2026 FIFA World Cup thread [R]

That's very nice of your daughter, Jazzy!

 

Listened to the Soccerwise pod about recent World Cup quals and US friendlies. Michele Giannone, an MLS Spanish language reporter, and Italian national had a lot to say about Italy's failure. It was the usual "not developing young players" kind of thing but he also mentioned how much Serie A has dropped since being the #1 league in the world in the 80's(?). And more interesting to me specifially is that he says Serie A is slow, and that the players have a hard time adjusting to the faster pace of intl game. The ones that play outside of Serie A tend to do better in the intl games.

 

My ancestors pushed further west, in search of earthquakes, massively-destructive wildfires, and needles & human feces on the sidewalks

 

I think it was more the ideal Mediterranean climate, the incredible scenery, the ocean, the gold, the world class universities, the cosmopolitanism, and being part of the 4th largest economy in the world. Just small stuff like that.

 

Saw this on Reddit...

If you're a USA fan in LA who won't be attending games at SoFi, I got bad news for you. Fan fests there won't be free either.

You will have to pay for them.

 

That reminds me of when I went to a Fan Fest in Germany for WC 2006. They were giving away lots of free condoms. Seems like that would be a really important public service for WC 2026.

 

Safety Safety Safety!

 

Too late, you have already been screwed!

 

It’s never too late for Safety!

 

Has Levi's been upgraded to support a full sized pitch yet? Times running out. I haven't seen anything about the corners being cut back.

Here's what they had to do at SoFi.

 

Nevermind. Ch 2 WC promo had this this morning.

 

Bay Area Host Committee Announces Fan Zones for the FIFA World Cup 2026™
— Bay Area Host Committee

South Bay

• San Jose Earthquakes Soccer Celebration at San Pedro Square, San Jose
  • Opening Weekend presented by the Bay Area Host Committee and SJ26
• The Row Cup, Santana Row, San Jose
  Civic Center Plaza, Milpitas
• Milpitas Community Center
• Morgan Hill
• Cityline Redwood Square, Sunnyvale

2026 Bay Area Public Screening Playbook | Host Your Community Event Today — Bay Area Host Committee

 

That's why they're a country of ultra-low fertility (< 1.4)...congratulations!

 

FWIW I don't think unwanted pregnancies from hookups and prevalence of STD's is a good way to raise fertility rates. Find better ways.

 

No 'small stuff' are the "beautiful people" there...like Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris, Katie Porter, Karen Bass, and (the Best) Eric SWALWELL. Lots of "Fang-Fang" to bang-bang! Divorce and unemployment await...

 

So this guy likes to troll around and post political stuff on BigSoccer. That’s a block for me.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/articles/fans-vent-frustration-over-high-110000320.html

 

Yeah, it’s grotesque. Glad I haven’t purchased tickets.