World Cup 2026

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I wonder what odds the betting fraternity will be offering on the winners of this World Cup

 

[brad465]

I wonder what odds the betting fraternity will be offering on the winners of this World Cup

Current odds for the winner:

France 6/4
Spain 10/3
Argentina 7/2
England 7/2

 

[Mogster]

Who’d be a goalie. Norway’s keeper played a massive part in them beating Brazil and then a mistake today and they’re out

England were poor, but good enough, and that’s all that matters

I think the heat and humidity had a huge impact on how the game was played. More like an endurance test which England won. Haaland looked like he could barely stand up when he was taken off.

For the semi Atlanta has A/C.

 

[EYFanatic]

I fell asleep so missed the entire match. Definitely sounds like I missed a classic. England can't possibly beat Haaland though so I suspect we're going to be torn apart by Norway.

Got something to tell you...

Watched the match at a fanzone and wow - the atmosphere was amazing when we scored. Funny thing was that most people agreed that we should have had that penalty but we beat Norway and that's all that matters

Now its time for Falklands 2: Electric Boogaloo

 

[SuspectUsual]

Funny thing was that most people agreed that we should have had that penalty

That’s astonishing even for a pro-England crowd. Spence stuck his leg out in order to make contact with the defender, he’s lucky he wasn’t booked for it

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

The matter seems to rest on the quality of teams that England have faced so far and those teams in the final two stages of this current competition that need to be faced.

 

[styles]

Got something to tell you...

Watched the match at a fanzone and wow - the atmosphere was amazing when we scored. Funny thing was that most people agreed that we should have had that penalty but we beat Norway and that's all that matters

What did the crowd have to say about cablegate?

 

[brad465]

The thing that cost Norway most wasn't any refereeing/VAR decisions going against them, it was Sorloth failing to pass to Haaland when 1-0 up and on the break; had he passed while Haaland was in plenty of space, he'd have stood a very good chance of making it 2-0 and England would have struggled to come back from that. But Sorloth's selfishness/naivety left him holding on too long, allowing England's defenders to regroup and block the shot easily.

 

[SuspectUsual]

The matter seems to rest on the quality of teams that England have faced so far and those teams in the final two stages of this current competition that need to be faced.

That’s always the case in any cup competition isn’t it? Some teams get better draws than others, but all you can do is beat the team you’re up against

I think there are two things that have distorted this World Cup in terms of who played who:

1 - the host nation(s) automatically get seeded in the first pot for the draw, rather than it being the 12 highest ranked teams in the competition. Because none of the three hosts are in the top 12 ranked teams in the competition they essentially forced Croatia, Morocco and Colombia into the second pot, so England for example were badly treated because they were drawn in a group containing a team they shouldn’t have expected to have to play

2 - the messy way that 8 of the 12 third placed teams qualified. There’s just not a way of properly deciding who the best ones are. The weakest third placed team could easily qualify if they are drawn in a group with the worst fourth placed team and beat them handsomely. There’s a lot to be said for having the “right” number of teams so the competition flows naturally 32-16-8-4-2-1

 

[DarloRich]

Watched the match at a fanzone

Can't stand those places . Idiots chucking beer around. Sigh. Also you are paying someone to watch the TV..................

EDIT - I best say this: OBVIOUSLY if people want to go there that is fine. I don't get it and found the couple of times I have been horrible.

What did the crowd have to say about cablegate?

it wasn't noticeable live imo. Also: Didn't hit the cable. FIFA said so and they wouldn't lie

The matter seems to rest on the quality of teams that England have faced so far and those teams in the final two stages of this current competition that need to be faced.

You can only beat what is put in front of you.

 

[AlterEgo]

That’s astonishing even for a pro-England crowd. Spence stuck his leg out in order to make contact with the defender, he’s lucky he wasn’t booked for it

It's a foul if it happens in the centre circle.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

You can only beat what is put in front of you.

And many times in final stages of tournements, you don't...

 

[brad465]

Thanks to Bellingham's efforts, he is now tied with Kane on goals in the tournament so far on 6, two behind Messi and Mbappe as joint leaders. Haaland's on 7 but now out of the Golden Boot race, so Bellingham could be the dark horse for the accolade.

 

[SuspectUsual]

It's a foul if it happens in the centre circle.

No, it isn’t. The referee making the same mistake in the centre circle wouldn’t be corrected because the VAR is not allowed to intervene (unless the defender happened to get a second yellow card for it)

The defender did absolutely nothing to foul Spence

 

[Haywain]

The defender did absolutely nothing to foul Spence

Apart from run into him with no attempt to play the ball?

 

[AlterEgo]

No, it isn’t. The referee making the same mistake in the centre circle wouldn’t be corrected because the VAR is not allowed to intervene (unless the defender happened to get a second yellow card for it)

The defender did absolutely nothing to foul Spence

It's a foul in every game of football that isn't legislated by slow motion replays, yes. Spence is entitled to use his leg to shield the ball - a skill taught to anyone who has played to any appreciable level - he has control of the ball, he uses his body to prevent the attacker from playing the ball without going through him, his leg's taken away. That's good play and should be rewarded with a direct free kick. "Initiating contact" is such a stupid idea from the referees.

The defender tripped Spence by accident, that's why it is a foul - apart from the stupid instruction (not a Law btw) that an attacker isn't allowed to "initiate contact".

FWIW Spence does not initiate the contact, he is lawfully playing the ball under control and does not do anything except wait to get tripped.

 

[SuspectUsual]

Apart from run into him with no attempt to play the ball?

