2026 WC USA (et al): Worldwide Opponents Watch [all R's]

Not always. Uefa decided to expand the nations league and shrink the WC qualifiers.

 

The Salvadorans have been in extremely poor form.

While an upset, I'm not sure how stunning that is.
There's a reason they've dropped down to Nations League B with the Caribbean minnows.


Since the start of 2023, they've failed to beat Martinique twice, failed to beat Curacao twice, failed to beat Bonaire, failed to beat Puerto Rico, failed to beat a Peru team in really bad form themselves.

What that result does is at least somewhat put into question whether they'll get promoted back to Nations League A and automatically qualify for the Gold Cup.

They still have it in their hands, though. Need to beat Montserrat and Bonaire to finish first in the group.

 

I don't think that the El Salvador group is the strangest in Nations League B.

What is going on with St. Lucia!!??
Currently winning a group containing Curacao and Grenada comfortably. If they beat Saint Martin today, they're on the verge of clinching qualification to Nations League A and the Gold Cup with the big boys. In fact, they do qualify if they win and Grenada/Curacao draw.

 

Nigeria will boycott their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Libya after their squad was stranded at Al Abraq International Airport, almost 250km from their intended destination, following their plane being rerouted.

The Nigeria Football Federation say the team was locked… pic.twitter.com/CBIhiD7Jvv

— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) October 14, 2024

 

They’ve gone back to being a real mess. Alex Roldan quit the team cause he didn’t want to deal with it.

 

🇺🇾 Suarez says players set to 'explode' over Bielsa methods
🇺🇾 Upset over treatment of Nunez & lack of a 'good morning'
🇺🇾 'Genius' Bielsa says authority 'affected'
🇺🇾 Past players tell of homework & unusual methods@AdamCrafton_ on the crisis gripping Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay.

— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) October 14, 2024

 

For the rumbles and murmurs and fantasies that want Bielsa as USMNT coach...I definitely feel we dodged a bullet. Eventually your purism turns to poison

 

In the never-ending world of CONCACAFery........................after beating both Curacao and Grenada, St. Lucia got demolished 4-0 by Saint Martin yesterday AT HOME. St. Martin is one of the weakest teams in the region, ranked 35 in the CONCACAF index.

Hard to figure that one out, but its CONCACAF.

 

As far as the big boys of CONCACAF, the Honduras-Jamaica game ended 0-0 last night.

That means both Honduras and Jamaica have clinched advancement to the quarterfinals of the Nations League.

It was a better result for Honduras ON THE ROAD. Cuz Nicaragua won their game. If Honduras had lost to Jamaica, it would have been Nicaragua to advance.

Now we await happenings in the other group tonight.

That one is really interesting with these stupid unbalanced schedules.

Costa Rica plays Guatemala at home. If Costa Rica loses, they're in serious danger of not advancing. If Guate loses, its possible for them not to advance based on goal difference.

 

I'll take a guess. probably St Lucia was using a tough defend and counter against better teams but when they were the better team the strategy was used against them. Taking that step from upsetting teams to breaking down bunkers is a hard one.

 

Thomas Tuchel is a leading candidate to become England manager, as @RobDorsettSky called.

FA are moving into the interview stage of their process having held a series of informal talks.

Tuchel was approached a few days ago, a move he welcomed, and no Bayern compensation is due.… pic.twitter.com/zszwmyhU1V

— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) October 15, 2024

Seems like Tuchel unless Pep says yes or Man U tries to get in the mix.

 

This was my concern with Bielsa. In some ways, our younger and less established team probably would have done better. In other ways, the cultural divide between the older Argentinian and a bunch of young Americans wouldn't have helped.

Poch has some of that, for sure, but he's a softer, kinder version and that should go far. Also, only having two years will be a benefit if there does end up being any conflict (which I don't expect too much).

 

Tuchel is very likely a better hire, IMO. Love Pep, he's a better coach, but Tuchel is a tournament coach. He'll make England ugly and tough and people will hate it until he wins shit.

 

I don’t know Pep is the best coach in the world and I don’t think there’s any world I take Tuchel above him, even internationally. Though Pep also doesn’t seem interested in the England job.

Also does Tuchel win things? He won the Champions League with Chelsea but not the EPL, FA Cup, or EFL Cup. Similarly with Bayern he only won the league because of a choke job by Dortmund and in his only full season in they didn’t win it. I think he’d be better than Southgate but I don’t think he’d do better than Pep.

 

With Biesla I think he’s one of the more influential coaches in the world in terms of his impact on so many elite coaches. But there’s a reason he’s not himself at the level of someone those coaches who have taken a lot from him.

 

I think Pep's great, but I'm not actually sure what Pep does is quite what England needs. But he is a very good coach and they are talented.

