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FIFA WC 26 other match thread

Monoethnic Social Club said:
Starting to get some Pre-Mundial vibes going now... Spain and Urgauay "should" but I think Spain v Saudi is going to be a surprising match... Also looking forward to seeing how Arnie goes against France with a more adventurous team. England v Croatia in the groups stage? Oh boy thats a semi final worthy match. Switzerland v Bosnia is basically the seniors vs the ressies.
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Yeah all the flags next to each other starting to get me excited. Undoubtedly some disappointing goalless draws incoming too.

We've got a nice opener and the a big weekend of games. I suppose they've done well enough with the time slots for early Europe but could've done better with dome games. The problem is many dome stadiums are in the non eastern time zone so they can't play them so early.

They should have taken the risk with the weather and scheduled games around lunch and maybe adjusted accordingly. Here's hoping it's not scorching every day.
 
JS96 said:
Yeah all the flags next to each other starting to get me excited. Undoubtedly some disappointing goalless draws incoming too.

We've got a nice opener and the a big weekend of games. I suppose they've done well enough with the time slots for early Europe but could've done better with dome games. The problem is many dome stadiums are in the non eastern time zone so they can't play them so early.

They should have taken the risk with the weather and scheduled games around lunch and maybe adjusted accordingly. Here's hoping it's not scorching every day.
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As blase as I pretend to be about national rep team soccer, its hard to not get geed up by a World Cup..
 
Now that we're in May the excitement levels are definitely rising as the squad lists will be flowing through and various football channels are amping up coverage with daily previews and breakdowns of the teams and groups, I'm definitely beginning to get those feelings of jittery hype like a kid in the buildup to Christmas haha. Got my annual leave starting on June 15th so I'll be able to go full sicko and (attempt to) watch every match, although there's some rough ones in there like Spain's 2am kickoffs against Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia... gonna need an extra strong cup of coffee for those I reckon.

Here's my predictions for how the groups go as it stands:
A: Mexico, Czechia, South Africa, South Korea.
B: Switzerland, Bosnia, Canada, Qatar.
C: Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti.
D: Turkey, Paraguay, USA, Australia.
E: Germany, Ivory Coast, Ecuador, Curacao.
F: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia.
G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand.
H: Spain, Uruguay, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia.
I: France, Senegal, Norway, Iraq.
J: Argentina, Austria, Algeria, Jordan.
K: Colombia, Portugal, DR Congo, Uzbekistan.
L: England, Croatia, Panama, Ghana.

Our group is definitely the toughest to call, could put the teams there in literally any order and I'd believe it.
 
So many interesting prospects. I'm also aware there will be games that just blow over and fade from memory.

I'm not expecting much from the minnows. I think Haiti will get battered but whether Scotland can deal with needing a mandatory win is another good question.
 
Also some of my early "bold" and left field "told ya so" predictions for each group:

A: South Korea have a complete dud tournament like 2014 (with the same incompetent manager) capped off with a capitulation to South Africa on matchday 3 as per their seriously bad record against African sides (haven't beaten one since Togo in 06, haven't kept a clean sheet against one EVER).

B: Canada's injury problems and lack of match fitness for their most vital players dampens their tournament and they finish behind the two European teams, turning the campaign into a "what could have been" that forever haunts them.

C: Scotland embarrassingly draws Haiti on matchday 1, then gets swept at least 2-0 by both Morocco and Brazil so their group stage curse haunts them yet again as they are bounced out with zero wins.

D: Paraguay's Alfaroball defence frustrates all the teams in the group as they grind out results against everyone, going through in 2nd with 5 points and at least one 0-0 snoozefest.

E: Ecuador disappoints with a 3rd place in their group yet again, potentially with as much as 5 points (but Germany and Ivory Coast both score more freely against whipping boys Curacao). I'm also tempted to tip Ivory Coast to beat Germany on matchday 2 because the idea of those Ivorian wingers (especially if Yan Diomande is fit and firing) going up against Germany's fullbacks feels like a feeding frenzy, but I'll wait to see how both do in the warmup matches before fully committing to that.

F: Tunisia takes points from Japan on matchday 2 in a similar scenario to the Costa Rica game in 2022 as Moriyasu fumbles tactically and it finishes something like 0-0, 1-1, or even a 1-0 to Tunisia.

G: Egypt replicates their recent 0-0 against Spain by grinding out a vintage 0-0 haramball result against Belgium, giving them the extra edge to finish 2nd despite also drawing against at least one of NZ or Iran.

H: Cape Verde puts in a completely respectable campaign with surprisingly narrow (like 2-0 or less) losses against Spain and Uruguay before a famous victory against Saudi Arabia on matchday 3 to provide an iconic feelgood moment which every neutral enjoys, basically like a more successful Trinidad and Tobago from the 06 tournament.

I: Norway loses to both Senegal and France, causing a nervy wait to see if they advance as a 3rd place team with 3 points.

J: Argentina has a sloppy draw with Algeria on matchday 1 (continuing their habit of starting world cups slowly) but settles into 1st because Austria also draw Algeria who are fired up by revenge for 1982, and all three advance.

