OFFICIAL 2026 US/Canada/Mexico World Cup Thread

[SteelBlue]

I've been able to watch a lot of games in this WC and based solely on that, the two teams I'd least want to face are Netherlands and Japan.

[Omaha 680]

Group F : Netherlands and Japan already played to a 2-2 tie. Netherlands plays Tunisia tomorrow and Sweden plays Japan. Right now Netherlands and Japan are tied for first with the same goal differential but Netherlands with a 1 goal edge in total scored. I'd say it's a 90%+ chance Netherlands will win the group by playing the weakest team tomorrow and assuming they stay on a roll following their 5-1 thumping of Sweden last Saturday, while Japan and Sweden I could see beating each other up to a tie. I would probably give Japan the edge though, but highly unlikely by enough to beat Netherlands on goal diff should they both win.

Dont know how I messed that one up so badly but im relieved that Netherlands is playing Tunisia amd won't lose.

[BlueK]

Here is your rooting guide for the final days of group play to try to get the crappiest 3rd place opponent for the US on July 2. We get the 3rd place team from one of the groups B/E/F/I/J

Group B - Group play complete. Bosnia and Herzegovina are 3rd place.

Group E - We would want Curacao. This would require a Curacao draw with Ivory Coast and Germany beating Ecuador. Most likely result is Germany and Ivory Coast win, putting Ecuador in 3rd. Games tomorrow.

Group F - We would want Tunisia, but the only way they can get third is if they beat Sweden by 4 or more goals. Nightmare scenario is Japan beating Netherlands and Sweden beating Tunisia which would drop Netherlands to 3rd place. So we really need Netherlands to win so the worst we get is Japan. It would be nice for Tunisia to tie Sweden to get Sweden to stay in 3rd. Basically I am hoping our 3rd place opponent comes from one of the other four possible groups. Games tomorrow.

Group I - We want Iraq to beat Senegal so Iraq gets third. A draw or a loss puts Senegal in 3rd. Game Friday.

Group J - *Edit* We want Algeria which requires them losing to Austria. In my original post I thought Jordan was still alive, but I forgot this is the first World Cup where head to head result is used as the 1st points tiebreaker.

All the above being said, I saw commentary that Bosnia and Herzegovina are the most likely US opponent. I haven't decoded how that is chosen so maybe FIFA read chicken entrails to decide.

For a potential Round of 16 opponent, we are getting some good fortune. Group G funnels their 1st place to the match that provides our potential opponent in the round of 16. Group G standings currently up in the air with Egypt, Iran, and Belgium sitting 1/2/3. Belgium needs a draw between Egypt and Iran or an Egypt win on Friday to have a shot at vaulting into 1st.

Group F : Netherlands and Japan already played to a 2-2 tie. Netherlands plays Tunisia tomorrow and Sweden plays Japan. Right now Netherlands and Japan are tied for first with the same goal differential but Netherlands with a 1 goal edge in total scored. I'd say it's a 90%+ chance Netherlands will win the group by playing the weakest team tomorrow and assuming they stay on a roll following their 5-1 thumping of Sweden last Saturday, while Japan and Sweden I could see beating each other up to a tie. I would probably give Japan the edge though, but highly unlikely by enough to beat Netherlands on goal diff should they both win.

[Omaha 680]

Here is your rooting guide for the final days of group play to try to get the crappiest 3rd place opponent for the US on July 2. We get the 3rd place team from one of the groups B/E/F/I/J

Group B - Group play complete. Bosnia and Herzegovina are 3rd place.

Group E - We would want Curacao. This would require a Curacao draw with Ivory Coast and Germany beating Ecuador. Most likely result is Germany and Ivory Coast win, putting Ecuador in 3rd. Games tomorrow.

Group F - We would want Tunisia, but the only way they can get third is if they beat Sweden by 4 or more goals. Nightmare scenario is Japan beating Netherlands and Sweden beating Tunisia which would drop Netherlands to 3rd place. So we really need Netherlands to win so the worst we get is Japan. It would be nice for Tunisia to tie Sweden to get Sweden to stay in 3rd. Basically I am hoping our 3rd place opponent comes from one of the other four possible groups. Games tomorrow.

Group I - We want Iraq to beat Senegal so Iraq gets third. A draw or a loss puts Senegal in 3rd. Game Friday.

Group J - *Edit* We want Algeria which requires them losing to Austria. In my original post I thought Jordan was still alive, but I forgot this is the first World Cup where head to head result is used as the 1st points tiebreaker.

