I could get to Toronto (under 2 hours) or NYC easily enough, but I loathe what FIFA did with ticket prices and diluting the early rounds by expanding the pool of teams. Wild money grabs, I think, will blow a huge chance for them from expanding football/soccer's reach in the US and Canada.

As a very casual fan, I was excited when it was announced North America would host. But once details emerged, I saw no reason to attend at the prices offered, esp when I also know the experience around and in the stadiums will have an added hassle.

Television, in a bar or at home will have to do.

FIFA's ticket sales strategy made Live Nation look like kindergartners.

Let's see — the Bravehearts should take the lead in Group C !
Amazing !

Australia 2-0 Turkey!

A cracking start for the Aussies, there. As an Englishman with celtic blood, I do congratulate my fellow Britons, Scotland; though they’ll really need to up there game.

Rod Stewart in Massachusetts for the Scotland - Haiti match, June 13:


Martin Rickett/PA


Javier Garcia/Shutterstock

Damn, these Japanese are dangerous!

And the Dutch have no real power !



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026-06-15 01:15 by TheflyingDutchman.

Shibuya Scramble Crossing, Tokyo — the moment the game finished (around 7 in the morning):

[video.twimg.com]

After the 7-1 and 5-1 German and Swedish drubbings respectively, I do sense the disparity in quality between the ‘usual’ WC finals participating nations and some of these relative minnows who’ve benefited from the 48-team expansion. I can envisage a fair few cricket scores are forthcoming. Who are Spain playing later?

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Big Al
Australia 2-0 Turkey!

A cracking start for the Aussies, there. As an Englishman with celtic blood, I do congratulate my fellow Britons, Scotland; though they’ll really need to up there game.

I didn't watch it (I'm a Hearts fan with a major axe to grind with the Scottish Football Association & League after how our season ended) but I understand we (Scotland) were extremely poor and very lucky to get away with it. Brazil & Morocco are ranked 6th & 7th in the World respectively and both will take us to the cleaners unless there's drastic improvement.

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Big Al
After the 7-1 and 5-1 German and Swedish drubbings respectively, I do sense the disparity in quality between the ‘usual’ WC finals participating nations and some of these relative minnows who’ve benefited from the 48-team expansion. I can envisage a fair few cricket scores are forthcoming. Who are Spain playing later?

Tunisia FA fired their coach today, after the 1-5 defeat vs Sweden yesterday. I would say that is a panic decition. The coach was trusted 24 hours ago, today they think they will manage better without him. Tunisia is ranked lowest in FIFA World Cup 2026 Group F. The other teams in that group are The Netherlands (Top 10 ranked) and Japan (Top 20 ranked). Good luck with a new coach.

Curaçao is a strange team. Just one player in the team is born on the island, the rest of the players are born in The Netherlands With FIFA ranking 82 they should be happy just to make it into the World Cup. The "German" Group E should be a walk in the park for Germany, but you never know, every game must be played, and there have been surprises in the World Cup before.

There is no harm in loosing 1-5 or 1-7 in the World Cup. As long as you are qualified, you have made it, and you do your best. Scoring a goal may feel like a victory in itself to many lower ranked teams. A good example is the 1-1 game the other day between Quatar and Switzerland. I saw parts of that game. Quatar fought hard, played a good system, and Switzerland lacked the power that a FIFA ranked top 20 team should have.

Spain will be playing against Cape Verde later today. Spain should win all the games of that group. May be they win the entire world cup, they are one of the strongest teams in the world.

Bjornulf

Tunisia were a bit unlucky against Sweden. The 2-2 they were going for went 1-3 ( a defender mistake). After that they, more or less, gave up. Hence 5-1.

Teams quality? There are 48 teams in World Cup now as opposed to 24 before 1998. Of course that makes a difference.
In the end one of the usual suspects will, usually, win though. Unless there will be an upset this time around?

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josepi
FIFA's ticket sales strategy made Live Nation look like kindergartners.

FYI - I heard that ticket prices dropped significantly on the secondary market platforms on the day of the games.

Sounds familiar to what I have done for the Stones for the last few years.

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spikenyc

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josepi
FIFA's ticket sales strategy made Live Nation look like kindergartners.

FYI - I heard that ticket prices dropped significantly on the secondary market platforms on the day of the games.

Sounds familiar to what I have done for the Stones for the last few years.

Two days ago I checked prices for USA v Australia (this Friday) direct from FIFA. There were a handful of seats 2 rows from the pitch listed at $1,200. WAY down from the $10k+ they were asking a few weeks ago.

