2026 World Cup - News, Updates and discussions

[Free kick]

 

[Neil R.]

I'm having a blast watching Puerto Rico vs. Anguilla. I'm surprised how many people are there. There's cheering every time Puerto Rico gets close to goal or recovers the ball (which is often vs. Anguilla). Puerto Rico has scored twice and saved an Anguilla penalty. 2-0 at the half. The crowd is loving it. 

Edited June 12 by Neil R.

[Neil R.]

We're halfway through the 2nd round of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying now. The final 2 matches for each country are next year. Here are the current standings in each group. The top 2 advance.

Most of the top 2 seeds in each group are who you would expect, but there are a couple of groups where someone outside of the top 2 seeds could have a realistic shot at advancing.

Group A

Honduras 6
Cuba 3
Cayman Islands 3
Antigua and Barbuda 1 (Went in as the Pot 2 team!)
Bermuda 1

Group B

Costa Rica 6
Trinidad and Tobago 4
Saint Kitts and Nevis 3
Grenada 1
Bahamas 0

Group C

Curaçao 6
Haiti 6
Saint Lucia 1
Aruba 1
Barbados 0

Group D

Nicaragua 6
Panama 6
Guyana 3
Montserrat 0
Belize 0

Group E

Guatemala 6
Jamaica 6
Dominican Republic 3
Dominica 0
British Virgin Islands 0

Group F

Suriname 6
Puerto Rico 4
El Salvador 4 (Pot 1 team)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0
Anguilla 0

I'm not surprised to see Antigua and Barbuda where they are. You could tell in the last Nations League that the current version of their team was not as good as their ranking. They lost to Guyana 5-1 and 6-0, and Puerto Rico 5-0 and 3-2. Cayman Islands defeated them in this round. Every team would have wanted Antigua and Barbuda as the Pot 2 team in their group.

Group F could end up being quite interesting. Puerto Rico currently has a +6 GD on El Salvador, but El Salvador plays Anguilla next year. Puerto Rico plays Suriname and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in their final 2 matches. El Salvador and Suriname face each other on the last matchday of the group.

[74 Whitecap]

I've been thinking that the tournament organizers are probably hoping that the expanded format allows for China to make it to the World Cup for the first time in a long time, as that would probably be a big revenue boost for the tournament.

And they did sneak through to the 3rd round today, parking the bus in epic fashion (19% possession, 110(!) completed passes) against South Korea and losing 1-0 but sliding through just barely (over Thailand) on goal difference.

I still don't like their chances, but you never know. 

[TGAA_Star]

9 hours ago, Neil R. said:

We're halfway through the 2nd round of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying now. The final 2 matches for each country are next year. Here are the current standings in each group. The top 2 advance.

Most of the top 2 seeds in each group are who you would expect, but there are a couple of groups where someone outside of the top 2 seeds could have a realistic shot at advancing.

Group A

Honduras 6
Cuba 3
Cayman Islands 3
Antigua and Barbuda 1 (Went in as the Pot 2 team!)
Bermuda 1

Group B

Costa Rica 6
Trinidad and Tobago 4
Saint Kitts and Nevis 3
Grenada 1
Bahamas 0

Group C

Curaçao 6
Haiti 6
Saint Lucia 1
Aruba 1
Barbados 0

Group D

Nicaragua 6
Panama 6
Guyana 3
Montserrat 0
Belize 0

Group E

Guatemala 6
Jamaica 6
Dominican Republic 3
Dominica 0
British Virgin Islands 0

Group F

Suriname 6
Puerto Rico 4
El Salvador 4 (Pot 1 team)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0
Anguilla 0

I'm not surprised to see Antigua and Barbuda where they are. You could tell in the last Nations League that the current version of their team was not as good as their ranking. They lost to Guyana 5-1 and 6-0, and Puerto Rico 5-0 and 3-2. Cayman Islands defeated them in this round. Every team would have wanted Antigua and Barbuda as the Pot 2 team in their group.

Group F could end up being quite interesting. Puerto Rico currently has a +6 GD on El Salvador, but El Salvador plays Anguilla next year. Puerto Rico plays Suriname and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in their final 2 matches. El Salvador and Suriname face each other on the last matchday of the group.

So I wonder if whoever wins the group if they go into a Hex for the final round of qualification? Or will it be an Octagonal?

[Mihairokov]

9 hours ago, 74 Whitecap said:

I've been thinking that the tournament organizers are probably hoping that the expanded format allows for China to make it to the World Cup for the first time in a long time

Unofficially it's expanded so FIFA can get big markets into WC more consistently. Not just China but countries like Nigeria, Egypt, the US, and way down the road India. The AFC number moving from 6 to 8 is pretty much China territory, though, but they always find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. 