As for Tuchel, I don't think the EPL or the Bundesliga counts -- those are season titles, not tournaments.

I don't love Tuchel, but he has that grind it out style that tends to perform well in tournaments. Bayern should have won the league, but his Chelsea teams weren't that talented.

 

I disagree that the Chelsea teams weren’t that talented. They were pretty good and he also still had an in form and healthy Kante when they did win the Champions League (one of the best players in the world when he was fit and in form). Teams with Kante win things.

They also had Jorginho the year he was named UEFA player of the year and a FIFA best XI player, Rudiger who is still quite good, younger and good versions of Silva and Azpilicueta, a healthy Reece James. That team had lots of talent.

In terms of his record in tournaments I don’t know if it’s super notable compared to other coaches as he has that Champions League, some cups with PSG, and a German Cup in 2017. But that’s it.

And I think Tuchel is a top coach globally there’s no world I take him above Pep and I do question him being especially better at tournaments.

The thing on Pep is I think he’s such a good coach and he’s shifted his style successfully through his career that I think he’d do so as needed with England. And they have so much talent they’d be successful. What England really needs is someone who can put a team out there that’s balanced and which makes sense, isn’t quite as conservative as Southgate played, but also doesn’t go all out attacking in a way that doesn’t usually work internationally.

 

🚨🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 BREAKING: Thomas Tuchel has completed the agreement to become new England manager.

Terms agreed, contract set to be signed with an official statement expected soon.

Tuchel opened doors to England job in July and it’s now a done deal, as @TimesSport reported.

Here we go ✨ pic.twitter.com/3AjBrcjlIZ

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 15, 2024

In any case they seemed to have moved quickly post window after Carsley did not seem up to it.

Biggest winner though is Erik Ten Hag now that Pochettino and Tuchel are not available as his replacements.

 

Tuchel is an ass and international soccer doesn’t really accommodate complex tactics. I’m glad we have Poch and not him.

 

I'm on your side of this thread's Tuchel debate. He's clearly a great cup competition manager with one of the more consistent performances in Champions League, even in the seasons that he didn't win.

But he only has a few seasons where he didn't underperform in league play. The fact that Chelsea comfortably won Champions League overshadows, perhaps deservedly, the fact that Tuchel could never consistently produce strong performances in league.

I think international management will suit him.

 

Wound up going to Palestine v Kuwait today in Doha. Didn't really make the final decision until the last minute but it was kind of a makeup for missing last weekends Qatar v Kyrgyzstan game. Glad I did as it wound up being quite an exciting game, 2 penalties, a red card, and then Palestine equalizing at the very death despite being down to 10 men. I do fear however that these will be the 2 teams eliminated from this group. The other 4 are just a different class. Very poor from Kuwait, unable to beat a 10-man Palestine on relatively tame neutral ground. I do hope that Palestine's next game is in Doha as it will be against South Korea.

 

He seems incredibly intense. Tuchel....................has had run-ins with leadership everywhere he's been. He's like Bielsa. He seems to win a lot but wears out his welcome rather quickly. Every little thing seems to become a battle.

Imagine him with the USSF leadership.

Pochettino is more of the demeaner and presence of a coach that the USSF wants. We apparently reached out to Klopp. Same deal.

 

Uruguay players are complaining that Bielsa is cold and indifferent, won't say "good morning".... Tuchel is more like soccer hitler

Remember German-American Shawn Parker?

 

When you hire Bielsa or Tuchel, you know what you're getting. Its not like Uruguay should be surprised by any of Bielsa's behaviour. And England know what they're getting in Tuchel.

Bielsa, as we know........................is a mentor for Pochettino. More than a mentor. Mauricio refers to him as an "inspiration." Remember when Tim Ream said that the training under Poch was the hardest he's worked in a USMNT session? Yeah, that's not a surprise. We know where that comes from.

Bielsa basically "discovered" Mauricio in Argentina. He played for him at Newell's Old Boys and then in Spain with Espanyol.
Mauricio Pochettino on Marcelo Bielsa: What makes him a unique coach? | Football News | Sky Sports

"After five minutes, he told me to sit next to him. He said, 'Mauricio, you are going to be a Newell's Old Boys player. Now go to take a shower.' I said, 'Why do I need to take a shower, I have only been playing five minutes.' He said, 'No, go to the office and then go back to your town and tell your dad that you are going to play for Newell's Old Boys.'

"For a kid aged 13, that explains how he was and how he is. He had this unbelievable intuition, perception. So clever. He had a different brain to all of the people that I coach."

 

Costa Rica currently lead Guatemala 2-0.
Suriname currently lead Guyana 4-1.

As it stands, this would place Costa Rica in 1st place and Suriname in 2nd place.