2026 World Cup - News, Updates and discussions

[Unnamed Trialist]

15 minutes ago, narduch said:

Galindo speculated on the latest Northern Futbol podcast that Canada may only get 8 games. 4 per city 

That is 8 out of 112, if I calculate right (64 total current format), plus 3x16=48 for the previous rounds. 

We should probably lobby for another 2-4 knock-out matches.

[Watchmen]

1 hour ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

That is 8 out of 112, if I calculate right (64 total current format), plus 3x16=48 for the previous rounds. 

We should probably lobby for another 2-4 knock-out matches.

It would be 8 of 80 games.

[Unnamed Trialist]

11 minutes ago, Watchmen said:

It would be 8 of 80 games.

16 groups of 3 at 3 games each group is 48. 64 current format + 48. 

¿O me equivoco?

Then they are going to see how in the last game of these early groups, the teams playing can agree on a draw or result to ensure they both go through and the one who has already played is left out.

It's a bad idea, it'll be exposed from the get-go.

[Watchmen]

1 minute ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

16 groups of 3 at 3 games each group is 48. 64 current format + 48. 

¿O me equivoco?

Then they are going to see how in the last game of these early groups, the teams playing can agree on a draw or result to ensure they both go through and the one who has already played is left out.

It's a bad idea, it'll be exposed from the get-go.

48 game group stage + 16 games round of 32 + 8 games round of 16 + 4 game quarterfinals + 2 game semifinals + 3rd place and final = 80 games

[Free kick]

2 hours ago, narduch said:

Galindo speculated on the latest Northern Futbol podcast that Canada may only get 8 games. 4 per city 

I would be very surprised by this.  Montagliani said, several months ago after Vancouver dropped out,  that they could do two cities with five games each.  And if you look at the match schedule on the grid,  you can see that its possible.   Also, these are deals between the three federations, and the deal says 10 games for each of Mex and Can.  You have to have some pretty compelling reason to break that deal.  

Edited June 11, 2022 by Free kick

[narduch]

6 minutes ago, Free kick said:

I would be very surprised by this.  Montagliani said, several months ago after Vancouver dropped out,  that they could do two cities with five games each.  And if you look at the match schedule on the grid,  you can see that its possible.   Also, these are deals between the three federations, and the deal says 10 games for each of Mex and Can.  You have to have some pretty compelling reason to break that deal.  

The compelling reason is our stadiums aren't large enough for knock out games

[Free kick]

Just now, narduch said:

The compelling reason is our stadiums aren't large enough for knock out games

Fair enough.  That is true.  But from what we saw of the existing schedule, there would have been no need to add knock out round games to a canadian city.   you could have easily moved games from the third canadian city to the two others

[MtlMario]

15 minutes ago, narduch said:

The compelling reason is our stadiums aren't large enough for knock out games

Yeah but if we had a different government here in La Belle PROVINCE who would rather spend money on festivals we would of had the Big OWE available.

[TGAA_Star]

For 2026 a lot of teams are going to cry foul to FIFA because of the format which is why for future World Cups it should be 12 groups of 4 teams in every group and 2 advance; best 8 3rd place teams advance into Round of 32

Makes it more fair for everyone

[Unnamed Trialist]

2 hours ago, Watchmen said:

48 game group stage + 16 games round of 32 + 8 games round of 16 + 4 game quarterfinals + 2 game semifinals + 3rd place and final = 80 games

Oh thanks, for some odd reason I thought they went to a second group stage, which is what they did decades ago. Or like in other sports, world championships in basketball or handball they have done double group stages.

Much better, and much more exciting.

If we get 8 out of 80 that is more than our proportional share by population, considering the Mexican population as well. 

[Unnamed Trialist]

1 hour ago, TGAA_Star said:

For 2026 a lot of teams are going to cry foul to FIFA because of the format which is why for future World Cups it should be 12 groups of 4 teams in every group and 2 advance; best 8 3rd place teams advance into Round of 32

Makes it more fair for everyone

Good call, I agree, well done.

You get the last group games at the same time, no manipulation à la the infamous Germany-Austria draw in Spain 82, all teams making the WC are ensured at least 3 matches, and the groups stay interesting throughout as teams are also fighting for 3rd place status.

Edited June 11, 2022 by Unnamed Trialist

[CanadianSoccerFan]

43 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Good call, I agree, well done.

You get the last group games at the same time, no manipulation à la the infamous Germany-Austria draw in Spain 82, all teams making the WC are ensured at least 3 matches, and the groups stay interesting throughout as teams are also fighting for 3rd place status.

I'm sure FIFA would prefer that as well if they had the choice.  The problem was they had to keep the max number of games (7) and days (32) to avoid a fight with the ECA.  

