Topic: FIFA World Cup 2026 :Canada/Mexico/United States: Discussion Thread - page 65. (Read 45128 times)

I was researching the oldest players to compete in a World Cup, and curiously these titles belong to goalkeepers. So... seeing a striker playing in a World Cup at the age of 40 is really something "out of the ordinary".

For those who are curious, historically these are the oldest players to play in a FIFA World Cup.

1. Essam El-Hadary – Age: 45 years old
The Egyptian goalkeeper last played for his national team on June 25, 2018. On that occasion, Egypt lost to Saudi Arabia 2-1, but El-Hadary saved a penalty in the match. two.

2. Faryd Mondragón - Age: 43 years old
At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the Colombian goalkeeper was on the field in Colombia's 4-1 victory over Japan on June 24, 2014. Mondragón entered the field in the 39th minute of the second half, replacing the starting goalkeeper. David Ospina, and even made a save in the last minute, preventing Japan's second goal

3. Roger Milla – Age: 42 years old
The Cameroonian played in three World Cups (1982, 1990 and 1994), his last match being against Russia, in a 6-1 defeat. He even scored the goal of honor for the Cameroonians. Milla also became the oldest player to score a goal in a World Cup.

Well, I guess it is just me or some people of my generation who actually grown up watching these two perform against each other, and having a rivalry for almost 20 years if I am not wrong. And a lot of people are saying that Cristiano Ronaldo is finished. He is washed up. But I definitely do not think so because he is still scoring a lot of goals and still taking football really seriously. I only can imagine what could have happened if he had not gone to Manchester United and actually decided to go to Manchester City. But I still do want to see Cristiano Ronaldo winning the World Cup. I want to see the GOAT conversation brought back again.

Wow, how can I forget those times when they were rivals and each one beat the other, this was something great , I remember that time when Barcelona had a great team , they were led by Pep, even long before, especially for me he was the one Who He stole the show, Messi was just him, a player, who did stand out, but not as much as Dinho, for me the things that were Experienced at that moment are still valid in my mind as if those events happened yesterday, now well, like They say, I hope that the next World Cup, life gives us that great match , Argentina and Portugal , but where Argentian is with Messi, because I see that Argentina really needs Messi, because the World Cup qualifying round in South America is quite hot, things They are getting very good, the favorites have not won everything just teams, they have had some setbacks, like Brazil and Argentina who have tied their games, and this is not good for them because they are used to winning, so there is no absolute leader here, the 'countries' of South America can make a difference in the World Cup if they maintain the level they have shown so far, it is incredible how they can improve in a few years from now, so I hope Argentina manages to qualify and Portugal too, here you can opaar Whatever, let's remember that Argneitna qualified very well in the World Cup in Qatar, but Portugal didn't, football is like that.

Now between these two, I hope that Messi does not leave, what I don't like about the great players who go to the MLS is because they are their last games, the 'farewell games, because there it is like a whole for them. For them, I hope that Messi makes a difference, although from what he Himself has said I don't see it any other way but that he retires there , but that they at least compete in this last World Cup , that they take the example of other players , like Maldini, Buffon, who They are players who were at a high age and still represented their Country.

If you put age into consideration, by 2026 I don't think his form will still be that perfect enough, to be able to play productively in the world cup, he will be 39 or 40 by 2026, a 40 year old man on the pitch can never be compared with the young minds and players who will be at the world cup the, he might be good enough but will definitely not be able to perform optimally, definitely not complete 90mins.

He can be substituted but I doubt if he will be able to play 90mins but then he will be better if he is in the Coaching crew assisting them with some good ideas and tactics, he will be better with technical advises to the team of coach for his national team than he would be on the pitch, his experience will be a very useful contribution to them if he should be advising them.

Although if he happens to play it will really be a boost to his team mate and probably help their confidence but then I don't think he should as he definitely not going to perform like he did when he was much younger.

well, building and maintaining a stadium that supports thousands of people is not so simple

ok, you can play anywhere
but when you take it to the professional level it has huge costs

of course the profit margins and gains with ads and all still cover all costs, but it's a businness with its challenges after all.

I guess there is still a small question mark when it comes to Bellingham performing the same way for England as he is doing for Real Madrid. He is doing superb at the moment, but sometimes I wonder how much of all the scorer points was a bit of luck and how much of it he can maintain long-term. There were several games that could as well have ended without him scoring a goal, but so far he is riding a serious wave. It is by now definitely more than just a lucky start. That is when a player scores a few goals in the first 2 or 3 games, but this has become the norm for him now. And there are still almost 3 years to go until the World Cup, which means there is even more time for him to improve and he is just beginning.

Full time Brunei Darussalam 0 vs 6 Indonesia

Indonesia success qualify to second round World Cup qualifier after winning aggregate 12-0 from Brunei Darussalam, its not really surprised result depend on weakness opponent teams and Indonesia will be in Group F on second round of qualifier. I am so excited with my national team winning aggregate big score against Brunei Darussalam and already for second round matches in Group F filled by Iraq, Vietnam and Philippines. Opening match of World Cup qualifier second round will start on November 17 and hope Indonesia can lead to third round. In second round, two national teams standing above will qualify to third round and I hope have opportunity for Indonesia can finish on 1st or 2nd standings position to get place qualify on third round.

At the 2022 Qatar World Cup there were many changes experienced by the Portugal national team one of which was by using more young players who were called up to strengthen the team for the World Cup and Fernando Santos as the coach at that time prioritized players that tended to be faster and that why Ronaldo doesn't seem to be prioritized as much as some other young players.
Now Portugal is handled by Roberto Martinez as coach and it is hoped that in the future until the 2026 World Cup Portugal can prove that they are worthy of competing and can reach the top there.