I did a mock draw for the Third Round in AFC and got the follow groups:

Group A: Korea, Japan, Iraq, Oman, Palestine, Indonesia

Group B: Qatar, Australia, Bahrain, UAE, China, Korea DPR

Group C Iran, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait

Top two from each auto-qualify. Third and fourth go to the next round. If we're talking about China's odds I think this might be the best group possible for this round as Qatar are beatable, as are UAE and Bahrain. 😄

12 hours ago, Neil R. said:

I'm having a blast watching Puerto Rico vs. Anguilla

I did some research on the Puerto Rico team and it looks like they brought in a bunch of kids with big upside. de León is in Real Madrid's youth setup. Wilfredo Rivera in Orlando's youth setup. Antonetti plays in Spain. Those three forwards are all under 21. 

Puerto Rico are good enough up front to get through that group. If they can tie El Salvador they can beat Suriname. span widget

[Mihairokov]

2 hours ago, TGAA_Star said:

So I wonder if whoever wins the group if they go into a Hex for the final round of qualification? Or will it be an Octagonal?

The third Concacaf round is three groups of four. Winner of each group qualifies for WC and two of three second place finishers go to inter-confed playoffs. I think the joke I made before was we would get a four-team group in the third round of like Honduras, ES, Guatemala, Nicaragua 🤣

[TGAA_Star]

59 minutes ago, Mihairokov said:

The third Concacaf round is three groups of four. Winner of each group qualifies for WC and two of three second place finishers go to inter-confed playoffs. I think the joke I made before was we would get a four-team group in the third round of like Honduras, ES, Guatemala, Nicaragua 🤣

Either way I love the new format of qualification 

[Mihairokov]

1 minute ago, TGAA_Star said:

Either way I love the new format of qualification 

I think this current round would be better if they cut five teams and had five groups of five instead. It's clear that Anguilla/BVI/Belize etc are a step below that middle-lower Concacaf level. 

Five groups of five, top two from each go through, then we have ten teams in the final round for two groups of five again. Doesn't work for qualifying places but I personally find it cleaner and more competitive lol

The current AFC round is the same - cut four teams (Myanmar, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh) and the groups become a lot more competitive. Easier said than done, though. 

[TGAA_Star]

Just now, Mihairokov said:

I think this current round would be better if they cut five teams and had five groups of five instead. It's clear that Anguilla/BVI/Belize etc are a step below that middle-lower Concacaf level. 

Five groups of five, top two from each go through, then we have ten teams in the final round for two groups of five again. Doesn't work for qualifying places but I personally find it cleaner and more competitive lol

The current AFC round is the same - cut four teams (Myanmar, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh) and the groups become a lot more competitive. Easier said than done, though. 

Yeah I guess but paying attention to CONCACAF qualifying I can honestly say I'm enjoying the games but some of the teams I'm surprised by but then others I'm not

[Mihairokov]

3 minutes ago, TGAA_Star said:

Yeah I guess but paying attention to CONCACAF qualifying I can honestly say I'm enjoying the games but some of the teams I'm surprised by but then others I'm not

I know we all rag on Concacaf being a joke most of the time but a lot of the middle countries are pretty good. I'm sure the three auto-qualifiers will be like Costa Rica/Panama/Honduras but the final round should be really fun and competitive. I expect one qualifier to be a surprise. Jamaica haven't been to a WC since 1998...

Edited June 12 by Mihairokov

[TGAA_Star]

6 minutes ago, Mihairokov said:

I know we all rag on Concacaf being a joke most of the time but a lot of the middle countries are pretty good. I'm sure the three auto-qualifiers will be like Costa Rica/Panama/Honduras but the final round should be really fun and competitive. I expect one qualifier to be a surprise. Jamaica haven't been to a WC since 1998...

No I think the auto qualifiers will be Jamaica, Panama and Honduras but Costa Rica will end up in inter confederation playoff

[Kent]

On 5/2/2024 at 12:45 PM, maplebanana said:

Please, please tell me they are installing more washrooms. 

At the clinching WC22 game, I got up at HT to go to washroom and when I got back to my seat it was the 55'. I've missed the start of 2nd half at TFC games that were much less crowded too.

Pro tip. When the stadium is pretty full, run to the washroom during a bit of a lull between the 30th and 40th minutes. Absolutely no line, nobody on the steps, you can run there and back and miss less of the game than if you wait for half time (depending on where your seat is. If your seat is close to the exit to the concourse you can probably wait until half time).

[TGAA_Star]

5 minutes ago, Kent said:

Pro tip. When the stadium is pretty full, run to the washroom during a bit of a lull between the 30th and 40th minutes. Absolutely no line, nobody on the steps, you can run there and back and miss less of the game than if you wait for half time (depending on where your seat is. If your seat is close to the exit to the concourse you can probably wait until half time).