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/38577001

For a tournament that happens every 4 years, I don't think adding an 8th game is a big deal.  Maybe a compromise could be that only the top 2 in each 4 team group would advance with the best 8 group winners getting a bye to the round of 16.  That way it's unlikely any team would have to play 8 games because the final would likely be powerhouses that earned the byes.

[Colonel Green]

14 hours ago, Watchmen said:

You should really let a number of previous hosts know this.

Those places were more into soccer and either (a) had more use for it after the World Cup was over or (b) cared enough about soccer to waste more money just to host the World Cup.

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

If Mexico is still receiving 10 games for three cities that will probably be 4+3+3. Given BMO Field's relatively low capacity, 8 games is an optimistic scenario on how many games will be played in Canadian cities, if an eleventh American venue is being added. I have no inside knowledge but no obvious reason I can see why it couldn't wind up being 7 at this point.

[dyslexic nam]

Which US stadiums are closest to Toronto and Vancouver that are likely to host 2026 games?  For a long time I have been focused on the idea of the games in Canada but with probable  ticket availability I will likely end up hedging my bets by planning travel back and forth across the border to try and take advantage of at least one US location.  Not going to Qatar so 2026 will be the one major chance to have this experience - might as well max out the Visa.   

[MtlMario]

The announcement will be TSN. Hopefully they'll confirm # of games for each city?

[Free kick]

2 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

If Mexico is still receiving 10 games for three cities that will probably be 4+3+3. Given BMO Field's relatively low capacity, 8 games is an optimistic scenario on how many games will be played in Canadian cities, if an eleventh American venue is being added. I have no inside knowledge but no obvious reason I can see why it couldn't wind up being 7 at this point.

If you add an addition city in the US,  I dont believe you would have to reduce any games in Canada.  if it goes from 10 US cities with 5 games each,  you should be able to reduce a few of those cities games down to three and they would still have 60 games

[Unnamed Trialist]

20 hours ago, CanadianSoccerFan said:

I'm sure FIFA would prefer that as well if they had the choice.  The problem was they had to keep the max number of games (7) and days (32) to avoid a fight with the ECA.  

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/38577001

For a tournament that happens every 4 years, I don't think adding an 8th game is a big deal.  Maybe a compromise could be that only the top 2 in each 4 team group would advance with the best 8 group winners getting a bye to the round of 16.  That way it's unlikely any team would have to play 8 games because the final would likely be powerhouses that earned the byes.

Was looking at that, and I am not sure it would be that definitive this question of a limit of days and matches. 

Mostly because there is still plenty national federations and leagues could do to reduce the load of games. Germany and Italy have top flights with 18 teams, that is four matches less a season than England or Spain. There are cup competitions which could be reduced, seeing top clubs come in to later rounds; there are home and aways that could be single knock-outs. New revamped supercups, like Spain who now go to Saudi Arabia for a final four which is totally ridiculous. Other extra competitions. Then Nations League obliges teams to play 2 or 3 when otherwise they'd do a friendly and a camp maybe. Then take Concacaf, who with an Octagon rather than the Hex add 4 fixtures. The players are being squeezed, sure. But the real load is not coming from FIFA, in fact it is coming from leagues and national federations. 

I'm still in favour of the 32-nation formula because I like the idea of that challenge. 79 national teams have qualified for at least one World Cup, almost half of FIFA less the true minnows. 

[Unnamed Trialist]

1 hour ago, dyslexic nam said:

Which US stadiums are closest to Toronto and Vancouver that are likely to host 2026 games?  For a long time I have been focused on the idea of the games in Canada but with probable  ticket availability I will likely end up hedging my bets by planning travel back and forth across the border to try and take advantage of at least one US location.  Not going to Qatar so 2026 will be the one major chance to have this experience - might as well max out the Visa.   

When they were discussing the revival of the Vancouver bid, they specifically said they wanted to ensure a cluster on the west coast. Seattle is in the mix, with San Francisco and LA. There is nothing closer until you get to Denver (assuming Edmonton will be rejected). 

If Toronto and Vancouver are chose, I think that may make them the smallest stadiums at the 2026 World Cup, maybe close to the stadium in Guadalajara. And BMO would be by far the smallest, none of the expansion proposals comes close to bridging the gap.

[dyslexic nam]

42 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

When they were discussing the revival of the Vancouver bid, they specifically said they wanted to ensure a cluster on the west coast. Seattle is in the mix, with San Francisco and LA. There is nothing closer until you get to Denver (assuming Edmonton will be rejected). 

If Toronto and Vancouver are chose, I think that may make them the smallest stadiums at the 2026 World Cup, maybe close to the stadium in Guadalajara. And BMO would be by far the smallest, none of the expansion proposals comes close to bridging the gap.

