The World Cup 2026

Walthamstow wanderer

Walthamstow wanderer

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Staff member
Post your thoughts , maybe your predictions for group winners, Quater Finalists , Semi Finalists , Finalists etc , .. Whatever .

Discuss the topics, the talking points , there will be many , I’m sure .

No points for predictions .

I think it may be a whole new ball game out there , maybe a bit too commercialised for me .

I’m sure FiFA can be expected to make a bit of money out if it !!!!
 
48 teams is a massive turn off for me, real event won’t start until it’s down to 16 and in all honesty can’t get excited by it. Sure if England get to the quarter finals I will rekindle some enthusiasm but at the minute looking forward more to the test cricket starting!
 
SkellySpur said:
48 teams is a massive turn off for me, real event won’t start until it’s down to 16 and in all honesty can’t get excited by it. Sure if England get to the quarter finals I will rekindle some enthusiasm but at the minute looking forward more to the test cricket starting!
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Same. Much of them will look and feel like the many meaningless friendlies we have to endure.
 
SkellySpur said:
48 teams is a massive turn off for me, real event won’t start until it’s down to 16 and in all honesty can’t get excited by it. Sure if England get to the quarter finals I will rekindle some enthusiasm but at the minute looking forward more to the test cricket starting!
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It's a gateway to 64 for Saudi i imagine

The will want to make it top 2 in groups and not 3
 
Yup like a few here, too many teams, funny times for matches, won't get my interest raised until maybe later in the tournament.
I usually like the World Cup, sadly now I think they've ruined it plus there's not a great ammount of fantastic teams to watch anymore. For me the last great team was Spain around 10 years ago or more. 😑
 
TQ2Spurs said:
We are all going to experience what it's like for Geof watching Spurs games live!
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It's a mix for me, TQ. Some good start times, some not so good. I'll mainly watch the Australian (they won't last long) and England (not sure how long they will last either) games until the last 16.
As Niall said, there's not many teams that interest me. Most games (that's a generalisation) seem the same these days ... lacking flair. Seems to me that teams are set up not-to-lose rather than to win.
I think football needs a new and innovative approach, maybe a new formation .... something like a 1, 2. 3. 5, set-up. ;)
 
If I was tuchel last night I would so be questioning my choices. Arteta didn’t trust eze to start a big game over Lewis skelly who was very good. When Eze came on he made no difference and the same for madueke.
Wharton controlled the conference league final (I know it’s a lower standard) but he wanted to affect the game and gibbs white who doesn’t stop trying to get involved. Much prefer those 2 over eze and madueke. I actually think Eze has had a poor season other than the games against us, his stats are poor
 
doobhotspur said:
If I was tuchel last night I would so be questioning my choices. Arteta didn’t trust eze to start a big game over Lewis skelly who was very good. When Eze came on he made no difference and the same for madueke.
Wharton controlled the conference league final (I know it’s a lower standard) but he wanted to affect the game and gibbs white who doesn’t stop trying to get involved. Much prefer those 2 over eze and madueke. I actually think Eze has had a poor season other than the games against us, his stats are poor
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Saka/Madueke have had poor seasons personally, take Spurs out of the picture and Eze stats are awful as well.
 
Will do my usual & treat it as a chance to meet up & be silly with other expats that I mostly only see every 2 years, during international tournaments. Wasn't looking forward to it had Spurs been relegated, but should suffer a bit less taunting now, especially after Arsenal's failure yesterday.
The usual pub has been turned in to a pool hall, so will now meet up at the one used by our North London rivals during the season. The service is crap, beer's expensive, the landlord's a ****** & there are too many tables in too small a space, but will give it a go. There's always a quieter experience to be had at the Spurs pub as a fall back.
Have Canada to cheer on as well & they have a decent chance of getting out of their group. It's not all about the permanently injured Alphonso Davies any more. The opening match should be a big deal here.
Looking forward to it!
 
Spursex said:
I think Spain will have huge following, and they're the ones most able from Europe to deal with the climate - they're my pick as WC winners.
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Just looked and they are favourites.
Spain
France
England
Brazil
Argentina
Portugal

I've also just properly looked at all the teams, there are at least 15 teams that I have zero interest in watching.

Curacao, Haiti, Jordan, Iraq, Cape Verde, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Panama, New Zealand, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Congo. Seriously, what is the point? Shambles
 
Spursex said:
I think Spain will have huge following, and they're the ones most able from Europe to deal with the climate - they're my pick as WC winners.
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The not taking Wharton for this reason is maddening. A real tempo controller with Rice
 
48 teams is ridiculous. No group of death and not that many group games to get excited by.
I am going for Spain. They look incredibly strong, only lacking a top centre forward (they may not need one). France have an amazing front line but you need more than that to win a world cup. Argentina look they may be past their peak and England I expect quarter finals at best especially after the squad announcement.
Portugal are my dark horses. There is some incredible talent throughout their squad. I really like Vitinho (especially after Saturday!)
 
ScottDaYid said:
Just looked and they are favourites.
Spain
France
England
Brazil
Argentina
Portugal

I've also just properly looked at all the teams, there are at least 15 teams that I have zero interest in watching.

Curacao, Haiti, Jordan, Iraq, Cape Verde, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Panama, New Zealand, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Congo. Seriously, what is the point? Shambles
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The thing I like most about the world cup is seeing different teams compared to usual. Especially when theyre capable of an upset. Eg. Saudia Arabia verus Argentine, or Australia getting out of their group. However, it needs to be balanced. When there are a significant number of teams like that it ruins the significance of the competition.

The money men forget that more doesnt equal better. Maybe that's wrong, it's not that they forgot it's that they don't care. Big money will be made by those involved but in the long run it'll be the cause of the decline.

Also, new rules for the world cup? I'm a fan of most of them but this shouldn't be the competition where things are tested.
 
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