I don't know but with Africa getting 9 teams...all I know is that my country Ghana will most likely be there
I hope they will. I only tried to do a rough estimate based on some recent results and which teams have done well in youth tournaments recently. It's really impossible to accurately predict six years ahead of a tournament the exact teams who'll qualify, I was just curious to see what a 48 team World Cup *might* look like. Who, after all, in 2012 would have predicted that Iceland, bottom of their World Cup 2010 qualifying group and second bottom in their Euro 2012 qualifying group, would have qualified for World Cup 2018?
That is true but then again for allocation Africa gets 9 teams Asia gets 8 teams CONCACAF gets 6 teams South America also gets 6 teams Oceania gets 1 team Europe gets 16 teams Then 2 spots get determined by inter confederation playoff So as far as how 2026 qualifying will work is anyone's guess
But what I love the most about the 2026 FIFA World Cup is that it will once again be a summer event in 2026 but also being Ghanaian and Canadian, it will be in my backyard
But honestly though, I have been excited ever since it was announced that Canada would be one of the 3 hosts along with Mexico and USA. Plus, if FIFA gives us automatic qualification and we do not have to take part in qualification since we are co hosting, then that's even better for us going forward. Well because it gives us a lot of preparation time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup by playing a lot of international friendly matches as well as playing in Gold Cups between now and then. Plus then there are still other things to settle for the 2026 FIFA World Cup since Canada, USA and Mexico are all hosting such as: 1- Which of the 3 countries will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group Draw in December 2025? 2- Which one of the 3 countries will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup Opening Ceremony because there is always a concert of some sort? Unless they plan on having 3 opening ceremonies in the same day on opening day?
@Ofori I’m 99% sure all 3 are going to be automatic qualifiers. When it was Korea and Japan both were automatic in 2002. They wouldn’t want to risk USA not playing in their own tournament. I’m going to say USA also host the opening game, since it’s holding 60% of the games.
Yeah but I was talking about the Group Draw but okay I can definitely see USA hosting the Group Draw to determine the 48 countries and which groups they will play in because the Group Stage Draw is always televised Of course USA is going to play in the opening game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup but so will Canada and so will Mexico
In his latest interview, Montagliani mad one thing clear... Once the tournament is awarded, this is FIFA's tournament. Despite what the USSF put in the bid, FIFA has last say on who gets what games and how many. Sure the US might get the most games since they have more stadiums but the USSF argument that keeping all the knockout stage games in the US due to distance is 100% bogus. A NYC-Montreal flight is shorter than a NYC-Florida flight. FIFA awarded a North American World Cup, not a USA World Cup. FIFA will want the tournament to reflect that in the logistics. 50-25-25 makes more sense to me. Mexico and Canada will get a semi final or a finals game.
I doubt this. Why? Specifically in the bid book it started USA would get like 60 percent of the games with Canada and Mexico getting 20 percent each. Canada at best would have 10 games hosted in the country and same with Mexico also getting 10 games with USA getting the most. Either way, USA hosts the most games in 2026 because that is what was understood when all 3 countries won the bid. I mean realistically 50-25-25 makes sense in a perfect world @Robert Borden but come on let's be frank here, this is FIFA we are talking about here. But that aside @Robert Borden Canada at best with the talent they have, 2022 they won't qualify. Why? They have to fight with the likes of Jamaica, Honduras, Haiti, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, etc for 4th place assuming they do a Hex and stick with it. Even if they don't and they change the qualification format, I do not think Canada will qualify for 2022 especially even with that caliber of talent they have. Right now the teams I mentioned have a better chance of qualifying for Qatar than Canada does realistically. But even if I am wrong which Canada I'm sure will prove me right and not qualify but let's say they do, they won't qualify directly. They will probably get to the inter confederation playoff with either an Asian team or an Oceania team or a South American team. Either way if Canada faces an Asian team or a South American team in the home and away playoff, Canada won't qualify. Against Oceania, if it is New Zealand then Canada probably wouldn't qualify. 2026 however, Canada will be there obviously because they are co hosts.
FIFA aren't tied to the bid book. They have final say on the tournament and they decide how many games countries gets and which ones North America won because it was the better bid over Morocco. Yes they will host the most games because they have the most stadiums, not because the bid book says so. Canada and Mexico getting 10 games with no ko stage out of 80 games accounts for 12.5% each. That's 75% games in the US and 25% in both Canada and Mexico combined. If Canada and Mexico gets 3 stadiums each on 16 overall, that accounts to 18.75% or 37.5% of infrastructure combined. A 60%-40% ratio would be fair including Knockout stage. If you look at 2002, Japan & Korea I think split the games evenly as both nations submitted 10 stadiums each. If you go with that precedent, 60%-40% with playoffs being in all 3 countries is closer to reality. Also, FIFA use the World Cup to penetrate new markets. Canada is easily the richest country on the globe where soccer is still an untapped market. We were the richest country in the world who didn't have a top tier league until last year. Make no mistake about it, FIFA wants that breakthrough in the world's 10th biggest market. 20% of games including knockout games has better odds of achieving that We beat them 1-0 with our B team last year. If it's Asia for intercontinental playoffs, depends who it is. South America, then no, I doubt we win
Exactly .. playing 10 games in Mexico and 10 in Canada is not set in stone. FIFA can change the number of games or even cities or stadiums. In fact I remember that for the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Canada, the organizing committee had proposed the Saputo stadium in Montreal as one of the stadiums and FIFA changed it to the Olympic Stadium.
