Topic: FIFA World Cup 2026 :Canada/Mexico/United States: Discussion Thread - page 63. (Read 65875 times)

It is likely that Neymar will be able to make a comeback next season and can return to strengthen Al Hilal, since last October Neymar has been sidelined due to an ACL injury, and previously the Brazilian player was claimed to have to be sidelined for up to a year. Neymar absence did not affect Al Hilal performance, even in the Saudi Pro League they were undefeated throughout the season. However, this is not the case with the Brazilian National Team who competed in the Copa America yesterday, without Neymar the attacking line of the Dorival Junior squad became more blunt. As a result, Brazil failed to achieve its target of winning the trophy. In the future, if Neymar is fit again, then it is certain that he will return to strengthen the Brazilian National Team, maybe the closest is to help Brazil in the World Cup qualifying round.

I don't think Al Hilal will be willing to release Neymar this summer, there are rumors that the MLS club, namely Inter Miami, is planning to recruit Neymar. Statistically, Neymar only played 5 times last season for Al Hilal, he has not made any contribution to the club. Luckily PSG released him and got the advantage, Neymar injury history made him dubbed a glass player. I predict Neymar will be available again midway through next season, and Al Hilal fans will have to be a little patient to see him in action.

It is usual to see underperforming, injured, or banned players opening up about their problems. Last time it was Paul Pogba discussing his struggles, he even went as far as saying that "Pogba is dead." Maybe Neymar is frustrated that he is not achieving the goals he has set for himself. It was speculated that he would be injury-free by the end of last month; maybe he has not recovered, and it is making him sad. It is very frustrating to be earning such a high amount from a club without contributing anything. Since his transfer to the Saudi League, he has not been constant on the pitch.

Neymar  might not have won the Ballon d'Or, but he has achieved so much, both financially and otherwise. I think he shouldn't be too hard on himself because he has achieved more than many players.

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I checked for the link to Neymar's social media post and couldn't find any. It would be nice if you dropped the reference link.

Neymar is already suffering from Injury for last three months and we can understand how hard it is from him to stay away from the game. Also it is a big blow for the Brazilian team who are already suffering and not having Neymar Jr. to play for the team. Maybe more than Brazil, Saudi Professional League Al-hilal may be missing him. The doctor Rodrigo Lasmar told that he can start to play football again stating the 2024/25 season but this is delayed too.

Well, never say never specially when it's the game of football we are talking about, Brazil have underperformed in almost all their games and tournaments in recent times, but that does not mean they do not have a chance at all in the coming 2026 fifa world cup tournament, specially with the fact that 2026 is still like more than 1 year away.

And speaking of Neymar jnr. Injuries; specially when very severe, can make a player lose interest in the game, I remember when I was very younger, I broke my ankle while playing football in school, and even faster I got better from the injury, I still did not play football for more than 3 years, because each time I remember the pain I felt during the time of that injury, I get scared of sustaining such injury again and that makes me lose interest.

But then, it's important we also understand that nothing we do in life is risk free, everything carries with it some level of risk, so, we must never stop doing what we have to do specially when it's what we love.
So, if Neymar jnr. loves playing football well enough, his injury shouldn't be the reason for him to give up.

Neymar Junior posted yesterday on his social media that things are really tough and with this injury he feels like giving up on everything... Money is not the problem, since he is one of the most successful players in recent times, his problem is sporting, motivation, I don't know if he still has all that motivation... he is already over 30 years old and the 2026 World Cup will probably be his last if he plays again... and with this current Brazilian team (very bad) he will never be able to win and be a world champion...

If Ronaldo doesn't pass around the ball a lot, one reason maybe that he doesn't trust the younger members of the team. Other players in the Portugal forward lineup such as João Félix and Rafael Leão are nowhere near their counterparts in Argentina such as Enzo Fernández and Julián Álvarez when it comes to achievements in international matches. What I mean to say is that Messi can afford to pass the ball and trust his team-mates, while Ronaldo unfortunately doesn't have that luxury in the Portuguese team.

If you look at Ronaldo in Portugal and Messi in Argentina, I think we can say Ronaldo is really unlucky and I feel for him a lot. I get angry and disappointed when I see some young Portuguese players who don't respect CR7. He is one of the legends and they should be lucky because they have CR7 by their side. Some say that Ronaldo is selfish and that's why some players don't like him. While Messi is a player who is not selfish and always gives assists to his teammates. But I just see that they both have different characters. Ronaldo has leadership while Messi doesn't. That's also what makes Ronaldo always seem to make decisions for Portugal.

It is not the case that Messi or Ronaldo will win the World Cup if they play for their own team. The World Cup is a highly competitive tournament where the world's best teams compete. 

Ronaldo and Messi have played the best time of their career for their respective national team although Messi has been successful towards the end but Ronaldo has not been successful since the beginning of his career for the national team. Ronaldo can play 2026 World Cup if he thinks his team performance will be good if he is in the team and he can contribute well to the team's performance but if he thinks that if he is in the team as a player there will not be much change in the team's performance then he will withdraw himself. Ronaldo himself may have realized at the Euro tournament that he is no longer in the driving seat for Portugal, he is now sitting in the passenger seat and now may be the time to decide on his retirement. There is still a lot of time before the World Cup starts so he will have plenty of time to decide whether he is considered a worthy player for the national team after consistent performances for the club

If Ronaldo like let him retire or not he will not be able to lift the world cup because the highest he can do is to play in the next world cup in 2036 and after that he will not be able to play for his national team anymore due to old age. I really feel for him because this is just only what he needs to be happy in his football career.