In Miami, the ticket prices for today’s match seem to have risen a bit.

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bv


Spain will be playing against Cape Verde later today. Spain should win all the games of that group. May be they win the entire world cup, they are one of the strongest teams in the world.

Interesting things can happen. Bravo goalkeeper Vozinha.

Spain - Cape Verde 0-0

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TheflyingDutchman

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bv


Spain will be playing against Cape Verde later today. Spain should win all the games of that group. May be they win the entire world cup, they are one of the strongest teams in the world.

Interesting things can happen. Bravo goalkeeper Vozinha.

Spain - Cape Verde 0-0

No only was Spain far from its best, but Cape Verde's goalkeeper had the game of his life.

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bv
Spain should win all the games of that group.

minus one…

Just watched the end of the Egypt vs Belgium match. Admittedly, I’m not a soccer fan, although I’m a huge sports fan, so I don’t know anything about the game. But, what the hell is up with any sporting event ending in a tie? Don’t know about you all, but it is a turnoff for me. Give me a winner and a loser. As a casual basketball player, I honestly think I’d be happier losing a game than tying one. Give me resolution!

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NashvilleBlues
Just watched the end of the Egypt vs Belgium match. Admittedly, I’m not a soccer fan, although I’m a huge sports fan, so I don’t know anything about the game. But, what the hell is up with any sporting event ending in a tie? Don’t know about you all, but it is a turnoff for me. Give me a winner and a loser. As a casual basketball player, I honestly think I’d be happier losing a game than tying one. Give me resolution!

Well, the event is called the World Cup and is lasting for more than a month. In the end there will be a winner - one out of 48 nations. I know you don't get it, but right now it is the group stages to decide what teams will proceed to the knock out stages, starting on June 28. Then every game will be decided with a winner and a loser all the way to the final on July 19. I sort of get your point, the group stages in general is boring compared with the knock out rounds. This is the longest (and probably the most boring) world cup ever because of the amount of teams (only so that FIFA and broadcasters can have more games and thus make more money on the expanse of quality). Also, FIFA is ruining the games with artifical 'hydration breaks' so that they can have commercial breaks interrupting the games. I know this is common in American sports, but outside of the USA it is really a sin to have commercial breaks DURING a football (soccer) game - and especially in a world cup.

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The Worst.

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NashvilleBlues
Just watched the end of the Egypt vs Belgium match. Admittedly, I’m not a soccer fan, although I’m a huge sports fan, so I don’t know anything about the game. But, what the hell is up with any sporting event ending in a tie? Don’t know about you all, but it is a turnoff for me. Give me a winner and a loser. As a casual basketball player, I honestly think I’d be happier losing a game than tying one. Give me resolution!

Well, the event is called the World Cup and is lasting for more than a month. In the end there will be a winner - one out of 48 nations. I know you don't get it, but right now it is the group stages to decide what teams will proceed to the knock out stages, starting on June 28. Then every game will be decided with a winner and a loser all the way to the final on July 19. I sort of get your point, the group stages in general is boring compared with the knock out rounds. This is the longest (and probably the most boring) world cup ever because of the amount of teams (only so that FIFA and broadcasters can have more games and thus make more money on the expanse of quality). Also, FIFA is ruining the games with artifical 'hydration breaks' so that they can have commercial breaks interrupting the games. I know this is common in American sports, but outside of the USA it is really a sin to have commercial breaks DURING a football (soccer) game - and especially in a world cup.

That all makes sense, and I appreciate your feedback. But, you never really addressed why they can’t determine a winner in the early stages. If they can do it later on, why not do it now? Wouldn’t it be more exciting? Wouldn’t they make more money through extended play (commercials)?

There are two main formats in football/soccer: Cup and league.

In a cup you have knock out stages, where teams will knock each other out round by round until there are only two teams left in a final. A league format normally span over a longer period where a win gives three points, a draw gives one point and a loss gives zero points. All teams play each other home and away, and the team with the most points win the league at the end of the season.
So, let’s say in Europe, you have domestic leagues (Premier League in England, Bundesliga in Germany, Serie A in Italy, La Liga in Spain etc.) normally with 20 teams who play 38 games during a season where you end up with a winner (the teams with most points collected). Then you have domestic cup competitions, the most famous being the FA Cup in England.

The World Cup is a combination of these two formats. The group stages are based on the league format: 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss. Normally the two best teams proceed to the knock-out stages that is based on a cup format.

