FIFA World Cup 2026 Results & Discussion Thread [R]

Not to mention the heat situation now is way worse than it was 30 years ago and the players play many more games.

I get that, as @4x4s says, combined with the pitch condition it's a huge gamble from Vini to maximize his value to go without a contract to this world cup.

 

Ngl that Bellingham Anderson Rice midfield seems so properly balanced in profile

 

It was the first match of 1994 World Cup Finals. Germany was playing against Bolivia. Commercial-free, as promised by American networks. It was a boring game. The commentators were talking about the OJ Simpson car chase. They woukd switch to the car chase at HT. I did not know the magnitude of the event at the time. I had heard of the murder. I knew who OJ Simpson was, but his football career was before my time.

But at halftime, I switched to watch the NBA Finals. Houston Rockets vs. New York Knicks. What a coincidence. I did not care for either team. It was still better than the OJ Simpson car chase, I thought.

I went back to the World Cup game after the halftime. Klinsmann scored for Germany. It was still a boring game. Then came Marco Etcheverry, who had been injured before the World Cup Finals. I had heard of him, but I had never seen him play. I did not like his mullet. So, i didn't like him, especially he helped Bolivia beating Brazil in the WCQers. For a moment, I thought that Brazil would miss the WC Finals. I liked Brazil. He was supposed to be Bolivia's savior. Within about thirty seconds of coming onto the field, he received a red card. I laughed. Then, two years later, he joined MLS. DC United became my favorite team, as I was living near DC at the time. Marco Etcheverry became my favorite player. he still remained one of my favorite players.

That was how I remembered the beginning of the World Cup Finals in the USA.

 

Isn't the opening ceremony supposed to be starting now?

 

Good chance for Mexico.

 

Ejae's song was good.

 

And we have the opening goal. Stadium goes berserk.

 

There is a whole anime series based on this very thing, where a coach finds a young player who is a striker and has excellent vision but convinces him to play RB for the better of the team coz he thinks with his vision and his placement further back in the field allows him to see the whole play at all times and then dictate it. I agree i kinda think its cool too. The closest thing i saw in real life which was similar was Dani Alves (hate to dirty this thread with his name) at his peak. He could run the whole game from there and he did moreso when he didn't play for Barcelona because of Messi and others being the focal point. Think Sevilla Dani Alves.

I would keep a close eye on Holland. I know, historically, here on RMBS we have not been fans but i feel like they have the most balanced squad at this tournament. Not a lot of big names and super stars but i think it makes them very dangerous.

 

Roberto Carlos, Cafu and Baggio in the stadium.

 

On paper i thought Tchou and Jude are a good pair especially now that Tchou has been playing really well. Why does it not work for us. Tuchel said that Jude has "bought into his role" and he also highlighted the running and pressing without the ball aspect of it. Is that the missing piece, idk. When we signed Jude we all envisioned him as a midfielder playing alongside a more defensive minded player ar at least i did as well as playing further ahead if and when we needed him to.

Maybe playing with the NT and under Tuchel will kinda rub off on Jude and he'll return with a slightly different mindset.

 

I voted for Portugal though they will need goals from midfield to take them all the way.

 

It's definitely a thing but it's directly tied to self-belief and self-confidence. Hard to quantify.

 

I didn't wanna pick "other" so i went with England. I think they have been very close in the last 2 tournaments and Tuchel is a great tournament coach. Also Jude is one of my favorite players in the world.

I have always been a big believer in momentum and i think it still exists. Has to be the right mix of players (enough talent has to be on the roster, doesn't have to be elite talent but there's a minimum requirement to win) and coach and things can happen in a short camp where players are together all the time, not a lot of distractions. Without that right mix it's nigh on impossible to reach the final.

 

Absolutely. I'll point to my favorite WC which was 2006. Germany fostered momentum with a young roster and Klinsmann. Even Zidane and the French had that momentum in 2006.

You could say we had that momentum in the threepeat and 2024 CL.

 

The referee cam is neat. It reminds me of that iconic Euro 2008 Nike commercial.

 

Mexico should have scored 3 or 4 already.

 

South Africa is pretty bad.

 

Red cards fiesta...

 

Yeah was rooting for Mexico anyway. Especially at Azteca no way they had a shot.

 

It's a travesty that the final isn't at the legendary Azteca.

New Jersey!!! We talkin about Jersey!!!!

 

South American teams had won every World Cup held outside Europe until Spain broke the jinx in 2010 at South Africa. Then Germany won in Brazil as well. Argentina reversed the trend winning in Qatar.

Brazil have been a let down since 2002 so I'd say odds are in favour of a European nation winning the title in North America.