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World Cup 2026 Australia thread

grazorblade said:
I think 64 would be brilliant if 32 were in the main event and the other 32 were in some global version of a europa event

You make the world cup more inclusive, but you could also have regional coefficients where wins give your country more places at the top or 2nd tier.

Also have 3rd placed teams drop down into the knockouts
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I hadn't thought of it that way. I still prefer going back to 32 but that will never happen. Funnily enough a 64 team world cup probably put us back to where there truly is a 'group of death' and there would be more blowout scores. However in terms of length it would be very similar. just 24 more games. 16 groups of 4 instead of 12 groups of 4. 96 group games instead of 72. Only top 2 progress - no thirds. The rest remains the same.

My main beef at the format (apart from the increase is the 'quadrant' protection (assuming all goes to plan).
 
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I'd like to think a B world cup with the next 32 would end up being held in the better places and being the better thing. Imagine it in England. Of course not the best teams would be there, unless they purposely qualified for the B world cup.
 
JS96 said:
I'd like to think a B world cup with the next 32 would end up being held in the better places and being the better thing. Imagine it in England. Of course not the best teams would be there, unless they purposely qualified for the B world cup.
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could also make it meaningful where all semifinalists of the b world cup get auto entry to the next a world cup
 
Why does that 4 flag mash up of our potential opponent on the countdown clock look like a country that could have existed had certain conflicts gone another way?
 
Uh oh! Now I feel like putting together the best 11 out of Turkey, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo. New rule. A select 26 of those nations goes into the group. A true world cup! FIFA will want an all star and exile team soon. UAE team is essentially an exile team.
 
who would be the ideal opponent out of those 4? Probably romania?
 
grazorblade said:
who would be the ideal opponent out of those 4? Probably romania?
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I guess whoever makes it has proven themselves. One might think Kovoso is vulnerable but they've got some cracking players. Turkey seem the strongest. Romania are such a mixed bag these days. Slovakia are no nonsense and tough.

I'd personally prefer Romania or Slovakia. Turkey would be an immense game. Id fancy them to peg back the other group teams too.
 
grazorblade said:
I think 64 would be brilliant if 32 were in the main event and the other 32 were in some global version of a europa event

You make the world cup more inclusive, but you could also have regional coefficients where wins give your country more places at the top or 2nd tier.

Also have 3rd placed teams drop down into the knockouts
Click to expand...
Most interesting. One issue might be the scheduling. WC22 had 64 matches, WC 26 will have 104 matches over 4 weeks (approx). Two tournaments of 32 teams each would mean 228 matches. Given that it seems you are proposing the tournaments be run concurrently, I'd suggest extending the dates from 4 weeks to 5 weeks.
 
Now, for FIFA’s next trick: Introducing in-game advertising breaks by stealth

“It is a bit puzzling where this has come from,” FIFA official Keith Cooper told the BBC at the time. “It is not that hot. Temperatures are in the low to mid-20s.”

So, what has changed? Well: the world. And no, we’re not talking about global warming. We’re talking about ‘enshittification’: the process in which products and services degrade over time to boost profits. It started online, and now it’s everywhere.

Nobody is denying the heat is a problem. But FIFA’s solution is a deliberate over-correction, designed to maximise revenue by stealth under the guise of welfare, at the expense of the fluidity of games that will require no interruptions.

And really, is there anything more American than that?
 


Poppa calling Ancelotti an influence. Maybe he should think on that.


Aspect
Carlo Ancelotti
Tony Popovic

Style of Play
Adaptable and pragmatic; adjusts formations to players' strengths; fluid attacking with balance.
Structured and defensive; 4-2-3-1 with compact pressing and high line; emphasis on solidity and counters.

Leadership
Calm, relationship-focused; democratic and supportive; leads through trust and analysis.
Inspirational and no-nonsense; builds mental toughness and commitment; motivational in high-pressure settings.
 
Keeper66 said:
Does this mean that they can downgrade your tickets to cat 2 or 3 if you don’t get cat 1? And presumably the price gets dropped to the lower cat price as well?
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The site says that they would only downgrade you by one level at most. So either 1->2 or 2->3. There's no option to select all 3 unfortunately. And yes you will only be billed for the category you end up getting.
 
Somebody on Reddit made a good point. If Herrington stayed at Brisbane he.could be a smoky for the world cup squad. Going to USA could set him back
 
melbcityguy said:
Somebody on Reddit made a good point. If Herrington stayed at Brisbane he.could be a smoky for the world cup squad. Going to USA could set him back
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yeah I kind of wish he finished a season and then went to europe. Reckon eredivisie/championship/buli2 isn't out of the question at his stage
 
Who would have thought the US would rig the draw via their quadrants. Oh well - just have to top the group!!

Why Group D stands out for upset potential and deep run:

Group winnability for an underdog: USA are favorites (home advantage, 73 Opta rating), but vulnerable—no full qualifying grind, recent form reliant on friendlies, and host pressure can lead to stumbles. Australia (76 rating) and Paraguay (75) are close in strength, and the playoff team (Turkey ~78 strongest, but could be weaker like Kosovo) adds variability. Opta ranks Group D mid-tier difficulty (average ~73), meaning a battle-hardened side like Australia has a realistic shot at topping it (20-30% chance if upsets hit, per expert models post-draw).

Favorable bracket path (one of the softest for group winners):

Round of 32: vs. a third-placed team from Groups B/E/F/I/J (often a weaker advancer like New Zealand, Curaçao, Haiti, Uzbekistan, or a scraped-through mid-tier—highly winnable for any group winner).

Round of 16: vs. winner of Group G (Belgium heavy favorites, but aging "golden generation," recent underperformers in knockouts) or another third-place. Belgium are beatable on a counter-attacking day (your squad's pace with Irankunda/Kuol/Volpato + Souttar set-pieces perfect for it).

Quarterfinal: Winner of that advances to QF against a survivor from another mid-tier matchup (potentially avoiding giants like Spain, Argentina, France, Brazil, England, Portugal early—the bracket spreads top seeds, and this quadrant is notably softer per ESPN, The Analyst, and Athletic analyses).

Compared to other groups: Many "easy" groups (e.g., B, E, A per Opta weakest averages) feed into tougher paths (R16 vs. England, France, Portugal/Colombia). "Tough" groups (J, I, F—real Groups of Death) are hard to upset-win in the first place.

Runner-up mentions:

Group G (Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand): Similar mirrored path—easy R32, R16 likely vs. Group D winner (USA or upset). If Egypt/Iran pulls a massive upset over Belgium, they'd have a golden QF shot in this soft bracket side.

Group E (Germany, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Curaçao): Easiest to potentially upset-win (Curaçao drags average down), but path leads to likely R16 vs. France—nightmare for an underdog.

Overall post-draw expert consensus (ESPN, The Athletic, Opta Analyst, Guardian): The D/G quadrant offers one of the most navigable routes to QF.
 
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