FIFA World Cup '26: News & Analysis

Good point. Now that you mention it, I don't even recall a single VAR incident that warrants a heated discussion.

Still though, they're not as efficient as they think. If not for the 3-minute water breaks, we'd be seeing many first halves with zero minutes of stoppage time, and many second halves with 1-2 minutes stoppage time, like the game that just ended. That doesn't even cover the subs.

 

Lol. Not exactly. Probably somewhere in the tunnel at that point.

 

The new rule on timing for subs has helped a bit as well. A side making 3 subs takes less than a minute now and it took about 2 to 3 minutes before as each player slowly walked from the pitch, taking a few cheers from his supporters on the way. Even with the things I mentioned it does seem that you are correct in saying they are adding less time for things than they actually take.

 

Uruguay arrived in the United States for the World Cup and were greeted by sniffer dogs and full security checks.

Look at Manuel Ugarte’s face 😂 pic.twitter.com/LZrT4nUmrX

— utdreport (@utdreport) June 15, 2026

 

They will be quite content with getting out of the group stage and winning a game or two. R16 is probably their ceiling.

 

Just shameful

 

I'll be watching the Iran Team Melli versus the NZ All Whites match later. I wouldn't put it past this US regime of having the pre-revolutionary flags (with the lion) brought into the stadium and given to Iran fans to wave to illicit a response by the Iran team. If you recall the flag was one of the 10 stipulations the Iran team gave FIFA last month.

 

They won't be allowed

Exc: FIFA win case to ban Iran fans from bringing lion + sun flag to SoFi Stadium for World Cup opener vs New Zealand.

Emergency hearing in LA this morning, with judge ruling arguments on free speech not sufficient.

Full details from inside court ⬇️https://t.co/Udqu8hxFjI

— Laurie Whitwell (@lauriewhitwell) June 15, 2026

 

Yes, I know. But if the US government get the flags in the stadium? That's what I mean.

 

The more reason why they shouldn't host if they insist of making this world cup more about politics than the sport

 

Love that Maori NZ fan and another fan doing the Haka in the stands.

 

I knew it. It was always going to be him.

 

Salt Bae probably won’t be lifting the trophy this year.

 

I still remember Pamela Anderson holding on to the trophy for what seemed to be an eternity in 2018. I remember thinking to myself at the time she will be the only Canadian to ever touch it. Adil Rami's woman at the time. 2 things I never had on my bingo card.

 

Just putting this out there…
… if it were not for expansion we probably would not have had Qatar, Saudi Arabia or even New Zealand in this World Cup getting memorable results.

Heck, Egypt and Cabo Verde may not have made it either depending on what kind of crazy qualifying format CAF would have trotted out there.

Expansion has been a good thing so far.

 

Iran-New Zeland was a great match!!!

 

NJ Transit was supposed to have 40k riders on the train to each match. Sounds like they did just over half that, no doubt due to the prohibitive cost.

 

Agree, more nation got chance to let people know them.
But the group stage has also lost much of the excitement it used to have.
The expanded format makes group predictions feel a bit misleading. A big team can look ordinary, still get through, and only really get exposed once the first knockout match arrives. I’m less interested in perfect group tables and more interested in which “safe” team quietly walks into trouble.

 

I’ve put together an anticipation rating chart for today’s matches.

Watchability = Star Matchups×30% + Match Intensity×30% + Tactical Clash×20% + Uncertainty×10% + Buzz Factor×10%

Time Match Star Matchups Intensity Tactical Clash Uncertainty Buzz Score
3PM France vs Senegal 9.0 8.5 8.0 7.5 9.0 85
6PM Iraq vs Norway 7.5 6.5 6.0 7.0 8.0 69
9PM Argentina vs Algeria 9.5 8.0 7.5 7.0 9.5 84
12AM Austria vs Jordan 5.0 6.0 6.0 6.5 6.5 58

 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/in...26-tracker/group-knockout-bracket-projection/

This is pretty cool. Shows projected R32 matchups with percentages for how likely they are, and you can select a team and see different scenarios for where they will play with percentages for how likely. It seems to update based on results as the tournament progresses.

 

@Robert Borden

See this is what I mean. This banner by anti-regime protesters hi-liting the over 40K Iranians that have been killed by their government that got into the stadium. There is no way a banner this size with this (justified) criticism of the Iranian regime just accidentally was able to make it's way in. A lion/sun flag would be easy in comparison.

 

And this is why I would never head down to fan fest. (This wasn't fanfest, no, but same idea).

🔴 ALERTE INFO | Grosse Bagarre ⚡️ d’Algériens 🇩🇿 et Argentins 🇦🇷 à Time Square 🇺🇸

▶️ les Marocains 🇲🇦 et Brésiliens 🇧🇷 dansaient ensemble dans cette place il y a quelques jours… pic.twitter.com/1a33hT33PE

— Regards Croisés (@RegardsCroise) June 16, 2026

 

Yeah, on average I'd say a group stage match in 2026 has about 50% of the importance of a group stage match in 2022.