All the above being said, I saw commentary that Bosnia and Herzegovina are the most likely US opponent. I haven't decoded how that is chosen so maybe FIFA read chicken entrails to decide.

For a potential Round of 16 opponent, we are getting some good fortune. Group G funnels their 1st place to the match that provides our potential opponent in the round of 16. Group G standings currently up in the air with Egypt, Iran, and Belgium sitting 1/2/3. Belgium needs a draw between Egypt and Iran or an Egypt win on Friday to have a shot at vaulting into 1st.

[Omaha 680]

Cape Verde vs. Spain was amazing. It was like a 16 going toe to toe with a 1 at the NCAA tournament.

I missed this response. I disagree with your comparison. The stakes for Spain in that match were seeding only. Spain was never in any real danger of not going through, nor is any other top 16 ranked team or even top 24 ranked team in the world who made the tournament. The current status of Group F is a perfect example. Under the old format, Netherlands losing to Japan and Sweden beating Tunisia tomorrow would eliminate Netherlands from the tournament. Under the new format, the worst they can do is drop to 3rd and almost surely go through. Yes they get punished in seeding, but their poor performance would also punish their top of group opponents (one of the possibilities is actually the US). I will always love this tournament, but I stand by my view that the new format utterly ruined the excitement of the group stage. It is pageantry and seeding now instead of life-or-death simultaneous group matches on the last day of group play. It's a shame but I don't expect anyone to appreciate my position because I'm an old head who also thinks a 24-team CFB playoff would be horrible.

The round of 32 is the new final day of group play in terms of excitement and quality of matchups. I prefer the old way.

[falafel]

Meh, England a little overrated as usual? Playing like this they'd lose to the US.

Great effort for Ghana, very for England. They looked much better earlier, but today they struggled in Boston just like they did 250 years ago! I thought the decision to put England in New England was savage.

[BlueK]

Meh, England a little overrated as usual? Playing like this they'd lose to the US.

[Jeff Lebowski]

MESSI!

Sheesh. He is good.

[Jeff Lebowski]

USA! USA! USA!

[Moliere]

We ended up getting a new plane and taking off about 6 hours late. I won't get to my hotel until 2 am but at least I won't miss the match. There are a lot of people (US and Australian) trying to get to the match and the captain and crew seemed invested in gettting us there. I don't know if that made a difference in getting a new plane but it's nice to feel like it did.

it would be a PR nightmare for that flight to not make it. I’m glad you got there and hopefully the current lead holds and you experience a win and clinch past pool play.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Tweet at the airline. That seems to do wonders for people in similar situations

Man, that trend is so annoying.

[Jeff Lebowski]

We ended up getting a new plane and taking off about 6 hours late. I won't get to my hotel until 2 am but at least I won't miss the match. There are a lot of people (US and Australian) trying to get to the match and the captain and crew seemed invested in gettting us there. I don't know if that made a difference in getting a new plane but it's nice to feel like it did.

Yay. I am happy that worked out for you.

[Omaha 680]

Tweet at the airline. That seems to do wonders for people in similar situations

We ended up getting a new plane and taking off about 6 hours late. I won't get to my hotel until 2 am but at least I won't miss the match. There are a lot of people (US and Australian) trying to get to the match and the captain and crew seemed invested in gettting us there. I don't know if that made a difference in getting a new plane but it's nice to feel like it did.

[Moliere]

The world cup is not the highest quality soccer tournament. It is the most popular and draws in so many casual fans because of the passion involved. Think college football vs nfl. Or the reason people get excited about speed skating every four years. Personally I am a fan of the gsme from crappy leagues to the champions league but world cup is the most enjoyable.

Currently trying to fulfill a 34 year dream of seeing the US team in the world cup. My flight to Seattle from JFK was supposed to leave 4 hours ago. We sat on the tarmac for 3 hours then deplaned. Now we are at a new gate supposedly getting a new plane but there are no agents in sight. And of course it’s the earliest kick time of the day (noon local) so we have no cushion to get there tomorrow morning. Its tonight or shattered dreams.

Tweet at the airline. That seems to do wonders for people in similar situations

[Shaka]

I remember that. The key letters being PBS however. Very niche audience at the time.

This was in the mid-seventies. Soccer was the first Little League sport you could play in my town, so when I turned five..... They started us early, so my city had an excellent youth soccer program whose participants often outpaced Little League baseball. A lot of us played both. I also played in an early version of club soccer for a couple of years, but wound up going back to my city league because it was better. Along the way, I had a few European coaches, and they made sure we knew the Premier League Schedule on PBS. I enjoyed watching.