K: On matchday 3, a combination of factors including the hot and humid Miami weather, the overwhelmingly Colombian favoured crowd, Roberto Martinez's fraudulence, Ronaldo being washed, and Portugal playing at a lower tempo (because of top two already ensured) leads to Colombia taking a shock win and leapfrogging Portugal to top the group.

L: Panama gets their maiden world cup win against a dysfunctional Ghana team who crashes out with a whimper (maybe even failing to score), while England and Croatia play out a 0-0 and then cruise through each with 0 goals conceded.
 
JS96 said:
So many interesting prospects. I'm also aware there will be games that just blow over and fade from memory.

I'm not expecting much from the minnows. I think Haiti will get battered but whether Scotland can deal with needing a mandatory win is another good question.
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The CONCACAF minnows are especially difficult to call, I want to believe that Haiti and Panama can pick up points (I've given up hope on Curacao) but I also wouldn't be surprised if Haiti gets spanked like 7-0 by Brazil or Morocco, and Panama loses heavily to England yet again, it's very perplexing trying to figure out how they stack up against the top top teams when there's so little reference since they barely play any countries outside of the Americas.
 
Wolfman said:
Also some of my early "bold" and left field "told ya so" predictions for each group:

A: South Korea have a complete dud tournament like 2014 (with the same incompetent manager) capped off with a capitulation to South Africa on matchday 3 as per their seriously bad record against African sides (haven't beaten one since Togo in 06, haven't kept a clean sheet against one EVER).

B: Canada's injury problems and lack of match fitness for their most vital players dampens their tournament and they finish behind the two European teams, turning the campaign into a "what could have been" that forever haunts them.

C: Scotland embarrassingly draws Haiti on matchday 1, then gets swept at least 2-0 by both Morocco and Brazil so their group stage curse haunts them yet again as they are bounced out with zero wins.

D: Paraguay's Alfaroball defence frustrates all the teams in the group as they grind out results against everyone, going through in 2nd with 5 points and at least one 0-0 snoozefest.

E: Ecuador disappoints with a 3rd place in their group yet again, potentially with as much as 5 points (but Germany and Ivory Coast both score more freely against whipping boys Curacao). I'm also tempted to tip Ivory Coast to beat Germany on matchday 2 because the idea of those Ivorian wingers (especially if Yan Diomande is fit and firing) going up against Germany's fullbacks feels like a feeding frenzy, but I'll wait to see how both do in the warmup matches before fully committing to that.

F: Tunisia takes points from Japan on matchday 2 in a similar scenario to the Costa Rica game in 2022 as Moriyasu fumbles tactically and it finishes something like 0-0, 1-1, or even a 1-0 to Tunisia.

G: Egypt replicates their recent 0-0 against Spain by grinding out a vintage 0-0 haramball result against Belgium, giving them the extra edge to finish 2nd despite also drawing against at least one of NZ or Iran.

H: Cape Verde puts in a completely respectable campaign with surprisingly narrow (like 2-0 or less) losses against Spain and Uruguay before a famous victory against Saudi Arabia on matchday 3 to provide an iconic feelgood moment which every neutral enjoys, basically like a more successful Trinidad and Tobago from the 06 tournament.

I: Norway loses to both Senegal and France, causing a nervy wait to see if they advance as a 3rd place team with 3 points.

J: Argentina has a sloppy draw with Algeria on matchday 1 (continuing their habit of starting world cups slowly) but settles into 1st because Austria also draw Algeria who are fired up by revenge for 1982, and all three advance.

K: On matchday 3, a combination of factors including the hot and humid Miami weather, the overwhelmingly Colombian favoured crowd, Roberto Martinez's fraudulence, Ronaldo being washed, and Portugal playing at a lower tempo (because of top two already ensured) leads to Colombia taking a shock win and leapfrogging Portugal to top the group.

L: Panama gets their maiden world cup win against a dysfunctional Ghana team who crashes out with a whimper (maybe even failing to score), while England and Croatia play out a 0-0 and then cruise through each with 0 goals conceded.
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Great write up. Yes, I just can't place South Korea but group A feels really tight.

I've tipped a lot that Paraguay will just frustrate everyone.

I think Spain and Uruguay may be content with simple wins early on given the H2H aspect. It'll be exciting to see how Cape Verde goals. Reminiscent of Angola at WC 2006. The best goalless draw I've ever seen was Sweden T&T in 2006. Tense stuff.
 
That's exactly my concern about Japan. They may top the group but The Netherlands are tough, game 2 is a mandatory victory against Tunisia which won't be easy then Sweden will be looking at Australia's footage of how they didn't lose either game and they have their own attacking weapons. A really interesting group.

One of my favourite world cup groups ever was the 2018 Colombia, Senegal, Japan, Poland. What a group.
 
Group G. I think NZ definitely have a chance here. I'm underestimating Egypt. It's not 2018 anymore. Iran will have all the distraction and circus but their own antics should frustrate opponents.
 
JS96 said:
Great write up. Yes, I just can't place South Korea but group A feels really tight.

I've tipped a lot that Paraguay will just frustrate everyone.

