Welcome to /r/worldcup!

I was going to choose the most upvoted host suggestion but that person put multiple options so I'll let everyone choose

It's between

Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon

Poland and Ukraine

England

Netherlands and Belgium

Which one would you vote for?

England just sacked their manager after back to back loses in euros finals which the fans are furious of since england have had arguably the most talent on the pitch these 4 years for example nearly 1/3rd of all ballon dor nominees this season was english which makes their failures and unattractive football all the more distasteful for the fans of the 3 lions. However ive noticed going forward into the world cup they wont have much competition since the only decent teams with remaining talent will be brazil with 0 team management so they probably wont be a threat , spain which may have some of their talent pass their prime by then and i doubt they will truly be as influencial as their euro 24 campain unless yamal furfills his potential and becomes messi reborn 3rd is germany but no words need to be said with their entire midfield retired they will not have the depth in their squad as they once had with their best active strikers and defenders also currently at their 30s as well they will only have wirtz and musiala going for em which i dont think will cut it. netherlands is irrelevant with van dyk at 35/36 years old i dont see them getting anywhere without him france is in the same state as brazil and england wirh good talent but poor football and if you look at their current squad at the euros attacking wise even mbappe was ineffective and there was no chemistry portugal will either have no cr7 so no hope or a washed cr7 holdin em back so they arent optioned either.now that thats been established id like to ask a question to you. Wouldnt you say a team would have the highest chance going into the world cup having the 10 jersey of: real madrid,juve,inter,benfica and the lb and rb with the highest work rates by far back in euro 2024.you dont even need to hear the name of the national team. Id say theyd win. So my opinion is that turkiye in the 2026 world cup will be as much a dark horse as argentina in 1986

In Group A of the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, the teams include the Dominican Republic (hosts), Ecuador, New Zealand, and Nigeria.

• Nigeria is known for its strong youth teams, especially in women’s football, and is likely to perform well.
• New Zealand has a decent track record in youth competitions, though they may not be at Nigeria’s level.
• Ecuador could be competitive but historically has not been a dominant force in women's youth football.
• The Dominican Republic, as the tournament host, has less international experience in women's football, which might place them at a disadvantage despite home support.

Which team do you pick?

I am an american born player, on my fathers side his great grandfather was born in germany. Does that connection within my family make me eligible to play for the german national team?

With USA and Mexico chosen to host the 2038 world cup (in my other post around a month ago now) which countries could realistically host

Just a random question. There are several countries in the world that have territory in two different continents, some contiguous (like Egypt and Russia), some not (like USA and Denmark). Theoretically, could countries like this just decide one day that they want to swap which continent they’re considered part of when it comes to qualifying?

So we are in an international break, and this got me thinking that the last nation that was accepted in FIFA (and in every confederation that is recognized by FIFA) was Kosovo back in 2016. 

From a little research I did by myself, I found some nations that tried to be part of FIFA football or soccer. For example, some oceanian islands in OFC, Greenland in UEFA, or Concacaf and Jersey in UEFA. But all these are a few years old or lack details. 

So my question is: Are there any active attempts from a nation to join FIFA, or at least the continent confederation, for starters? If you know something or have a source, please let me know.

The only tournaments I really know that add to the fixture congestion are probably the club World Cup and the UEFA Champions league for this year. Idk the others. If anyone does, please write them down below.

Like the title says: We have a custom flair for 2022 Qatar. Can we get one for NORAM 2026?

Who is watching afc World Cup 2026 qualifiers?

Who is going to make it and who is not?

Why is China so bad? 7-0 for Japan!? Wtf!!! Would they stay home, like India?

What happened to you, Australia?!

Would Saudi pay their way to the World Cup?

Good day all.

I'm looking for the match between Portugal and Netherlands Round of 16 from the 2006 world cup. I'm wanting to download it to watch it with my son. We watching old matches I had watched as a child, I want him to watch it because it was a really Intense and thrilling match considering all the cards. We watch one to two games a week from the past and this is the match I've selected.