Messi is still younger than Ronaldo and might still want to play in 2026 world cup because he is a good assist amd motivation to his team. I don't think that Argentina will be able to defend the trophy because we will see a different nation winning the world cup.

There is no doubt that Messi and Di Maria are key members of the Argentina squad that has won 1 World Cup and 2 Copa Americas in a row. But they can't depend on them forever. Di Maria has retired and we don't know if Messi will play in the 2026 World Cup. I agree with you that Argentina has many talented young players in almost every position. Unlike other teams that only have 1-2 talented players. I think Spain is the same as Argentina. That's why I am really looking forward to the finallisima between Argentina and Spain in 2025. It will be a worthy final because both teams have solid squads in every position.

The era of Messi and Ronaldo is coming to an end, maybe we will see these two legends together for some time and then maybe these two will decide to retire. We are really lucky because we got the chance to watch these two star players play together. I'm a brazilian supporter and i like Neymar also Messi is one of the best players in the world and ronaldo is one of the best players in the world of course i don't accept that. When these stars play, I don't want to miss those games because even if I want to, I won't be able to see these stars play live after a few years. Maybe many legendary players have come in the past and will come in the future but Messi, Neymar and Ronaldo are definitely the best football stars I have ever seen.

Portugal is relevant only because of Cristiano Ronaldo. Once he retires, this team will struggle even to get past the group phase in world cup. They do have promising young players such as João Félix, Rafael Leão, Diogo Jota and Francisco Conceição. But all of these players have remained in the "promising" category. None of them can be compared to the younger superstars such as Kylian Mbappé or Erling Håland. Once CR7 retires, it is going to be quite chaotic for the Portugal national team.

That is so true.

This applies to players of any age, so even if Messi is not at his prime age, he is still able to produce incredible plays, just because he knows where to position himself, and of course where to send the ball.

Some players are just physical, whereas Messi has also the mental part of it.

Even I am not ready for going to have long argument about this all but sill I am going to give talk about few things like Argentina is having good team with many quality players all are supporting the Lionel Messi they are having 3 big cups in last few years mean all are going as they needed, but sadly we have nothing for Portugal even they are also having many top quality players which can give their best but sadly their strategy not working for them, and they are having nothing to cheer.

In last few years we are having Portugal's main strength is Cristiano Ronaldo, and they are not looking around for having support and change of mind-set which is their biggest failure they need to have things for bringing youngsters and quality players on front because without this we will never have any positive result from them now he is having his last few months so they need to have all on track.

For as long as I have understood football or watched football games, I have seen different supporters fighting over Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. These two are the legendary players of the football world, they are the best strikers in the present time. The difference between Ronaldo and Messi is that despite the fact that they are both legends in terms of scale, the two have different styles of play. Cristiano Ronaldo is very powerful in his running and strength whereas Lionel Messi is ahead in his skills and intelligence. Before Lionel Messi won the FIFA World Cup, everyone thought that he might never win the  FIFA World Cup but his team made it possible. He has managed to win the FIFA World Cup at the end of his football career which has increased his status in the football world.

Lionel Messi currently owns the most trophies won and has won the most Ballon d'Or. Messi is an inspirational name in Argentina team nowadays, having Messi means his team gets an extra strength. The way Messi with his captaincy makes every player in his team want to play well according to the direction, Cristiano Ronaldo could not do that which is why he is yet to succeed for the national team.

LOL.. what sort of argument is this? If Messi was in the Portuguese team, and Ronaldo was in the Argentine team, do you really think that you would still say the same about both of them? Portugal is like a one man army led by Ronaldo. He hardly gets any support from anyone else in the team. On the other hand, Messi always get excellent support from other players such as Ángel Di María, Lautaro Martínez, Julián Álvarez, Enzo Fernández, Rodrigo De Paul and Leandro Paredes. Your statement is completely wrong.

I have seen people comparing these two players for a long time and they think Messi is better than Ronaldo or other people think Ronaldo is better while the fact about these two players is we can't say that exactly. Messi is a good player but in MLS he couldn't have a good performance like Ronaldo has in Saudi Arabia League.
While Messi won the World Cup title with Argentine nad Ronaldo couldn't never do that with Portugal.
 

Messi also has one of the best readings of the field of all time in football... have you noticed how he just walks around the field trying to identify the best situations and guiding his teammates on what to do? He has an incredible way of analyzing plays in real time there on the field, if he decides to pursue a career as a football coach, with these reading skills, he will certainly also be one of the greatest coaches of all time, I'm sure of it.

Ronaldo and Messi are two legendary players in no way less than any player. There is no opportunity to highlight one while minimizing the other. Messi may have international trophies but Ronaldo doesn't have international trophies, but in terms of personal achievements, Ronaldo is no less than Messi. Messi may have won more Ballon d'Or than Ronaldo but the achievements of these two stars for club or team individually will definitely surpass both of them. 

Messi is lucky because he was born in Argentina but Ronaldo is unlucky because he never had good quality teammates in his team due to which he could not have a good international career. It is natural that a player like Ronaldo will have a World Cup next to his name, but due to the lack of team support, that achievement remains incomplete.

I have things clear, first, that for the first time my country qualifies, second that CR7 and Messi have their good duel, a confrontation between Portugal and Argentina would be ideal to leave their mark on a great story of great rivalry, I hope that at that moment if this confrontation happens the best team can win, I would like it to be CR7, I think he deserves it a lot and he has been very attentive and working very hard, and he deserves it, I think CR7 has single-handedly faced an institution as corrupt as FIFA, I hope that if it happens, he comes out victorious.