FIFA World Cup 2026

[Jovialis]

Really crazy game between Egypt and Argentina right now, Messi just scored the equalizer.

Since Italy is not in it (again...) I am pulling for Norway.

Edit:

Wow! what a comeback!

 

[Tautalus]

I'd also like to see Norway in the final. To date, 8 nations have won the World Cup, it would be good to have a different winner.

But it's difficult, if they get past England, they'll have to face Argentina. And if that's the case, it won't just be 11 against 11. Lionel Messi and Argentina have been handed a significantly easier road to the final. From what I've seen so far, Argentina has been favored by the referees in every game.

Is the World Cup being rigged in their favor? Maybe. This World Cup had some very strange things, the Paraguay vs. France game was one of them. How can you understand that someone playing like Paraguay, with physical violence and a unsportsmanlike conduct, would finish the match without any yellow or red cards? The referee seemed to intentionally want to harm France. Why? Because they are the biggest threat to Argentina. Egypt was also harmed by the referee in the game against Argentina.

Messi is still a formidable player, unlike Cristiano, but it's getting annoying to always see referees, and FIFA, favoring him. In a game like football, where the smallest detail can decide a match, it leaves a feeling of injustice.

To beat Argentina, it has to be in a clear and straightforward way, without ambiguous situations open to interpretation, because if there are any, the referee will find a way to favor Argentina.

Anything can happen, but the most likely scenario is a France-Argentina final.

 

[Duarte]

I'd also like to see Norway in the final. To date, 8 nations have won the World Cup, it would be good to have a different winner.

But it's difficult, if they get past England, they'll have to face Argentina. And if that's the case, it won't just be 11 against 11. Lionel Messi and Argentina have been handed a significantly easier road to the final. From what I've seen so far, Argentina has been favored by the referees in every game.

Is the World Cup being rigged in their favor? Maybe. This World Cup had some very strange things, the Paraguay vs. France game was one of them. How can you understand that someone playing like Paraguay, with physical violence and a unsportsmanlike conduct, would finish the match without any yellow or red cards? The referee seemed to intentionally want to harm France. Why? Because they are the biggest threat to Argentina. Egypt was also harmed by the referee in the game against Argentina.

Messi is still a formidable player, unlike Cristiano, but it's getting annoying to always see referees, and FIFA, favoring him. In a game like football, where the smallest detail can decide a match, it leaves a feeling of injustice.

To beat Argentina, it has to be in a clear and straightforward way, without ambiguous situations open to interpretation, because if there are any, the referee will find a way to favor Argentina.

Anything can happen, but the most likely scenario is a France-Argentina final.

It would be great to see a newcomer in the pantheon of champions—in this case, Norway. Could be also the courageous Belgium side that thrashed the USA—following the suspicious rescinding, at President Trump’s request, of the red card that would have prevented the talented Nigerian-American player from facing "Les Diables Rouges" or the likable Morocco team, but these two hypothesis would mean the tournament's best team—France—would have to be left behind, which is practically impossible.
So, let it be France.
I am fed up with the thinly veiled racism (though "overt racism" is likely the more accurate term) displayed by South American fans toward players or fans of African descent. These idiots think they are being hilarious when they dance like monkeys to mock Black fans or players. The incident involving an Argentine fan dancing like a gorilla to ridicule the Black American influencer Darren Jason Watkins Jr.—known as IShowSpeed—who was in the stands wearing an Egypt national team jersey and reported being targeted by this kind of racism during a match where Argentina defeated Egypt, is nothing new in international games like the Copa Libertadores. At one point during the match, the Egypt coach himself made the "crossed arms over the head" gesture, signaling that the anti-racism protocol should have been triggered and the game halted; instead, he was shown a yellow card by the referee. Such racist behavior by Argentine fans is not an isolated incident. Black Brazilian fans and players are frequently victims of this kind of deplorable conduct by fans in Argentina and other countries in the region. This ridiculous behavior has become rampant in these parts, having already occurred in Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, and Ecuador. The racist insults hurled by a Paraguayan senator at the magnificent French player Kylian Mbappé fit into this same context—the context of those "mongrel-complex" types who lack a mirror at home and believe themselves superior to others simply because they consider themselves white—or, at the very least, whiter than everyone else. Pathetic.