That definitely worries me for getting access to tickets.  I can see the Toronto games being crazy.  A trip to BC, clustered with games (hopefully) in Seattle may be the best way of maximizing my chances of getting to see some games.  

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

1 hour ago, Free kick said:

If you add an addition city in the US,  I dont believe you would have to reduce any games in Canada.  if it goes from 10 US cities with 5 games each,  you should be able to reduce a few of those cities games down to three and they would still have 60 games

Agree that FIFA doesn't have to do it but the word from those with inside knowledge appears to be that Canada is receiving fewer games because they have chosen to add an eleventh American city for whatever reason. The plan may be to give Vancouver and Toronto numbers comparable to the 4-3-3 (presumably) for Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey and that probably points to 6 or 7 rather than 8. Hope I'm wrong about that. Time will tell basically.

Edited June 12, 2022 by Ozzie_the_parrot

[narduch]

1 hour ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Was looking at that, and I am not sure it would be that definitive this question of a limit of days and matches. 

Mostly because there is still plenty national federations and leagues could do to reduce the load of games. Germany and Italy have top flights with 18 teams, that is four matches less a season than England or Spain. There are cup competitions which could be reduced, seeing top clubs come in to later rounds; there are home and aways that could be single knock-outs. New revamped supercups, like Spain who now go to Saudi Arabia for a final four which is totally ridiculous. Other extra competitions. Then Nations League obliges teams to play 2 or 3 when otherwise they'd do a friendly and a camp maybe. Then take Concacaf, who with an Octagon rather than the Hex add 4 fixtures. The players are being squeezed, sure. But the real load is not coming from FIFA, in fact it is coming from leagues and national federations. 

I'm still in favour of the 32-nation formula because I like the idea of that challenge. 79 national teams have qualified for at least one World Cup, almost half of FIFA less the true minnows. 

I like the sentiment of your post but there is no way in hell EPL drops to 18 teams.

Pretty sure Blatter once tried this too.

[TGAA_Star]

15 minutes ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

Agree that FIFA doesn't have to do it but the word from those with inside knowledge appears to be that Canada is receiving fewer games because they have chosen to add an eleventh American city for whatever reason. The plan may be to give Vancouver and Toronto numbers comparable to the 4-3-3 (presumably) for Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey and that probably points to 6 or 7 rather than 8. Hope I'm wrong about that. Time will tell basically.

Either way I wouldn't really care. Just as long as we get games and we get to see the games then that's all that really should matter.

[Free kick]

2 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

That definitely worries me for getting access to tickets.  I can see the Toronto games being crazy.  A trip to BC, clustered with games (hopefully) in Seattle may be the best way of maximizing my chances of getting to see some games.  

That's the #1 reason why I chose to go to Qatar.  I don't think I will be able to go to the games here in Toronto and I live here.  Not with a stadium that only seats 45K in a region of 8-10 Million people.    It wouldn't surprise me at all if cost of ticket(s) for the game in Toronto in 2026 will exceed the total cost of the trip to Qatar including tickets. 

We saw what happened with the first ticket sales for the WCQ match in Hamilton.  The fact that when the public sale (after V's sale) occurred at 10Am the next day and that if you queued up online 20 minutes before 10AM only to find out that the stadium was sold out between 10:00-10:01 AM and then (at around 10:05AM all the ticket were up on resale boards for 5-10 times the price.   In the 2026 games in TO,  they will likely have to allot a certain amount to visitors, then what is left will be sold locally.   and what is sold locally will likely be able to be sold and resold.  therefore what are scalpers going to ask for tickets? 

Edited June 12, 2022 by Free kick

[TGAA_Star]

1 hour ago, Free kick said:

That's the #1 reason why I chose to go to Qatar.  I don't think I will be able to go to the games here in Toronto and I live here.  Not with a stadium that only seats 45K in a region of 8-10 Million people.    It wouldn't surprise me at all if cost of ticket(s) for the game in Toronto in 2026 will exceed the total cost of the trip to Qatar including tickets. 

We saw what happened with the first ticket sales for the WCQ match in Hamilton.  The fact that when the public sale (after V's sale) occurred at 10Am the next day and that if you queued up online 20 minutes before 10AM only to find out that the stadium was sold out between 10:00-10:01 AM and then (at around 10:05AM all the ticket were up on resale boards for 5-10 times the price.   In the 2026 games in TO,  they will likely have to allot a certain amount to visitors, then what is left will be sold locally.   and what is sold locally will likely be able to be sold and resold.  therefore what are scalpers going to ask for tickets? 

Ask for a whole bunch of money