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

Lol, because 3 field player starters out of 10 is an A team? If we played you in a NL Final or a WCQ whatever five years ago and you were missing Lozano, Tecatito, Jimenez, Edson etc, any honest American fan would not be selling that we were facing your a team because we wouldn't be.

I also love how the most egregious hand ball non-call I've seen since Frings isn't even brought up. Your boy PALMED the ball in the box while playing defense lol, and it wasn't called, and you still barely beat a team featuring less than 1/3 of our field player starters. Come on.

And in saying all this, I'll freely say, the USMNT has been and was total and complete --- in 2024 and 2025 until the fall. They ranged from suck, to bleh. Not trying to pretend we're world beaters. Panama beat us twice in less than 10 months lol, so gutless candy---es would be a better term for the team to me in '24-'25 until apparently the fall of '25.

 

Saudi's in 2002 against Germany? I've seen a lot. Remember, dude's are playing in a cauldron at 7,000+ feet in enemy territory w/no vets of the '10 era to help them...and in bad form after 18 months of playing like ----.

What's been worse this century?

'02:
Brazil 4 China 0
Germany 8 Saudi Arabia 0: The Klose game
Portugal 4 Poland 0

'06:
Argentina 6 Serbia and Montenegro 0: The famous 25+ pass goal....
Czech 3 USA 0 (well, Reyna hit the post)
Brazil 4 Japan 1
Spain 4 Ukraine 0 (I started wondering if Spain might win it all, two years early)
Ukraine 4 Saudi Arabia 0

'10:
Uruguay 3 South Africa 0
Argentina 4 South Korea 1
Germany 4 Australia 0
Portugal 7 North Korea 0

'14:
Croatia 4 Cameroon 0
Brazil 4 Cameroon 1
Netherlands 5 Spain 1
Spain 3 Australia 0
Colombia 3 Greece 0
Colombia 4 Japan 1
France 3 Honduras 0
France 5 Switzerland 2
Switzerland 3 Honduras 0
Germany 4 Portugal 0
Germany 7 Brazil 1

'18:
Russia 5 Saudi Arabia 0
Belgium 3 Panama 0
Belgium 5 Tunisia 2
England 6 Panama 1
Colombia 3 Poland 0

'22:
England 6 Iran 2
England 3 Wales 0
France 4 Australia 1
Spain 7 Costa Rica 1
Knockouts:
Brazil 4 South Korea 1
Portugal 6 Switzerland 1

There's just been a ton of beat downs over the years. People talk about this being a-- because there are so many teams, but I can list the above, and skip more than a dozen 3 goal victories, and I didn't really pay much attention to knockout results because we're in the group stage, but you can see there's more than 30 beat downs in the group stage of the past 6 WC's. 32 teams or 48, ugly beat downs are coming, some of these extra teams will suck horribly, others will surprise, I don't think the tournament will get much out of the Saudi's and Qatar, in my view, stealing tickets via a rigged playoff in the AFC, but I do think DR Congo could surprise, maybe Cape Verde etc....

Today's beat down wasn't too bad, the problem was really that whatever happened, happened, and South Africa just stinks, I don't know what happened to the team that actually beat Morocco, and a Tunisia that didn't allow a goal in qualifying, that could tie Nigeria away, and in the Semifinals of an AFCON etc...where did they go? I have no idea, but this team, that stumbled drunkenly to the finish line the past 18 months, is just much worse than the one from 2 and 3 years ago.

 

I was seriously thinking a good USL Team could have beat them. Poor fundamentals, poor execution, poor decisions. With the expanded field, I was fearful that we would see some of these games in the first round (not taking anything away from Mexico).

Crap start for the tournament.

 

Yeah, I want to be charitable towards SA. They looked pretty bad, but we’ve seen plenty of decent US sides look like crap at Azteca, so I’m withholding judging them too harshly till they play someone else.

 

The crowd for Mexico was also super hyped up in a way they haven’t been in recent memory at the Azteca.

If we get to the England Mexico game in the round of 16 Mexico is going to be a very tough out for England at the Azteca.

 

There's a dude at my kickboxing gym from South Africa, sparred with him tonight and accidentally caught him in the nuts with a kick. That about sums up their day

 

Czech vs Korea…let’s go

 

Korean fans bringing it, and in good numbers

 

Yep. And the Mexican fans love the Korean team too, dating back to 2018 when they beat Germany

 

I think there’s more in that comparison than you, but it only supports your point that the US is not as good as many pretend. So it’s a detail without distinction.

 

I mean you’re smart enough to know the difference between the US A team and otherwise. A roster without our best players clearly isn’t our A team and the World Cup is clearly a roster with all our top guys who are available.

And yes we haven’t taken an A team to the Gold Cup since 2019 which was obviously a very different cast of characters. One of the downsides of Gold Cup no longer being an entry to the Confed Cup which incentivized an A team every other Gold Cup.

 

I didn't think Raul Jimenez would ever play again. That goal was sweet.

 

David Beckham .... that LA Galaxy contract was maybe the shrewdest piece of business ever done by an athlete. $25,000 purchase for a 2 billion dollar franchise. Hes still in every World Cup commercial.

Zidane could have done the same thing. Hope he enjoyed that 6th La Liga title.

Haaland must be wondering.

 

Korea with so many chances but not finishing. Son just got denied.

 

And of course Czechia score on a long throw after all that, lol

 

Krejci scores for Czechia …What a header!

 

I'm kinda surprised that stood, #17 was way off and looked like he was screening the GK

 

No offsides on a throw in right? Though I guess once it's headed...

 

Mass subs from Czech

 

Massive difference in quality from this game to the first 1

 

Watching the replay, #17 seems to back out of the keeper's view by the time it's headed.

CZECHIA SCORES ITS FIRST GOAL OF THE 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP 🇨🇿

Ladislav Krejcí finishes off the set-piece beauty pic.twitter.com/u63BOqPGMx

— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 12, 2026

 

Brilliant goal

 

1-1. Wow. He stops the ball and stay clear of defenders and goalkeeper and scores

 

The patience on that finish!

 

Hydration break