World Cup 2026

[Billy Hoyle]

From your own link:

is this why 34 hasn't been raised to the rafters in Fiserv yet:



I'll bet this referee was wearing the Nike Betsy Ross Air Max shoes too:

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/02/nikes-betsy-ross-controversy-highlights-new-dangers-in-american-icons.html

[jesmu84]

Meanings of things (words, symbols, etc) can change over time.

I have no idea why the official did what he did.

[Pakuni]

Spain should just go home.

[MuggsyB]

Ty Cape Verde.

[JWags85]

Today was a perfect example of why people scoffing and downplaying the US performance against Paraguay were either dopes or haters. 

The second best team in the world couldn't find a goal against a Cape Verde squad who has 1, just a single player, in the top 5 European leagues (and he didn't even play!) and only 2 guys in the Primeira Liga in Portugal, despite most players being raised there.  Their hero was a 40 year old goalie who has never even been good enough to be a Primeira Liga roster. Their coach isn't even a European mercenary, he's a local guy who has spent his career coaching semi-pro clubs in Cape Verde.

And the match right after that, perennial dark horse contender Belgium, with a roster of Champions League experienced attackers and wingers, could only muster an own goal to pull out a draw with Egypt, a national team that has never won a World Cup match.

So yea, the US firing 4 past a Paraguayan team, that prides itself on being stingy defensively, in their opening match isn't to be downplayed.

[MuggsyB]

Today was a perfect example of why people scoffing and downplaying the US performance against Paraguay were either dopes or haters. 

The second best team in the world couldn't find a goal against a Cape Verde squad who has 1, just a single player, in the top 5 European leagues (and he didn't even play!) and only 2 guys in the Primeira Liga in Portugal, despite most players being raised there.  Their hero was a 40 year old goalie who has never even been good enough to be a Primeira Liga roster. Their coach isn't even a European mercenary, he's a local guy who has spent his career coaching semi-pro clubs in Cape Verde.

And the match right after that, perennial dark horse contender Belgium, with a roster of Champions League experienced attackers and wingers, could only muster an own goal to pull out a draw with Egypt, a national team that has never won a World Cup match.

So yea, the US firing 4 past a Paraguayan team, that prides itself on being stingy defensively, in their opening match isn't to be downplayed.

Cape Verde has a tiny population btw. 

[Uncle Rico]

Ty Cape Verde.

Good.  I hate Spain and hope Russia annexes them.

[MuggsyB]

Good.  I hate Spain and hope Russia annexes them.

Only I should decide which countries to annex. 

[CreightonWarrior]

Only I should decide which countries to annex. 

What about introductions to darkness?

[JWags85]

Cape Verde has a tiny population btw. 

Pfft, not even the smallest country in the tournament

[MU82]

Sorry for my post about the gesture. I should have looked into it more. Articles today said it was just a "twitch," and he has been cleared by FIFA.

This is a disturbing story, though ...

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — The coach of Iran's World Cup team said it was ordered to leave the U.S. and return to its training base in Mexico only a few hours after opening its politically charged tournament by playing to a 2-2 draw with New Zealand on Monday night.

Coach Amir Ghalenoei didn't say who ordered the Iranians to leave earlier than planned. The team had expected to spend the night in California to maximize the normal recovery process after its opening game, only to be told after the match that everyone must immediately get on a plane for the 140-mile trip back to Tijuana.

"They didn't even give us time to recover," Ghalenoei said through an interpreter. "After the game today, they said to us, 'You have to leave immediately.' It's very important for us to have time for recovery, (but) we are asked to get on a plane and return to our camp in Tijuana, and we are really troubled by that."

https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-iran-new-zealand-score-314655749d94fe577bb2b52ebd6b32c4?

[JWags85]

Sorry for my post about the gesture. I should have looked into it more. Articles today said it was just a "twitch," and he has been cleared by FIFA.

This is a disturbing story, though ...

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — The coach of Iran's World Cup team said it was ordered to leave the U.S. and return to its training base in Mexico only a few hours after opening its politically charged tournament by playing to a 2-2 draw with New Zealand on Monday night.

Coach Amir Ghalenoei didn't say who ordered the Iranians to leave earlier than planned. The team had expected to spend the night in California to maximize the normal recovery process after its opening game, only to be told after the match that everyone must immediately get on a plane for the 140-mile trip back to Tijuana.

"They didn't even give us time to recover," Ghalenoei said through an interpreter. "After the game today, they said to us, 'You have to leave immediately.' It's very important for us to have time for recovery, (but) we are asked to get on a plane and return to our camp in Tijuana, and we are really troubled by that."

https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-iran-new-zealand-score-314655749d94fe577bb2b52ebd6b32c4?

I'm not commenting on the policy or who/what changed it, but the actual travel piece is not abnormal at all/especially detrimental to recovery.  The US is leaving immediately after their game in Seattle this week to get on a plane back to their base in SoCal.  Other teams have done/will do similar and most aren't doing it from a stadium literally next to an airport for a 25 min flight.  Also, its not even supposedly the immediate travel, they wanted to do a recovery session on Tuesday in LA.

