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FIFA 2026 WC - general

Tim Pain the Nix player and current All White has gone viral on twitter/x having only 4000 follows to a massive 1.5m overnight for being the most unknown player at the 2026 World Cup. Not bad for a no name I guess.
 
NoMates said:
Tim Pain the Nix player and current All White has gone viral on twitter/x having only 4000 follows to a massive 1.5m overnight for being the most unknown player at the 2026 World Cup. Not bad for a no name I guess.
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Yes - apparently another player with a big following said he was the least followed at the World Cup- not the case now.
 
Looking ahead at some of the possible knockout fixtures and kick-off times, I'm drawn to the mouthwatering scenario which can (and hopefully will) happen if Argentina and Portugal both win their groups and proceed to the Quarter Finals where they would meet each other in Kansas City on Saturday July 11 at 8pm local time, which is 11am AEST on a Sunday. So there's an entirely plausible world where the final dance of Messi and Ronaldo (and the first at a World Cup) happens in an elimination game played during incredibly favourable viewing hours for us.

It would be one of the most globally hyped matches of all time, possibly even more than the final itself, and the viewing figures would be astronomical. I'd be very interested how it would rate in Australia too with such a favourable timeslot and almost certainly being the most high profile non-Australian world cup match ever (certainly since at least the 2002 WC...which was a different era for the sport in this country compared to today). Considering how rarely we get to watch absolutely blockbuster football matches during favourable timeslots in Australia, it could be huge for the sport in this country too.

So naturally, expect at least one of Argentina or Portugal to shit the bed and end up in different parts of the bracket (or crash out earlier than expected) so we don't get that legendary Sunday lunchtime Messi vs Ronaldo WC knockout match because that would just be too much of a good thing for the sport in this country lol 🙃
 
Wolfman said:
Looking ahead at some of the possible knockout fixtures and kick-off times, I'm drawn to the mouthwatering scenario which can (and hopefully will) happen if Argentina and Portugal both win their groups and proceed to the Quarter Finals where they would meet each other in Kansas City on Saturday July 11 at 8pm local time, which is 11am AEST on a Sunday. So there's an entirely plausible world where the final dance of Messi and Ronaldo (and the first at a World Cup) happens in an elimination game played during incredibly favourable viewing hours for us.

It would be one of the most globally hyped matches of all time, possibly even more than the final itself, and the viewing figures would be astronomical. I'd be very interested how it would rate in Australia too with such a favourable timeslot and almost certainly being the most high profile non-Australian world cup match ever (certainly since at least the 2002 WC...which was a different era for the sport in this country compared to today). Considering how rarely we get to watch absolutely blockbuster football matches during favourable timeslots in Australia, it could be huge for the sport in this country too.

So naturally, expect at least one of Argentina or Portugal to shit the bed and end up in different parts of the bracket (or crash out earlier than expected) so we don't get that legendary Sunday lunchtime Messi vs Ronaldo WC knockout match because that would just be too much of a good thing for the sport in this country lol 🙃
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In the Ronaldo/Messi era, have they ever played each other?
 
NicCarBel said:
In the Ronaldo/Messi era, have they ever played each other?
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yes heaps - Messi Barca CR7 RM.
  • El Clásico Meetings: They played against each other in 30 La Liga and domestic cup matches.
  • Goal Records: During their time together in Spain, Messi scored 329 goals and provided 122 assists, while Ronaldo scored 311 goals with 87 assists in league play.
  • League Titles: Messi's Barcelona won six league titles during this period, while Ronaldo's Real Madrid won two.
 
LFC said:
yes heaps - Messi Barca CR7 RM.
  • El Clásico Meetings: They played against each other in 30 La Liga and domestic cup matches.
  • Goal Records: During their time together in Spain, Messi scored 329 goals and provided 122 assists, while Ronaldo scored 311 goals with 87 assists in league play.
  • League Titles: Messi's Barcelona won six league titles during this period, while Ronaldo's Real Madrid won two.
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Sorry, I meant specifically Argentina and Portugal
 
NicCarBel said:
In the Ronaldo/Messi era, have they ever played each other?
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At international level they've played each other twice, both friendlies. In a 2011 friendly Argentina won 2-1 (both Messi and Ronaldo got on the scoresheet) and in a 2014 friendly Portugal won 1-0, so it's been nearly 12 years since we've seen them share the field at international level.

There were also several close misses at World Cups:
In 2006 Argentina topped their group on GD ahead of the Netherlands, so the latter played Portugal in the Round of 16.
In 2014 they were in separate pots for the draw so they could've been in the same group together, but weren't. Portugal were eliminated by GD in the group stage, but if they had advanced they would've played Belgium in the Round of 16, and then met Argentina in the Quarters.
In 2018 they were in the same part of the knockout bracket and both "only" needed to win their Round of 16 matches but Argentina lost to France, and Portugal lost to Uruguay, so we ended up with a rather dull France vs Uruguay QF instead of Messi vs Ronaldo.
In 2010 and 2022 they were on the opposite sides of the tournament, so a lot needed to happen for them to cross paths.
Now in 2026 they're both pot 1 teams who are expected to win their groups and advance to the quarter finals at a minimum, and if that happens they'll finally meet at a World Cup.
 
NicCarBel said:
Sorry, I meant specifically Argentina and Portugal
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They’ve played two friendlies. In addition to that they also faced off once in a Barça vs Juventus match in the Champions League as well as in a Riyadh XI vs PSG friendly once, their most recent meeting, plus obviously the El Clásicos.
 
I saw a post that Portugal and Colombia have never played in history!

In fact, their group with DR Congo and Uzbekistan will all be the first clashes between the teams ever.
 
JS96 said:
I saw a post that Portugal and Colombia have never played in history!

In fact, their group with DR Congo and Uzbekistan will all be the first clashes between the teams ever.
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Crazy that they’ve never played given the calibre of those teams, though to be fair with the Nations League being a thing in addition to Euros and World Cup qualifiers there’s a limited amount of times European teams actually get to play against non-UEFA sides.
 
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