Yeah well they are supposedly supposed to be expanding or renovating BMO Field for the 2026 FIFA World Cup by adding additional seats and expanding the stadium 🏟 in general but you would think they would be starting on that now

[Watchmen]

14 hours ago, Neil R. said:

I'm having a blast watching Puerto Rico vs. Anguilla. I'm surprised how many people are there. There's cheering every time Puerto Rico gets close to goal or recovers the ball (which is often vs. Anguilla). Puerto Rico has scored twice and saved an Anguilla penalty. 2-0 at the half. The crowd is loving it. 

I remember the days of the Puerto Rico Islanders in the USL and wondering how the NT wasn't better. Not "qualifying for the WC" good, but they were never even that close to making a Gold Cup. Glad to see they're doing well in this qualifying round.

[TGAA_Star]

15 hours ago, Free kick said:

 

I can only imagine where Toronto FIFA Fan Festival will be...if they decide to do it outside of BMO Field or they do it near Scotiabank Arena or neat Rogers Centre or if they decide to do it at Nathan Phillips Square...so much decisions

[narduch]

Incentive for winning our group will be potential 2 more matches in Vancouver. 

If we finish 2nd we head to the US.

If we are one of the best 3rd place, not sure.

 

 

Edited June 12 by narduch

[maplebanana]

2 hours ago, Kent said:

Pro tip. When the stadium is pretty full, run to the washroom during a bit of a lull between the 30th and 40th minutes. Absolutely no line, nobody on the steps, you can run there and back and miss less of the game than if you wait for half time (depending on where your seat is. If your seat is close to the exit to the concourse you can probably wait until half time).

Fair tip, to be sure. Just wish I didn't need the tip at all, like in pretty much every other stadium I've been to.

[gigi riva]

On 6/4/2024 at 5:00 PM, kacbru said:

The World Cup is a scandal.  The media doesn't have to do anything to create a scandal.  Just accept it, hold your nose, and enjoy it.

FIFA is the scandal 

[TGAA_Star]

54 minutes ago, narduch said:

Incentive for winning our group will be potential 2 more matches in Vancouver. 

If we finish 2nd we head to the US.

If we are one of the best 3rd place, not sure.

 

 

Either way I'm sure Canadians will travel to wherever we play whether it be Toronto or Vancouver or elsewhere but all 3 of our group games are set to be in Canada anyway right? But at the same time it is all going to come down to the Final Group Draw and being a Pot 1 team as a host, we could end up with a decent or favorable group

[Watchmen]

9 minutes ago, TGAA_Star said:

Either way I'm sure Canadians will travel to wherever we play whether it be Toronto or Vancouver or elsewhere but all 3 of our group games are set to be in Canada anyway right? But at the same time it is all going to come down to the Final Group Draw and being a Pot 1 team as a host, we could end up with a decent or favorable group

I think Pot 2 teams can be tough. That's part of what makes this Copa interesting - Peru/Chile is definitely the sort of team we could be facing at the WC even as hosts. So, this will help the players set a bench mark of where they are and where they need to be in 2 years.

[masster]

18 hours ago, Free kick said:

 

Not a huge fan of this location. I would have liked to see something closer to the downtown core and near a skytrain station. Will be interesting to see the reaction of all of the tourists taking buses along East Hastings from PNE to the stadium.

[Mihairokov]

34 minutes ago, TGAA_Star said:

Either way I'm sure Canadians will travel to wherever we play whether it be Toronto or Vancouver or elsewhere but all 3 of our group games are set to be in Canada anyway right?

Yes. Toronto, Vancouver, and Vancouver.  

I always view these matches more as for locals - I don't think too many Canadians are going to be flying cross-country to watch Canada play, but I'm willing to be wrong on that. The question will be how many are able to go to CA or TX in the event we end up there. 

[maplebanana]

46 minutes ago, Mihairokov said:

Yes. Toronto, Vancouver, and Vancouver.  

I always view these matches more as for locals - I don't think too many Canadians are going to be flying cross-country to watch Canada play, but I'm willing to be wrong on that. The question will be how many are able to go to CA or TX in the event we end up there. 

I thought that was all of us here. There will be at least the same number of us doing this as the number who flew to Qatar.  

[Watchmen]

1 hour ago, masster said:

Not a huge fan of this location. I would have liked to see something closer to the downtown core and near a skytrain station. Will be interesting to see the reaction of all of the tourists taking buses along East Hastings from PNE to the stadium.

I just assumed they'd use the False Creek area near the stadium. The PNE is so far removed from the downtown core.