 

[Jovialis]

Since Italy is not in it (again...) I am pulling for Norway.

 

[Duarte]

View attachment 19819

@Jovials.
Just joining in on the fun. All these my Vikings could be considered background noise, and unfortunately, none of them are from Norway. I don't think I can row in the Norwegian fans' Viking ship,

0.02842615 Duarte_scaled = 96% Spain_Galicia_Early_Medieval_(n=1) + 4% Sweden_Early-High_Medieval_Viking_Age_Stockholm_(Norse_Profile)_(low_res)_(n=1)

0.02862513 Duarte_scaled = 96% Spain_Galicia_Early_Medieval_(n=1) + 4% Sweden_Early-High_Medieval_Viking_Age_Karda_(Mixed_Northern_Euro_Profile)_(low_res)_(n=2)

0.02865811 Duarte_scaled = 97% Spain_Galicia_Early_Medieval_(n=1) + 3% Sweden_Early-High_Medieval_Viking_Age_Stockholm_(Western_Euro_Profile)_(low_res)_(n=1)

0.02869672 Duarte_scaled = 98% Spain_Galicia_Early_Medieval_(n=1) + 2% Denmark_Early_Medieval_Viking_Age_Zealand_(Western_Euro_Profile)_(low_res)_(n=1)

0.02871150 Duarte_scaled = 98% Spain_Galicia_Early_Medieval_(n=1) + 2% Sweden_Early-High_Medieval_Viking_Age_Oland_(Central_Euro_Profile)_(n=1)

0.02871465 Duarte_scaled = 98% Spain_Galicia_Early_Medieval_(n=1) + 2% Sweden_Early_Medieval_Viking_Age_Bjorko_(Mixed_Norse-Insular_Celtic_Profile)_(n=1)

0.02871465 Duarte_scaled = 98% Spain_Galicia_Early_Medieval_(n=1) + 2% Sweden_Early_Medieval_Viking_Age_Bjorko_(Mixed_Norse-Insular_Celtic_Profile)_(n=1)

0.02872425 Duarte_scaled = 98% Spain_Galicia_Early_Medieval_(n=1) + 2% Sweden_Early-High_Medieval_Viking_Age_Oland_(Western_Euro_Profile)_(n=3)

0.02872607 Duarte_scaled = 99% Spain_Galicia_Early_Medieval_(n=1) + 1% Ireland_Early_Medieval_Viking_Age_Dublin_(Norse_Profile)_(n=1)

0.02872640 Duarte_scaled = 98% Spain_Galicia_Early_Medieval_(n=1) + 2% Denmark_Early_Medieval_Viking_Age_Langeland_(Western_Euro_Profile)_(low_res)_(n=1)

0.02873248 Duarte_scaled = 99% Spain_Galicia_Early_Medieval_(n=1) + 1% Greenland_Early-High_Medieval_Viking_Age_Eastern_Settlement_(Early_Norse)_(Western_Euro_Profile)_(low_res)_(n=1)

0.02873304 Duarte_scaled = 99% Spain_Galicia_Early_Medieval_(n=1) + 1% Russia_Leningrad_Early-High_Medieval_Viking_Age_Ladoga_(Norse_Profile)_(low_res)_(n=2)

0.02873782 Duarte_scaled = 99% Spain_Galicia_Early_Medieval_(n=1) + 1% Greenland_High_Medieval_Viking_Age_Western_Settlement_(Late_Norse)_(Norse_Profile)_(low_res)_(n=1)

0.02874339 Duarte_scaled = 99% Spain_Galicia_Early_Medieval_(n=1) + 1% Sweden_Early-High_Medieval_Viking_Age_Oland_(Norse_Profile)_(n=1)

0.02875084 Duarte_scaled = 99% Spain_Galicia_Early_Medieval_(n=1) + 1% Sweden_Early_Medieval_Viking_Age_Gotland_(Insular_Celtic_Profile)_(n=1)