Again, you can object to the policies which lead to the Iran base being in Tijuana or the politicization of sport, but don't hide behind dramatized narratives about actual match related performance or hindrances which aren't unique or particularly draconian.

[The Sultan]

I don't know why this is a story. They came in the night before, slept at a hotel, and then were always going to leave after the match to fly on a charter back to Mexico. That was agreed upon by the United States, Iran and FIFA over a week ago. Other teams have done similar. (The Czech team flew back to Dallas from Guadalajara immediately after their game v. South Korea.)

So either no one told the team...OR the team is playing dumb for PR points.

[BM1090]

I don't know why this is a story. They came in the night before, slept at a hotel, and then were always going to leave after the match to fly on a charter back to Mexico. That was agreed upon by the United States, Iran and FIFA over a week ago. Other teams have done similar. (The Czech team flew back to Dallas from Guadalajara immediately after their game v. South Korea.)

So either no one told the team...OR the team is playing dumb for PR points.

They were told they could spend the night after the game and leave in the morning, only to have the plans changed at the last second.

[The Sultan]

They were told they could spend the night after the game and leave in the morning, only to have the plans changed at the last second.

According to whom? Because there has been misinformation about this, mostly coming from Iran, since they relocated their base to Mexico.

For instance, the Iranian ambassdor to Mexico made the claim at the time that the U.S. was making them fly in the morning of the games and fly out afterwards. Which was false.

Furthermore, the fact that they moved their base to Mexico in the first place was due to the U.S. denying visas to "staff" members who were members of the Republican Guard who wanted to prevent asylum seakers like they saw with the women's team in Austrailia earlier this year. Mexico granted those visas.

Look, I don't like this administration at all, but it's pretty clear that Iran has been using the WC to manipulate public opinion.

[BM1090]

According to whom? Because there has been misinformation about this, mostly coming from Iran, since they relocated their base to Mexico.

For instance, the Iranian ambassdor to Mexico made the claim at the time that the U.S. was making them fly in the morning of the games and fly out afterwards. Which was false.

Furthermore, the fact that they moved their base to Mexico in the first place was due to the U.S. denying visas to "staff" members who were members of the Republican Guard who wanted to prevent asylum seakers like they saw with the women's team in Austrailia earlier this year. Mexico granted those visas.

Look, I don't like this administration at all, but it's pretty clear that Iran has been using the WC to manipulate public opinion.

A couple of articles I read in the athletic yesterday. I suppose they could have been duped by the PR though.

I don't really care about the "rest" factor. Plenty of time to recover. But if they were told one thing and then disrupted last minute, that's crapty.

[JWags85]

A couple of articles I read in the athletic yesterday. I suppose they could have been duped by the PR though.

I don't really care about the "rest" factor. Plenty of time to recover. But if they were told one thing and then disrupted last minute, that's crapty.

I hear you, but I think the fact that they were already spreading blatantly false PR, from official government sources, about having to fly in and out the same day, does very little to add credibility to their claims about it being a last minute unexpected disruption...given they are already shown to be playing fast and loose with logistics related claims. A "boy who cried wolf" sort of situation.

To be honest, not the worst play from a PR standpoint cause there are a TONS of people who have been breathlessly hammering the "worst World Cup ever" "The US sucks and shouldn't be hosting/ruining this even" narrative for weeks/months who are eager for any further kindling...and won't be bothered to actually look into the veracity of any claims or facts.  Especially since it's been a great first week with tons of awesome matches and fan experiences/stories/media

[JWags85]

France clearly felt jealous of all the press that Spain got for their opening match performance...bout to drop an xG of under 0.05 in the first half. Senegal isn't a minnow but France has looked completely toothless

[Its DJOver]

Eh, you have to look back a grand total of one (pre-expanded) WC to see how important the first group stage game is. Neither have looked very good, but with the quality of players each has, that switch can get flipped at any time.

[MuggsyB]

Messi is VERY cool.  He's really easy to root for despite the fact that he's getting old for soccer. 

[MuggsyB]

Abysmal start for 🇦🇷!!

WTF??

[MuggsyB]

BAM!!!

[pbiflyer]

Messi is VERY cool.  He's really easy to root for despite the fact that he's getting old for soccer. 

We've been lucky down here in South Florida to watch him. Even at his advanced day to see how much better he is than the average soccer player in America.

[MuggsyB]

We've been lucky down here in South Florida to watch him. Even at his advanced day to see how much better he is than the average soccer player in America.

Apparently he read Scoop before his hat trick tonight. 

Have you seen clips of him as an 11 or 12 year old?  It's ridiculous how skilled he was for that age. 

[brewcity77]

Watching Messi last night felt like watching late years Jordan with the Bulls. Just feel lucky to be alive at the same time as the true GOAT of the sport.