time as well if he didn't get this many injuries. Ronaldinho is a different type of player, he was a great player but he was also a showman as well, he just enjoyed playing football, it was fun for him, it wasn't being the best that he cared about, it was being loved and enjoyed.

Most players who have individual skills above the average of other players often experience injuries, one of which is Neymar. When his skills are too prominent and displayed in a match, he will automatically receive a tackle from the opponent, this is one of the reasons why Neymar is often injured. It's true that few players recovering from injury score goals straight away, and Neymar makes it seem like an easy thing to do.

Over time, many Asian players have played in the top European leagues, so as you said, it was not surprising when Germany lost to Japan. The 2026 edition of the World Cup will again be a moment for countries, especially Asia, to show their quality.

I would guess that Neymar being injured most tourneys is a big reason why they are not winning much. This once again comes down to not being able to show up, doesn't matter if you are the greatest player or not, I feel like if you do not show up, then what matters if you are the greatest football player that ever played or a terrible player?

You should be considering him with his injuries as well as his talent, yes he is very talented and one of the best, that part is definitely true, but that doesn't change the fact that he gets injured way too often. I remember seasons where he played only 20 games, how could we consider him worthy of a great player title with such a season. That's why he is not in my top players list.

Speaking of players in Brazil, they're never short of players who have excellent individual skills, and one of them is the player you mentioned above. As for Neymar, he is unstable because he is a player who is prone to injuries and that is one of the obstacles he often faces. It's not just one or two times he's been sidelined due to injury in a season and whether he likes it or not it affects his performance. And I think he's quite lucky because with his repeated injuries it doesn't significantly reduce his performance, it's just that he can't develop better in his golden years.

There are many players who eventually have to sink because of their injuries, and only a few of them can survive.

What they (Brazil) have experienced in recent years has indeed seen a significant decline, at the same time other countries have managed to develop quickly, even countries from the Asian continent can now compete with the big European countries. And one recent example of this was when Germany suffered a crushing defeat to Japan. It proves that now a lot has changed, countries that were previously considered weak are now starting to show that they can also improve.

I think that is a mental and motivational issue. But to be honest their last World Cup was still ok when they won the round of 16 4-1 against South Korea and when you then play against Croatia in a quarterfinal, it's always possible that this game ends as it ended. A 1-1 draw and then a penalty shootout, it is not a shame to lose that game against Croatia. Brazil had 11:1 shots on taget in that game, even took the lead in overtime and then conceded a goal in 117th minute. That World Cup could have ended differently, but that is how it now is and it looks bad. But it should be looked into the details as well. If two big teams play against each other in an early round of a tournament, one team must go home as a big loser.

Why can't we compare Neymar with Ronaldo or Ronaldinho? I don't think that the situation has changed a lot over the years. Even now, Brazil is a well balanced team and they are not overdependent on Neymar. They have high quality players like Richarlison, Gabriel Jesus, Raphael Veiga and Vinícius Júnior. And I would say that they are still among the top-3 teams in the world (although I don't know whether they are no.1). We can say that gap between Brazil and other teams have narrowed, but even now they are one of the best teams in the world. Given this, the fact that they have performed poorly in the FIFA World Cup for two consecutive terms is baffling.

That's mostly because Neymar is not a stable player and he has unstable performance usually. Also, he was injured for months in PSG and this definitely affected this palyer we can't expect more from Neymar.
Also if you are comparing Neymar with other players like Ronaldo and Ronaldinho Brazil, you are wrong because players were not alone in their team, they had other superstar players to help them and that's how they achieved many titles. In the other hand, Brazil is not the first power in football anymore.

FIFA and UEFA have long discredited themselves, and the policy they pursue in relation to international tournaments leads to the fact that the importance of these tournaments is also steadily declining. I think now no one cares about national team games when they evaluate a player like Haaland - the fact that he was not born in Germany or Brazil does not make him a weak player.
When I was little, I remember how important the Olympics were (I'm talking about sports in general) - it was the main event for 4 years, but now - who cares about this crap? If people look at something, it is only certain sports that are interesting to them. Now all the most important things happen at the club level and here Haaland has no restrictions or limitations due to citizenship.

Right, you know, it's good to have a comparison because that will fuel some spirit to take things to the next level but all of these things have their own boundaries because they came from a different era. Pele and Maradona might have dominated and killed the game in their era but some people will somehow argue that if they were playing in this era, there are certain doubts if they can still be that inferior compared to the players we have now. If that happened, I'd say that we're lucky to be born on that time to see a much interesting and intense games.

Kylian Mbappé is being termed as the next Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, but I personally believe that it is too early to give such labels. We all saw what happened with Mario Balotelli. I don't want Mbappé to end up like him. Now coming to Erling Håland, I am not sure whether we will ever see him playing in the FIFA World Cup. Chances of Norway qualifying for the world cup is minimal, even with the expansion in 2026. He will end up like George Weah and Goran Pandev (North Macedonia), who never got an opportunity to participate in the world cup.

@Sithara007 unfortunately people will never stop comparing these star player’s and I believe each one of them have set a benchmark which inspires others and that’s why such comparisons keep on taking place. Lastly the era of Messi and Ronaldo has ended and now it’s Mbappe’s and Halland era and I feel that Mbappe will play an very important role in the 2026 World Cup for France.

I agree with that, people tend to overestimate players achievements during their career in clubs and in past. I look at the statistics of top goal scorers during FIFA World Cups and during seasoning and I see   more or less same, yet still completely different players. Or so called Dream team lists. Those who are best during season, not always show top results at World Cup. That is why I dont really feel sad when I dont see big names on team rosters.

IMO, people have a tendency to overestimate the capabilities of past players. I have no doubt that Pele and Maradona were great players. But that doesn't mean that current bunch of players like Messi, Mbappe and Neymar are inferior to them in anyway. In fact I would say that the quality of competition is much higher now, when compared to what we had a few decades ago. Argentina and Brazil dominated in the past, because there was hardly any opposition. But the situation ahs changed now. The gap between these teams and other teams have now narrowed.

Exactly, that is what makes a player great, the best, or stands out among every other player, Is the determination, the ability to scale through and navigate those stuff that others see as huge obstacles. Pele and Maradona were indeed extraordinary players of their time that then Brazil and Argentina dominated the World Cup competition during their era just as Lionel and Christiano are today's greatest players in our present time.

Brazil participates in World Cup tournaments with the strongest team in every World Cup to fulfill Mission Hexa, but even with such a strong team, they cannot reach the semi-finals. In the last few World Cups, they have been eliminated in the quarter-finals, which is disappointing. Before the start of the World Cup last season everyone saw many chances that Brazil would win the World Cup but last season too Brazil disappointed everyone and they ended their World Cup journey in the quarter finals. But right now the reason for Brazil fans to be happy is that every player in the team is in great form right now, Neymar and all the other players in the team are doing really well. The new manager has formed a new team where there is no nepotism, those who are performing well are getting a place in the eleven, with such a team, Brazil will definitely do well in the 2026 World Cup.