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2026 World Cup
Comments
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Tempting fate.CharltonMadrid said:Visas for Iran fans not a problem if they qualify? Trump will be long gone by then I suppose anyway.0 -
With Anguilla being 206th, there are at least 13 more countries in FIFA than the UN.ForeverAddickted said:Whilst England have been battling the might of Malta and Macedonia to ensure a favourable Euro 2024 draw...
There countries battling elsewhere for the right to Qualify for the 2026 World Cup - Number in brackets are July FIFA World Rankings
AFC
Second Round kicked off this break, with each Country completing two games
Currently nine Groups of four teams, with the likes of Japan (20) | Australia (27) | South Korea (28) now entering at this Stage of Qualification - The only really surprise result was Uzbekistan (74) earning a 2-2 draw with Iran (22).
Pakistan (193) who won their first ever World Cup game in the last round, lost 4-0 to Saudi Arabia, and 6-1 to Jordan.
CAF
Africa's Qualification process got under way this International Break
Comoros (130) opened their campaign with back to back wins against Ghana (59) and Central African Republic (125)
Rwanda (139) also top their Group (which would guarantee automatic Qualification to the World Cup) with four points after 2-0 win over South Africa (62), and 0-0 draw with Zimbabwe (124) - That Group also includes Nigeria (39), who have just the two draws at the moment, both games ending 1-1 against Lesotho (152) and Zimbabwe
The other Group leaders are currently;
Egypt (34) | Senegal (18) | Cameroon (43) | Morocco (13) | Ivory Coast (51) | Algeria (33) | Tunisia (31)
Elsewhere and Eritrea (198) have withdrawn from the 2026 World Cup... Sorry Eritrean fans!!
COMMEBOL
Brazil lost their first game on home soil in 64-games, losing to rivals Argentina - We're up to game week six out of 18 games in this Qualifying Region, and Brazil occupy the last of the automatic Qualification spots as things stand, so could be forced to settle for the Inter-Confederation Play-Off route... That will be very unlikely though.
The current top six are as follows
Argentina (1) | Uruguay (16) | Colombia (17) | Venezuela (57) | Ecuador (40) | Brazil (3)
Whilst Paraguay (49) would take the Play-Off spot as things stand.
South America will take a break from Qualifiers with the next round not until next September
CONCACAF
We end the Race around the World with a brief mention for North America
The First Round of Qualification will commence in March, so something for you to all look forward to...
The four lowest teams based on the FIFA Rankings will face off against each other home and away - As things stand it'll be as follows, although the FIFA Rankings will no doubt differ between now and then, so it could yet all change.
Anguilla (206) vs Turks & Caicos Isles (201) | US Virgin Isles (205) | vs British Virgin Isles (204)
The two winners of these games will progress to the 2nd Round1 -
Have Venezuela ever qualified before? I can't remember them at a WC?1
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No, they're the only South American nation who've never qualified.North Lower Neil said:Have Venezuela ever qualified before? I can't remember them at a WC?3 -
Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana are South American nations, albeit they play in CONCACAFChris_from_Sidcup said:
No, they're the only South American nation who've never qualified.North Lower Neil said:Have Venezuela ever qualified before? I can't remember them at a WC?0 -
How can French Guiana qualify for the world cup. They are an overseas department and region of France. They must be administered by the French FA. I thought only the UK for historical reasons was allowed 4 independent FA`sMrOneLung said:
Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana are South American nations, albeit they play in CONCACAFChris_from_Sidcup said:
No, they're the only South American nation who've never qualified.North Lower Neil said:Have Venezuela ever qualified before? I can't remember them at a WC?0 -
French Guiana cant... they're not part of World Cup Qualification, they are however allowed to compete in the CONCACAF Nations Leaguemsomerton said:
How can French Guiana qualify for the world cup. They are an overseas department and region of France. They must be administered by the French FA. I thought only the UK for historical reasons was allowed 4 independent FA`sMrOneLung said:
Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana are South American nations, albeit they play in CONCACAFChris_from_Sidcup said:
No, they're the only South American nation who've never qualified.North Lower Neil said:Have Venezuela ever qualified before? I can't remember them at a WC?1 -
You can also watch Cook Islands vs Tonga on FIFA+ its an 11pm KO here in the UK on Thursday night, so I imagine Friday morning for youDanepak said:
Thanks, might have that running on the laptop as it will be 2pm here in Auckland. Sounds like a bit of a funny fixture!ForeverAddickted said:
If you struggle for sleep, or you're in another time zone you can watch American Samoa vs Samoa @ 3am (FIFA+) on Friday morning
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Surprising results from todays WC qualifiers:
Australia 0 Bahrain 1
South Korea 0 Palestine 0
Not so surprising - Japan 7 China 0.5 -
That will teach the Aussies not to call up Ashley!!Chris_from_Sidcup said:Surprising results from todays WC qualifiers:
Australia 0 Bahrain 1
South Korea 0 Palestine 0
Not so surprising - Japan 7 China 0.2 -
Sponsored links:
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The football experiment in China has really failed. Seem to be regressing each yearChris_from_Sidcup said:Surprising results from todays WC qualifiers:
Australia 0 Bahrain 1
South Korea 0 Palestine 0
Not so surprising - Japan 7 China 0.0 -
China along with India are two countries with such un tapped potential. India are often managed by English men and whilst cricket is by a long way the leading sport, football has a very strong following.Chris_from_Sidcup said:Surprising results from todays WC qualifiers:
Australia 0 Bahrain 1
South Korea 0 Palestine 0
Not so surprising - Japan 7 China 0.0 -
A long but good article here goes some way to explaining how bad things have got -https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/07/china/xi-jinping-china-football-dream-fail-intl-hnk-dst/index.html#:~:text=But more than a decade,left the sport in tatters.follett said:
The football experiment in China has really failed. Seem to be regressing each yearChris_from_Sidcup said:Surprising results from todays WC qualifiers:
Australia 0 Bahrain 1
South Korea 0 Palestine 0
Not so surprising - Japan 7 China 0.1 -
American Samoa 0-2 Samoa | Cook Islands 1-3 Tonga
Meaning that Tonga and Samoa face each other on Monday to decide who progresses to the 2nd Round of OFC Qualification2 -
Chris_from_Sidcup said:
A long but good article here goes some way to explaining how bad things have got -https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/07/china/xi-jinping-china-football-dream-fail-intl-hnk-dst/index.html#:~:text=But more than a decade,left the sport in tatters.follett said:
The football experiment in China has really failed. Seem to be regressing each yearChris_from_Sidcup said:Surprising results from todays WC qualifiers:
Australia 0 Bahrain 1
South Korea 0 Palestine 0
Not so surprising - Japan 7 China 0.
That's a fantastic article , does make me wonder how much longer Fosun hold onto Wolves with all this in the background.0 -
Possible they might have to sell although they do say they're financially ok. I guess selling Neto and Kilman has helped.MarcusH26 said:Chris_from_Sidcup said:
A long but good article here goes some way to explaining how bad things have got -https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/07/china/xi-jinping-china-football-dream-fail-intl-hnk-dst/index.html#:~:text=But more than a decade,left the sport in tatters.follett said:
The football experiment in China has really failed. Seem to be regressing each yearChris_from_Sidcup said:Surprising results from todays WC qualifiers:
Australia 0 Bahrain 1
South Korea 0 Palestine 0
Not so surprising - Japan 7 China 0.
That's a fantastic article , does make me wonder how much longer Fosun hold onto Wolves with all this in the background.
Inter Milan's previous owners Suning had to relinquish control to US investment company Oaktree after they couldn't afford to make a payment to them.0 -
Brazil lost to Paraguay last night and currently sit 5th in the group, but are only 1 point ahead of 8th which would knock them out.