Hoping someone can assist. Thanking you in advance 🙏

For people whose countries have previously hosted the World Cup, what are the best small projects that have had a large financial return?

Here I'm looking for which (men's) national teams everyone thinks have improved the most over the last 10 years. I don't know much about South American football, being from Europe. I would guess, there it's Brazil, Chile or Argentina, based on some performances I've seen from them in the last decade.

In Europe I would have to say that the most improved national teams have been the Netherlands, England and Croatia. Around 2014-2016, these teams used to either not qualify for tournaments or if they did then they would get knocked out quite early on, sometimes in quite embarrassing fashion. Now all three have been getting to quarter finals at least, often the last four or even the final in some cases.

Many people new to football ask if the Olympics are major or on the same level as the World Cup. Most would say no, and that’s the most probable answer. Most people would say they don’t take it seriously. I feel like football at the Olympics aren’t taken seriously is mainly due to the case that it is not a sanctioned competition. If was more treated like a u23 World Cup, would people care a little bit More? It is essentially the u23 World Cup, due to it being a u23 only competition, with no other intercontinental u23 competition, as there is no FIFA u23 World Cup (mainly due to the Olympics). FIFA only prevented senior players from playing for financial reasons on their end, it’s actually created a gateway for new young players and stars to shine. Some of these players won’t ever be given a platform as large as that ever again to showcase themselves to clubs to develop and get better as a player, so they can become the best player they can to their maximum potential ability. Some players won’t even get a senior call up to their national teams ever again. It’s their chance to shine, as they are in fact the future of football itself. If FIFA sanctions it, teams would take it more seriously, giving the competition more value and importance to the youngsters. It would give the youngsters a better developmental platform to shine on the grandest stage, to flat out develop them better for the years and generations to come. If you want to develop your best youngsters, then football at the Olympics needs to start being taken seriously by u23 national teams, whether you qualified for the next edition or not, it needs to be taken seriously as it is basically their version of the World Cup at a young age, and it should be seen in that way. Should really been seen as the u23 World Cup.

With this year’s Euros having been completed, people would like this interesting correlation found between the Euros and the World Cup.

There have been 16 completed cycles of Euros and the World Cup. What I mean by cycles is this: 1960 Euro’s - 1962 World Cup. That is one cycle. The others are 64–66, 68–70, 72–74, 76–78, 80–82, 84–86, 88–90, 92–94, 96–98, 00–02, 04–06, 08–10, 12–14, 16–18, 20–22

Across all of those cycles, only five of the defending European champions had a top four finish at the following World Cup. Those teams are: Italy, won 68 Euros, 2nd place in 70 World Cup West Germany, won 72 Euros and 74 World Cup West Germany, won 80 Euros, 2nd place in 82 France, won 84 Euros, 3rd place in 86 World Cup Spain, won 08 Euros, Won 2010 World Cup.

Only five out of 16 having a top four finish at the World Cup, that’s not a great number.

What chances do everyone give Spain to have a top four finish in 2026? does their Olympic gold make their chances greater?

USA has the CWC hosting rights. I don’t believe they should automatically give the host club representative slot to the MLS 2024 winners. I feel like the past 4 winners from 2021-2024 should be put into a table. They will be ranked based on their performance (who had the most points, if tied, then obviously you would go down the list of tiebreakers. For example then you go to GD, Goals scored, yellow cards, etc…) If a club wins the league title 2 times or more, while 1-2 clubs only win it once in that 4 year period, the club that won it 2 times or more would be rewarded with the host club representative berth. I ranked the 2021-2024 MLS cup winners on a table. Obviously the MLS has a playoff season, so if the club won a game in that season, I added 3 points, if the game went tied and went to penalties, I added 1 point, if they won the game on the night but it went to penalties, I simply added 3 points. 2021- NYCFC: 59 points 2022- LAFC: 77 points 2023- Columbus Crew: 72 2024- N/A

Right now, LAFC would be the host representative. The only way for NYCFC and the Crew to become the representative is by wining the MLS cup again. The MLS 2024 winners have to get more points than LAFC to be the representative

If 2 clubs win it both 2 times in the 4 year span, then the process would still work the same. Whichever team won the league title with the best record in a specific year, out of all of the other 4 years, including the years their rivals won both titles and the year that they last won the title (or the year the won it again) would represent the host nation and gain the host club rights.