PS: The final match day in a group stage can provide some drama and excitement. For some teams 1 point will be enough to proceed, other teams may need to win and get all 3 points. This will impact tactics, approach, and strategy for that game. If teams end up with an equal amount of points, the goal difference will decide. The tightest group ever in World Cup history, was group E in World Cup 1994 with Mexico, Italy, Ireland, and Norway. Each country had one win, one draw, one loss (a total of 4 points each) and zero in goal difference. Mexico won the group with 3-3 in goal difference (because they scored the most goals), Norway came last with 1-1 in goal difference (because they scored only one). This shows how exciting group stages can be: If Norway had won 2-0 against Mexico instead of 1-0, they would have won the group with 1+ goal in goal difference.

^Thank you.

Off topic a bit, but what is the feeling in Italy about the national team’s terrible failure to make the World Cup tournament again this year.Do they blame the players, the management , the Italian soccer leagues?

Haven't seen it mentioned here, but Fox One is streaming all the games in 4k.

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NashvilleBlues
That all makes sense, and I appreciate your feedback. But, you never really addressed why they can’t determine a winner in the early stages. If they can do it later on, why not do it now? Wouldn’t it be more exciting? Wouldn’t they make more money through extended play (commercials)?

The winner in the early stages is the team with the most points after playing the other teams in their group (3 matches in this case). You get 3 points if you win, 1 point for a draw and no points if you lose. Draws actually add excitement, it puts a lot of pressure on teams to really win to next game to keep a chance to move to the next round.

Well done, Cape Verde - a genuine surprise result,

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NashvilleBlues
Just watched the end of the Egypt vs Belgium match. Admittedly, I’m not a soccer fan, although I’m a huge sports fan, so I don’t know anything about the game. But, what the hell is up with any sporting event ending in a tie? Don’t know about you all, but it is a turnoff for me. Give me a winner and a loser. As a casual basketball player, I honestly think I’d be happier losing a game than tying one. Give me resolution!

Football (soccer) is the only sport in the world which one could compare to war. In war you sometimes get a stalemate and arguably there are no winners in war. Draws are underestimated.

As an Arsenal fan one of my absolute favourite games ever played was man united vs Arsenal in 2003, 0-0 in Manchester. No goals but the game was absolutely magical. Football is so much more than just about goals or beautiful attacking football. I think the game mentioned is on youtube, check it out. Lots of ACTION.
Additionaly, I almost exclusively only bet on draws, that's where the big money is.

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NashvilleBlues
Just watched the end of the Egypt vs Belgium match. Admittedly, I’m not a soccer fan, although I’m a huge sports fan, so I don’t know anything about the game. But, what the hell is up with any sporting event ending in a tie? Don’t know about you all, but it is a turnoff for me. Give me a winner and a loser. As a casual basketball player, I honestly think I’d be happier losing a game than tying one. Give me resolution!

It's perfectly simple. You hit the ball with your body except the hands and arms, although the keeper is allowed to. . Preferably in the direction of the opponent's goal. Draws are possible, but exceptions make the rule. Just like in Chess.

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MadMax

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NashvilleBlues
Just watched the end of the Egypt vs Belgium match. Admittedly, I’m not a soccer fan, although I’m a huge sports fan, so I don’t know anything about the game. But, what the hell is up with any sporting event ending in a tie? Don’t know about you all, but it is a turnoff for me. Give me a winner and a loser. As a casual basketball player, I honestly think I’d be happier losing a game than tying one. Give me resolution!

Football (soccer) is the only sport in the world which one could compare to war. In war you sometimes get a stalemate and arguably there are no winners in war. Draws are underestimated.

As an Arsenal fan one of my absolute favourite games ever played was man united vs Arsenal in 2003, 0-0 in Manchester. No goals but the game was absolutely magical. Football is so much more than just about goals or beautiful attacking football. I think the game mentioned is on youtube, check it out. Lots of ACTION.
Additionaly, I almost exclusively only bet on draws, that's where the big money is.

As a Man Utd fan during my childhood and teenage years, one of my most memorable moments was during the 1998-99 season F.A. Cup tie against Arsenal, when Berkamp missed a penalty, only for Giggs to then take on the entire Gunners defence, before blasting the ball past a hapless David Seaman

32 teams of 48 will make it to the knockout stage. That's why a win in the group stage is crucial. A win and a draw and you're, most likely, through to next stage.
3 points may be enough - but then you'll have to rely on goal difference. 3 draws? That may be enough too...