21Architect
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This is so freakin great!
World Cup 2026
- Thread starter EganSoccerWords
- Start date
Great news. I got to see it live.
The 1994 WC is what started me on the journey to loving this crazy sport. Really happy that others will start the same journey.
The 1994 WC is what started me on the journey to loving this crazy sport. Really happy that others will start the same journey.
ferrarinycfc
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You can see who voted for who here
https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...b06f2cac87b683#block-5b21096be4b06f2cac87b683
https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...b06f2cac87b683#block-5b21096be4b06f2cac87b683
ferrarinycfc
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This is how fifa voted to allocate teams
AFC 8
CAF 9
CONCACAF 6
CONEMBOL 6
OFC 1
UEFA 16
6 team Play-Off for final 2 spots
AFC 8
CAF 9
CONCACAF 6
CONEMBOL 6
OFC 1
UEFA 16
6 team Play-Off for final 2 spots
So does anyone know what this will mean for the USMNT leading up to the WC in terms of games played? I know there is the question of if the Confederations Cup will still be a thing (and who would represent the host there), and I'm assuming there would be a lot of friendlies to be had.
But my main concern is, where will the USMNT get quality games in the lead up since they won't have to qualify? Other countries during their international breaks will be busy with qualifying. How has Russia and Brazil handled this for the last two?
But my main concern is, where will the USMNT get quality games in the lead up since they won't have to qualify? Other countries during their international breaks will be busy with qualifying. How has Russia and Brazil handled this for the last two?
Good to see that New Zealand has already qualified.
I realize it’s more likely tied to percentage of teams in each confederation, but it’s tough to agree that there are 8worthy teams in AFC and 9worthy teams from CAF while CONCACAF has 6 slots. Off the top of my head, those last three are going to be fought for by Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica and possibly even T&T - a lot can happen with the quality of their programs rising (or falling) in 8 years.
For AFC, who goes after Japan, SKorea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Australia??? China - they’re beyond bad. The next 3 slots will produce some really tough matches to watch which will undoubtably skew goal differential.
One big reason why a 40-team World Cup with 8 groups of 5 would have been so much better.
Friendly, friendly, friendly. They've just had friendlies in the 3-4 years leading up to their respective tournaments. Even with qualifications going on, there are a few times during that period when teams get a break. I'll try to draw it out below:
Example, in Europe, there are 6 teams in a group for qualifying (one or two groups have 5, but most groups have 6). That makes 10 games total during qualifying, 1 home and away against each other team. The schedule usually has two games played each break, and I believe there are six breaks over the course of qualifying.
WC ends in July, 1st qualifying stage for the Euros is early September 2018. The qualifying weeks are;
Early September (2018)
Early October (2018)
Early November (2018)
Early March (2019)
Early June (2019)
Early September (2019)
Early October (2019)
Early November (2019)
That leaves 16 games to be played during the qualification time. Since 10 of those are taken up by qualifiers, that leaves a remaining 6 games to be played against whomever else. That's where the host nations tend to get their games, picking up matches against the teams that have a free spot since they don't have a qualifier scheduled.
*Note: I remembered that the new Euro Cup thing may throw this out of whack. But this is just an example of how the whole friendly thing works. Example;
Blue- qualifier game being played.
Green- open for friendly.
Yep. I am sure it will be tricky, especially with 3 host countries trying to schedule games, but that's how it is done.
Remember too that teams will want to travel to the host countries to gain experience there, so that helps a lot.
Remember too that teams will want to travel to the host countries to gain experience there, so that helps a lot.
On a related note, we can now begin the debate over what MLS should do with its schedule during the summer of 2026.
MLS would be insane not to suspend league play during a domestic World Cup. Especially if, as I'm sure they hope, by 2026 a much larger proportion of MLS players are called up for it.
Emotions.
I would imagine they would want a large number of games immediately following the WC as well. I'm sure hosting it here, there will be a lot of people here in the US looking for more games to attend.
Fiore is great. And you know what. Screw the haters. I love Lalas too.