Looked at their lineup and their decline from the teams of old is crazy. Started with a midfield trio that play for Wolves, West Ham and Newcastle. In an attempt to save the game they put on Pedro from Brighton and Lucas Moura who Spurs let go last season.
They'll still qualify as it's almost harder to not qualify from South America, but i can't believe how bad they've become.1 -
Paraguay have 9 points from 8 games despite only scoring 2 goals!3
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Doesn’t even scratch the surface, Liverpool have an academy here that currently has 0 full time coaches, the last one quit to teach PE at the school I work at.Chris_from_Sidcup said:
A long but good article here goes some way to explaining how bad things have got -https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/07/china/xi-jinping-china-football-dream-fail-intl-hnk-dst/index.html#:~:text=But more than a decade,left the sport in tatters.follett said:
The football experiment in China has really failed. Seem to be regressing each yearChris_from_Sidcup said:Surprising results from todays WC qualifiers:
Australia 0 Bahrain 1
South Korea 0 Palestine 0
Not so surprising - Japan 7 China 0.0 -
Sponsored links:
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That's the same for Guadeloupe and Martinique.ForeverAddickted said:
French Guiana cant... they're not part of World Cup Qualification, they are however allowed to compete in the CONCACAF Nations Leaguemsomerton said:
How can French Guiana qualify for the world cup. They are an overseas department and region of France. They must be administered by the French FA. I thought only the UK for historical reasons was allowed 4 independent FA`sMrOneLung said:
Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana are South American nations, albeit they play in CONCACAFChris_from_Sidcup said:
No, they're the only South American nation who've never qualified.North Lower Neil said:Have Venezuela ever qualified before? I can't remember them at a WC?1 -
Surely half time can be no longer than 15 mins?ForeverAddickted said:1 -
Might sound far fetched, but wouldn’t surprise me if they use the weather (ridiculously hot) as some sort of way to justify a longer half time in World Cup games so they can shoehorn more stuff like this in.3
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Will almost certainly be longer now, i'm pretty sure the Superbowl half time is about 25 minutes. 5 minutes to get the stage and everything rushed onto the pitch and set up, up to 15 minutes for the artist performance and then 5 minutes to dismantle everything and clear the pitch.ValleyGary said:
Surely half time can be no longer than 15 mins?ForeverAddickted said:
If it's as hot in the US as it's expected to be, i'm sure the players won't mind a few extra minutes break.0 -
If you’ve ever watched South American football, you’ll know that half time is often much longer than 15 mins.0
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Draw for UEFA qualifying will take place on December 13th.
- 12 groups of either four or five teams- 12 group winners will qualify automatically for the tournament- 12 group runners up will move on to playoffs
- 4 best Nations League teams not included in the above will also join the playoffs
- the above 16 teams will be split into four “paths” (semi final & final) with the winner of each path qualifying for the tournament3 -
England are guaranteed to be in Pot 1 and thus avoid the likes of France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium in their qualifying group.
https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/42364120/uefa-nations-league-whats-stake-2026-world-cup-qualifying-impact
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That's still as clear as mud to me. Apart from the fact we are one of top seeds for the WC draw (Dec 13th ?). And we dont have International matches in March.......although I still expect there is an International "break" where we play friendlies.Callumcafc said:England are guaranteed to be in Pot 1 and thus avoid the likes of France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium in their qualifying group.
https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/42364120/uefa-nations-league-whats-stake-2026-world-cup-qualifying-impact1 -
Two friendlies penciled in for March . Opponents to be announcedgolfaddick said:
That's still as clear as mud to me. Apart from the fact we are one of top seeds for the WC draw (Dec 13th ?). And we dont have International matches in March.......although I still expect there is an International "break" where we play friendlies.Callumcafc said:England are guaranteed to be in Pot 1 and thus avoid the likes of France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium in their qualifying group.
https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/42364120/uefa-nations-league-whats-stake-2026-world-cup-qualifying-impact1 -
Let's play Qatar and Saudi Arabia, a past World Cup host and a future one.0