I feel like this point system should be used to determine that final host spot. I also feel this should be the process used for 2029, and beyond for all the future editions of the club World Cup.

I've always had the impression that the FIFA World Cup garners more attention for the sport itself, but the Olympics hold greater prestige for the host country. Is this assumption correct?

I searched for answers on Reddit but mostly found comments suggesting that the FIFA World Cup is the largest and most important sporting event in the world. Is this really the case?

The Olympics, with their wide diversity of sports, might have a more global reach. Large nations like the US, India, and China do not seem as interested in soccer football.

Additionally, the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics, which are among the most-watched events, are significantly grander than similar events at the World Cup. This gives the hosting country a unique opportunity to showcase itself to the world.

Furthermore, the Olympics usually require extensive infrastructure development, often resulting in some of the largest constructions in the host city or country. Olympic parks and villages often become integral parts of the host cities for decades, leaving a significant legacy. In contrast, apart from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the FIFA World Cup typically only requires the construction or refurbishment of a few football stadiums. Historically, many World Cup finals have been played in existing Olympic stadiums.

Soooo...while the FIFA World Cup might have a larger global viewership, the Olympics remain the most prestigious events a country/city can host, right?

However, I'm genuinely unsure. It would be fascinating to hear the perspectives of people from other countries on this topic.

There are 6 extra spots for the intercontinental playoffs. Each region gets 1 spot, but the host region gets 2. UEFA gets no spots. What would happen when an all European bid wins?

We all don’t like the new World Cup format. But I have an idea to somewhat make it better. So if you didn’t know, 3rd place teams advance in the current format. This overall makes teams play more defense football, and not going for a win for the majority of GS games. You could also have situations like Group E of the euros, where Romania and Slovakia both knew that they both had to draw to go to the KOs, and Belgium knowing that all they have to do is play defensive football. They even knew with 3 points they had a chance of going through, just like Denmark and Slovenia knew. Both had no wins in the group stage and were playing games to go for draws. Slovenia only had 2 goals all tournament yet advanced to the RO16 cause they were one of the best 3rd place teams, despite not even winning a game. The same goes for Denmark. They knew with a couple of draws, they would qualify. That’s why they never went for the win. They knew a couple of draws would do the trick. That is also why Southgates England only won 1 game against Serbia and then played defensive for the rest of the games. He was being smart, cause he knew cause 3rd place teams advance with at least 3 points, as seen with Ivory Coast and Portugal going on to win the domestic tournaments. You also saw 3rd place teams like Slovenia qualifying with no wins. You get the point, they play more defensive football and go for more draws cause they know they will advance if they play it safe. No one goes for any wins/going for the game or taking any risk or goes for all 3 points when they know even just 1 win or in this case, 3 draws are enough.

The format What I would do is still have 48 nations. 12 groups of 4 like still before. But this time, only the Group winners and runners up go through. No 3rd place teams Advance. “But bro, it’s 24 teams!” I know. I would do what the UCL does, and rank those nations in an overall table: Then take the best 8 group winners and runners up and give them a bye in RO16. The other 16 teams would play in the knockout playoffs. The 8 winners would join the other 8 in the RO16. From there it’s a fixed bracket and round robin til the final. “But. But. How would teams know who they play?” Well that’s all simple -Winner of the game between #9 and #24 face #1 -Winner of the game between #10 and #23 face #2 -winner of the game between #11 and #22 face #3 -winner of the game between #12 and #21 face #4 -winner of the game between #13 and #20 face #5 -winner of the game between #14 and #19 face #6 -winner of the game between #15 and #18 face #7 -winner of the game between #16 and #17 face #8 It would still be a fixed bracket, so after the KO and RO16 games, teams would still know their fate and opposition in the next round due to the fixed bracket already put in place.