However talking about Fernando Santos after leaving the Portuguese national team he coached Poland and there were also many rumors circulating that there was slight misunderstanding between Fernando Santos and the Polish management which resulted in the possibility of Fernando Santos being fired.

Definitely Jude's performance will not be bad if he has a good team alongside to complement his efforts, sometimes it's mainly team work with some small extra efforts that gets a player to become a start player. There are other players who were doing so well with a particular team but later turn out with poor performance when they happen to be in another team.

The environment real Madrid has created for him is such that promotes his skill and has earned him all the compliments and recognition lately, if his country could as well provide him with such environment alongside good team mates. Felix in Barcelona is another young talent I'm hoping to see perform at the world cup, he has show a different level of performance at the club side so I'm hoping to see him do same with his national team, and if he does he could most likely get more recognition which will increase his value and worth at the club.

I dont really know what to think about Norway antional team, they have a very good squad but they play like shit or lose points every time. They have Haaland, Odegaard, Sorloth, SOlbaken , Ajer, etc but still not reaching any big competition, a big shame.

In case of Ronaldo, he has been bearing the entire burden for close to two decades. His case is different from that of Neymar or Messi. Portugal is more like a one-man army, unlike the case with Brazil or Argentina. But at the same time, I am not very pleased with the way in which Portuguese management treated him during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He has dropped for some of the matches in favor of younger players and was introduced as a substitute in the second half only when Portugal was trailing. 

Appearing five times in the world cup is just insane if you think about it.

That's 20 years at the peak of your career. Some other people just barely made it to one appearance and treasure it. These guys have been there for two decades.

In a similar way, this reminded me of Brazil, the only country in the world that has qualified to every single world cup in the history of the sport. That's almost a century at the top level.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi has played in five different editions of the FIFA World Cup which I think is very okay for the two players to take a bow from the competition. Ronaldo will be 41 while Lionel Messi would be 39 when the next edition of the world cup will take place in three North America countries.
Though not totally impossible to see the two players in the tournament once again but I think it's very unlikely to happen

I think it's time for us to pass and don't think about players like Ronaldo and Messi playing the next World Cup in 2026 because there are many other younger after they can even have the chance to perform better than these players.
Also, these players chose teams like Al Nassr and Inter Miami which meant they accepted the fact that they were not in good form anymore. Letting these players play in the next world can't be a good idea at all.  

Yeah, personally I'm hoping to see some new talent in the 2026 World Cup.

For me the 2022 World Cup was all about Messi and the rest of the retiring players like Cristiano Ronaldo, but looking into the next one I really hope to see some fresh young players with new names.

That's what makes it exciting.

Mbappé is 24 for example, and I think he showed an amazing 2022 World Cup. Maybe he will shine brighter in the 2026 edition, but if you think about it maybe there are some 15-16 year olds around the world waiting to be discovered. That sounds more exciting than seeing the same stars always.

I mean, I still like to see the elite players in the field, but it's nice to discover new ones as well...

I know that by the next World Cup, Lionel Messi is going to be 39 and Cristiano Ronaldo is probably going to be 41/42 if I am not wrong. But I still want to see these two play for their own country in the World Cup final, to be honest. Maybe it is just me. Maybe it is just my emotions talking. For the longest time, I wanted to see the World Cup being lifted by Lionel Messi. now I have seen that happen.

Now I do want to see Cristiano Ronaldo lifting the World Cup trophy as well. I don't know, maybe it will not happen. But it would definitely be really something to see. And Lionel Messi playing the next World Cup, I think he will play, but we know that he has already won the World Cup. So he will probably be more interested in being a good substitute player instead of a player who will play the whole 90 minutes.

Yes, we have to remember that even though Haaland is a very good player, and probably one of the best in the world right now, his national team is not one of the best. we can hardly say that his national team is even good, to be honest. And it is really going to be a hard job for his national team to actually qualify for the World Cup. That's why I do not want to say anything right now about him being the star of the next World Cup.

By the way, do you guys think that Cristiano Ronaldo is going to play in the next World Cup? That guy is 38 years old and still contributing really well for his national side. Let's remember that Cristiano Ronaldo is a player who has scored more international goals after the age of 30 which has not been done by anyone from almost 190 countries.


https://youtube.com/shorts/SF0KiukXrG4?si=PhGQq-zuIJztFqSz

But for some reason, ESPN is still going to brainwash people into believing that Cristiano Ronaldo is holding Portugal back.

Norway cannot advance to later stages of World Cup even if they have quality players such as Haaland. This disadvantage will not make him a hero nor the best player.
Norway result in the actual EURO QUALIFIERS 2024 aren't that good with 3 defeats and three victories in addition to a draw..
I think Mbappe will be one of the best players in the upcoming World Cup

Good point and there are some players I'm waiting to see them in the next World Cup in 2026. Because so fat they had an amazing performance in these teams. For example, Jude Bellingham's performance in Real Madrid was awesome so far but I'm working if he can have the same performance in the 2026 World Cup or not.

Talking about Haaland will be new star in FIFA World Cup 2026 seems early speculating because he doesn't opportunity will qualify or not with his country because still not drawing yet will be in difficult group or not. Better waiting with drawing qualifier group stage and how difficult group face by Norway, will get an easily group or difficult group stage.
For Endrick seems huge speculated because he still not on the top performance right now, actually Brazil have many top performed attacking line and Neymar still in regular squad right now. Difficult for seeing Endrick will be in Brazil national teams squad for FIFA World Cup 2026 actually his not in the list name in World Cup Qualifier CONMEBOL zone. How come he will get national called for World Cup 2026 if difficult get participants in qualifier round?