I think Spain and Uruguay may be content with simple wins early on given the H2H aspect. It'll be exciting to see how Cape Verde goals. Reminiscent of Angola at WC 2006. The best goalless draw I've ever seen was Sweden T&T in 2006. Tense stuff.
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Yeah I'm also very firm on Paraguay being the most frustrating match for everyone in the group because of the way Alfaro sets up his teams, and I'm very (morbidly) curious what sort of match will unfold if both us and Paraguay go into matchday 3 with at least 3 points each. I could see us and Paraguay producing one of the most putrid 0-0s in history to ensure we both advance on 4 points, eliminating one of Turkey or the USA in the process (and I'm absolutely smirking at the thought of all the new/casual Yank viewers having to suffer through successful Alfaroball and Popaball consecutively haha)
 
Wolfman said:
Yeah I'm also very firm on Paraguay being the most frustrating match for everyone in the group because of the way Alfaro sets up his teams, and I'm very (morbidly) curious what sort of match will unfold if both us and Paraguay go into matchday 3 with at least 3 points each. I could see us and Paraguay producing one of the most putrid 0-0s in history to ensure we both advance on 4 points, eliminating one of Turkey or the USA in the process (and I'm absolutely smirking at the thought of all the new/casual Yank viewers having to suffer through successful Alfaroball and Popaball consecutively haha)
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Given it's our third game we'll know what outcome we need. Should Paraguay need a win that changes things too but they can attack well and then consolidate behind.
 
Wolfman said:
D: Paraguay's Alfaroball defence frustrates all the teams in the group as they grind out results against everyone, going through in 2nd with 5 points and at least one 0-0 snoozefest.
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Welcome to the forum! That 0–0 draw will definitely be against Popaball lol.
 
Wolfman said:
H: Cape Verde puts in a completely respectable campaign with surprisingly narrow (like 2-0 or less) losses against Spain and Uruguay before a famous victory against Saudi Arabia on matchday 3 to provide an iconic feelgood moment which every neutral enjoys, basically like a more successful Trinidad and Tobago from the 06 tournament.
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Oh how I’d love for that to happen! A tiny island country crushing the oiligarchy!
 
HonestSpursFan said:
Welcome to the forum! That 0–0 draw will definitely be against Popaball lol.
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Cheers! I was a longtime lurker and occasional poster on the old 442 forum back in the day (if anyone has back ups of the old forum they can probably find my shit predictions on topics like Aussie wonderkids circa 2015/2016/2017 haha) so it's nice to see a lot of familiar names and the vibe of the old forum still carrying strong!
 
Something I've noticed in a lot of predictions and power rankings is that sooooo many people seem to be underrating New Zealand and massively overrating Saudi Arabia. I've seen multiple power rankings that have New Zealand as low as 47 (!!!) and Saudi Arabia as high as 30 (seriously wtf haha), yet from our own experience against both in 2025 it feels like New Zealand would fancy themselves against the Saudis, so it's an interesting disparity that a lot of pundits have. I look at the New Zealand squad and they have a solid spine with more than half the starting eleven playing at a respectable level in the UK, I'm very curious why so many international pundits seem to write them off so easily.
 
Schadenfreude from my side that Saudi have gotten such a group. They surely can't avoid defeat against Uruguay and Spain. Argentina was a one off on their continent and they caved in the next two matches.

There could've been so many other possible groups and Saudi would've looked better elsewhere.

Cape Verde actually don't look as good as Curaçao on paper yet the former have been going well for a long time than the latter. Cape Verde have a score of regulars so they'll be a team. Both teams will be hoping to avoidbejavy defeats and win their H2H with a small chance that 3 points and a negative goal difference will be enough.
 
JS96 said:
Cape Verde actually don't look as good as Curaçao on paper yet the former have been going well for a long time than the latter. Cape Verde have a score of regulars so they'll be a team. Both teams will be hoping to avoid heavy defeats and win their H2H with a small chance that 3 points and a negative goal difference will be enough.
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Cape Verde and Curaçao both heavily scout from the diaspora, with the latter’s team having just one Curaçaoan-born player (Tahith Chong, born in the capital, Willemstad). Scouting almost entirely from the diaspora can give risks because they’re all players not used to the system and playing together. Eventually however the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao) and Suriname could become powerhouses of Caribbean football.
 
Wolfman said:
Something I've noticed in a lot of predictions and power rankings is that sooooo many people seem to be underrating New Zealand and massively overrating Saudi Arabia. I've seen multiple power rankings that have New Zealand as low as 47 (!!!) and Saudi Arabia as high as 30 (seriously wtf haha), yet from our own experience against both in 2025 it feels like New Zealand would fancy themselves against the Saudis, so it's an interesting disparity that a lot of pundits have. I look at the New Zealand squad and they have a solid spine with more than half the starting eleven playing at a respectable level in the UK, I'm very curious why so many international pundits seem to write them off so easily.
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I’m convinced that the All Whites are that good and more so convinced we just play shit, however I fully agree on Saudi Arabia. They really do get overhyped, likely because the SPL is massively overrated. Some kids genuinely think it rivals the top five European leagues.
 
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