Montagliani didn't close the door to Vancouver coming back to the fold in his latest interview which I highly recommend. He talks FIFA, CONCACAF, Gold Cup, Nations League, Canada, CPL and 2026
Yeah it may not be set in stone but even if that is true, Canada and Mexico as respective countries both would have submitted more stadiums in the bid book but they didn't. If Canada and Mexico were hosting more games, don't you think it would have been announced by now? Or that it would have been announced the moment we won the right to co host?
But yeah @Robert Borden I will give you this but at the same time when it comes to the original bid itself, then don't you think Canada and by extension Mexico on both of their ends in the first place would have submitted more Canadian and Mexican stadiums in the bid to counteract USA? But I wonder how 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying is gonna work especially in each confederation now that the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be a 48 team tournament? I mean how are CONCACAF qualifiers gonna work especially if USA, Mexico and Canada are automatically qualified and do not have to take part in qualifying? Do they do a Hex for 2026 qualifiers in CONCACAF or home and away playoffs to determine the 3 or possibly 4 teams that qualify out of CONCACAF?
Well the Rogers Centre ultimately is under the Blue Jays control. The province of British Columbia refused to deal with FIFA. I have no doubt those 2 would have made the list which would have brought us to up to 5 stadiums. Montagliani implied that getting Vancouver back was still possible which would bring us to 4.
Yeah but come on @Robert Borden even with 4 or 5 stadiums that is not even enough to make up this 25 percent you're suggesting. Well thinking about it no 5 stadiums is actually fair and Mexico only has 3 stadiums so what other Mexican stadiums can they add? I mean the only other Canadian stadiums you can add realistically are in Vancouver at BC Place and Ottawa with TD Place Stadium for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the Canadian side of things but that is it. I think Canada and Mexico only stick with 3 stadiums on either side USA is supposed to have 10 venues in 10 cities but as far as the American cities that I definitely think will get games: 1- MetLife Stadium (New York/New Jersey) 2- Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) 3- Hard Rock Stadium (Miami) 4- Gillette Stadium/Foxboro (Boston) 5- AT & T Stadium (Arlington/Dallas) 6- CenturyLink Field (Seattle) 7- Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California) 8- Mile High Stadium (Denver, Colorado) 9- FedEx Field (Washington) 10- Levi's Stadium (San Francisco)
@jagum Yeah they can do all that but as far as Canada goes for 2022, Qatar 2022, even if we qualify which I doubt but if Canada does they would most likely end up in a Group of Death or they would end up in a difficult group. Either way, Canada will probably go out in the group stage. But at least it will give Canada some experience heading into 2026 when they co host the FIFA World Cup at home. Being a home team, a host nation in 2026 has to give Canada home advantage especially playing on home turf in front of their fans but 2026 with Canada being a seeded team they will most likely avoid the big teams in the 48 team Group Draw and remember it is 3 teams in each group with it being a 48 team World Cup. At best, Canada should make it to Round of 32 but I can't see them going further than that.
25% is what I want but 20% is what I consider fair. 12.5% isn't Ottawa was rejected but other stadiums expandable to the minimum of 40 000 like BMO Field. They would need to change the pitch to grass. Investor's Group, Winnipeg Mosaic Stadium, Regina As Montagliani stated in his interview, FIFA decides and they absolutely have final say on everything.
Yeah FIFA does have final say but the reason why Toronto, Montreal and Edmonton are hosting games is because of how big the cities are not just in terms of population but also because of the fact that the 3 cities are die hard when it comes to soccer. But also there is a lot to do in those 3 cities especially as a tourist. In Winnipeg and Regina, they aren't exactly football crazy over there and there isn't a lot to do in those cities either.
Valour had far higher attendance than Edmonton in CPL. As for tourism, Edmonton isn't really up there to be fair. Infrastructure was the main criteria in picking the stadiums. Olympic Stadium in Montreal can sit over 70k if they reconfigure to 1976 Olympic games Edmonton Commonwealth is not only huge already but easily expandable of needed
But also because they look like World Cup stadiums and they are supposed to expand and renovate BMO Field in Toronto
FIFA is all about making money. They know that they can make more money in the USA Stadiums and off the USA eyeballs for television revenue and advertising. I would be shocked if there are more Canadian or Mexican matches than what was originally proposed in the initial bid.