I personally feel more teams would go for the win and attack more, just to be one of these best teams

This format might work successfully to the public’s eye/view, but I can understand if people don’t like it. But imo it’s better than some 3rd place teams advancing, with boring, non risk taking and not that attractive football in the GS. It’s mainly to avoid what happened in Euro 2024, 2016, AFCON 2023 and even The AFC Asian cup 2023. It’s also meant to avoid whatever happened in group C and E of the euros cause that all was just a big mess and joke just in general. It’s just a wacky mess and not fun football from the start of the GS all the way to the end on match day 3. No one attacks or risk takes cause they know they want to be safe to qualify for the Knockouts. It’s just not cool, nor attractive football (sometimes) to the viewer. That’s why I feel like my format improvement would be better.

Not gonna lie, I would leave all 3 of these qualifying alone. COMNEBOL has no reason to split up. UEFA does, but they have 16 spots allocated. Every region from UEFA is basically represented each World Cup, and you’re adding 3 more additional nations. Every region is bound to get represented now, even if they didn’t previously. For OFC, 11 eligible teams can qualify. I would just take the worst 4 from FIFA rankings, put them in knockout tournament. The winner Joins the 7 others. from there, it’s 2 groups of 4. They play 6 games, home and away (not sure how that traveling system would work) The group runners up and winners go to the semi final. The semi final winners go to the final. The winner of the final goes to the World Cup, the runner up goes to the intercontinental playoffs. Since I didn’t really explain a whole lot, I’m just gonna list random nations I feel would qualify FYI: This will be useful for the final part; I also will have the host nation be England (no particular reason, I just picked a random nation)

UEFA: England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, Portugal 🇵🇹, Spain 🇪🇸, France 🇫🇷, Italy 🇮🇹, Denmark 🇩🇰, Netherlands 🇳🇱, Belgium 🇧🇪, Austria 🇦🇹, Switzerland 🇨🇭, Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿, Croatia 🇭🇷, Germany 🇩🇪, Türkiye 🇹🇷, Ukraine 🇺🇦, Romania 🇷🇴

OFC: New Zealand 🇳🇿 (New Caledonia 🇳🇨 to the intercontinental playoffs)

COMNEBOL: Brazil 🇧🇷, Argentina 🇦🇷, Uruguay 🇺🇾, Colombia 🇨🇴, Ecuador 🇪🇨, Venezuela 🇻🇪 (Chile 🇨🇱 and Peru 🇵🇪 to the intercontinental playoffs- I added 2 nations for South America cause UEFA can’t have a playoff spot)

Part 3 of this series. I’m doing CONCACAF now. So CONCACAF gets 6.5 spots. So how I’ll do this is give the Caribbean zone 3 automatic berths, then combine North and central America zones in qualifying and give them 3 automatic berths.

In the Caribbean Zone, there are 31 nations, but 25 are eligible for world cup qualifying. There would be 5 groups of 5. They would play 4 games on a fixed ground. The group winners and runners up go to round 2. In round two, we have 10 nations. The nations would be split into 2 groups of 5. There would play 4 games on a fixed ground. The two group winners would qualify automatically, while the two runners up would play each other in a playoff. The winner goes to the World Cup, the loser drops to the CONCACAF playoffs

In the Americas zone, there would be 10 nations. They would be split into 2 groups of 5. They would play 8 games, home and away. The group winners go to the World Cup, while the two runners up would play each other in a playoff. The winner goes to the World Cup, the loser drops to the CONCACAF playoffs

CONCACAF playoffs. 1 nation from the Americas and 1 from the Caribbean. There would be 1 game at a fixed venue, the winner goes to the intercontinental playoffs.

FYI: If Greenland 🇬🇱 gets a FIFA license, they would compete in the Americas zone. It would turn from 10 to 11 teams and the format would change. The worst 2 teams based off FIFA rankings would face in the “play in”, which would be 2 legs, home and away. The winner joins the 9 others in the group stage (to make it 10) and it would be the same format as before from then.