He didn’t. He ran in a straight line and the England player moved his leg into his path. Call it clever play if you like, but if we’re giving penalties for that the game really has gone

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Thanks to Bellingham's efforts, he is now tied with Kane on goals in the tournament so far on 6, two behind Messi and Mbappe as joint leaders. Haaland's on 7 but now out of the Golden Boot race, so Bellingham could be the dark horse for the accolade.

Mbappe still seems the favourite at this moment in time and the France v Spain will be the first-played semi-final on Tuesday.

 

[Trackman]

Haaland looked like he could barely stand up when he was taken off.

First half it was like he was having a Sunday stroll in the park with him being the only one up front and not really being involved defensively with passes, thought he was conserving energy.

 

[DarloRich]

He didn’t. He ran in a straight line and the England player moved his leg into his path. Call it clever play if you like, but if we’re giving penalties for that the game really has gone

it was a penalty as it involved an English player. If it was a player from another country then it would have been the kind of cheating one would expect from a foreigner with no grasp of the concept of fair play and decency

That's it isn't it?

 

[Haywain]

it was a penalty as it involved an English player. If it was a player from another country then it would have been the kind of cheating one would expect from a foreigner with no grasp of the concept of fair play and decency

That's it isn't it?

No. Whether it was a penalty or not is ultimately irrelevant to the result of the game. However, this stuff about "initiating contact" is extremely subjective and should be binned. To me, it looked like a foul and that's what counts.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

No. Whether it was a penalty or not is ultimately irrelevant to the result of the game. However, this stuff about "initiating contact" is extremely subjective and should be binned. To me, it looked like a foul and that's what counts.

To me, the foul was perpetrated by the English player who deliberately put his leg in the way of the defender.

 

[JD2168]

Thankfully England got through after extra time & being played in very hot weather conditions.

Haaland being substituted was a surprise as even if he wasn’t fully fit he is still a menace around the penalty area.

The concerns at right back continue, thankfully Reece James is back fit again especially as Konsa could hardly move before being replaced & was struggling with the Norway attacker.

The semi final against Argentina will be difficult but both teams did go to extra time plus the air conditioning in the stadium will make it a more fair contest. The other semi final between Spain & France promises a great game

 

[EYFanatic]

What did the crowd have to say about cablegate?

Really wasn't noticeable to be honest... Thought much more about the penalty that never was - clearly deserved from out point of view - ref was more bent then I am

Can't stand those places . Idiots chucking beer around. Sigh. Also you are paying someone to watch the TV..................

EDIT - I best say this: OBVIOUSLY if people want to go there that is fine. I don't get it and found the couple of times I have been horrible.

Thanks - I never used to go to one because they used to be very much a costly affair, but this is a fiver to get in or 7.50 for entry plus first drink so figured I'd watch the first match at least and now I've been to all of them - great atmosphere with the national anthem sung with exceptional enthusiasm

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Jul 2026 ==

The semi final against Argentina will be difficult but both teams did go to extra time plus the air conditioning in the stadium will make it a more fair contest. The other semi final between Spain & France promises a great game

Assuming we have a fair ref... There is a fear that this Lionel Messi fella is going to retire from internationals at the end of the competition and FIFA have tried to fix it for the Argies to win so he goes out with a medal

Haaland being substituted was a surprise as even if he wasn’t fully fit he is still a menace around the penalty area.

Someone must have told Mr Haaland that if he defeated an England team, he'd never be allowed in the county of Yorkshire ever again (as he's a Yorkshireman by birth)

 

[Kite159]

With the talk of FIFA wanting to extend the next world cup to 64 teams, makes a bit of sense as it would get rid of the '8 best 3rd place teams' lottery from the group stage. Back to the top 2 teams progressing to the knockout stage as 64 flows better into a knockout format. Although some of the matches will be hopelessly one sided but I can't see FIFA reducing it back to 32 teams as they love money.

Might even give Italy the chance to qualify

 

[Northumbriana]

With the talk of FIFA wanting to extend the next world cup to 64 teams, makes a bit of sense as it would get rid of the '8 best 3rd place teams' lottery from the group stage. Back to the top 2 teams progressing to the knockout stage as 64 flows better into a knockout format. Although some of the matches will be hopelessly one sided but I can't see FIFA reducing it back to 32 teams as they love money.

Might even give Italy the chance to qualify

They're determined to try and put more teams in the way of it coming home.

 

[dosxuk]

Infantino just wants to shore up his voting base by guaranteeing a bunch of other countries who wouldn't expect to qualify for the finals a chance to appear.

 

[AlterEgo]

64 teams makes more sense than 48 because qualification for the round of 32 becomes much simpler. One of the bonuses of this World Cup has been the carnival atmosphere around smaller teams and a sense of occasion, though such a large WC would mean that only the very largest and wealthiest countries could support hosting it. Dual and triple bids are a bit strange in my view and underplay the role of a host country in setting the atmosphere for the tournament.

 

[spyinthesky]

Football is corrupt at every level. Players, coaches, managers, referees, owners, authorities and fans.
Why are we surprised at any outcome

 

[SuspectUsual]

64 teams makes more sense than 48 because qualification for the round of 32 becomes much simpler. One of the bonuses of this World Cup has been the carnival atmosphere around smaller teams and a sense of occasion, though such a large WC would mean that only the very largest and wealthiest countries could support hosting it. Dual and triple bids are a bit strange in my view and underplay the role of a host country in setting the atmosphere for the tournament.

64 is better than 48 in that respect, but the issue becomes the sheer length of the tournament. This year its 39 days; adding another 12 teams means probably another week at least - when will the players get a summer break?