0.02875084 Duarte_scaled = 99% Spain_Galicia_Early_Medieval_(n=1) + 1% Sweden_Early_Medieval_Viking_Age_Gotland_(Insular_Celtic_Profile)_(n=1)

 

[Power]

in my opinion national teams should have only players that are ethnically from the country . not people of other ethnicities . especially not very foreign people ethnically . for example i find it very idiotic that in the german team half of the players are black . it doesnt make any sense . when i watch for example italy vs poland playing i want to see how ethnic italians and ethnic poles play for their country . the goal should be to see how countries compare to each other . how each ethnicity ranks in football play . what is the point of a japanese playing for ghana for example . how does the japanese in this case represent ghana people . lol

 

[Tautalus]

@Jovials.
Just joining in on the fun. All these my Vikings could be considered background noise, and unfortunately, none of them are from Norway. I don't think I can row in the Norwegian fans' Viking ship,

Can my quick and crappy model count ? Go Vikings!

 

[Maciamo]

in my opinion national teams should have only players that are ethnically from the country . not people of other ethnicities . especially not very foreign people ethnically . for example i find it very idiotic that in the german team half of the players are black . it doesnt make any sense . when i watch for example italy vs poland playing i want to see how ethnic italians and ethnic poles play for their country . the goal should be to see how countries compare to each other . how each ethnicity ranks in football play . what is the point of a japanese playing for ghana for example . how does the japanese in this case represent ghana people . lol

Although I tend to agree, it would be very hard to enforce teams based on ethnicities. However, it can easily be based on citizenship and country of birth.

In previous World Cups the percentage of players who did not play for their country of birth was around 10% but this year it is 23.2%. Nearly one in four player does not play for their country of birth.

98 players in this World Cup were born in France. As teams have between 23 and 26 players, that's enough to make four whole teams!

 

[Power]

Although I tend to agree, it would be very hard to enforce teams based on ethnicities. However, it can easily be based on citizenship and country of birth.

In previous World Cups the percentage of players who did not play for their country of birth was around 10% but this year it is 23.2%. Nearly one in four player does not play for their country of birth.

View attachment 19821

98 players in this World Cup were born in France. As teams have between 23 and 26 players, that's enough to make four whole teams!

View attachment 19822

View attachment 19823

well in MY opinion place of birth is not that relevant (however it is even more stupid when the players of foreign ethnicity are not even born in the country they play for of course ) but ethnicity / blood is . i know that saying this is sooo controversial nowdays and that such a rule will never come but yeah as i said imo it should be

but in the end it is just sports so meh

 

[Duarte]

Can my quick and crappy model count ? Go Vikings!

This is it.

France has just confirmed its status as favorite by defeating the good Morocco side—with goals from Mbappé and Dembélé, the French team's golden duo—and advances to the semifinal against the winner of the match between Spain and Belgium.

Now I can also on board in the boat of Norwegian fans and row with them rooting for the Norwegian national team. See below

For a distinctly expressive Nordic component to appear on its own, those three displayed components—Nordic (Norse Viking), Mediterranean (Sardinian), and Sub-Saharan (Bantu)—would have to be inflated; that is precisely what the algorithm did, creating an amusing fiction that caters my desire of to hop aboard the Viking ship of the Norwegian fans in this World Cup. Neither Norwegian Viking, nor medieval Sardinian, nor all that much SSA.

Maybe a bastard Viking, descendant of an Iberian woman with a bit of moor blood abducted during one of the Viking raids on the Iberian Peninsula between 800 and 1100 AD- lol.

 

[Maciamo]

Have you noticed how of the 7 teams that remain today all of them, except Norway, are in the top 10 of birth places of World Cup players? It's like those countries are breeding grounds for the world's best players that they are then exporting to other countries, but probably keeping the best for themselves.

 

[Duarte]

“La Roja” (or “La Furia”) defeats “Les Diables Rouges” and will face the mighty “Les Bleus” in the battle for a spot in the 2026 World Cup final.

 

[Duarte]

Argentina vs. England and France vs. Spain in the semifinals. These were the four top-rated teams—even well before the tournament began—as the most likely title contenders. If logic continues to prevail, the final will be Argentina vs. France, and France will be crowned the 2026 world champion.