World Cup 2026

[Tony Baloney]

No, that was an average wc not helped by the yankie pricing and trump interfering.  I think ths is the way football is going though.  All about the money

With Infantino at the helm it won't change. He's up for re-election next year and no opponent will lay a glove on him.

[JollyGreenGiant]

There can be a lot of short term memory or receny bias when labelling it the best WC ever. It was a good tournament. 2018 and 22 were good tournaments too.

France 98 and 2006 were maybe better tournaments. The flair of Croatia with Davor Suker or Bergkamp shining for Holland.

It was a good tournament in many ways. I think that

No, that was an average wc not helped by the yankie pricing and trump interfering.  I think ths is the way football is going though.  All about the money

And then you see Morgan Rogers going for 120 million straight after this world cup where he wasn't even a starter. Soccer is probably at its lowest ebb in a while. Thank God for the GAA and our amateur national sport.

Sure Ireland had to vicariously live through Pico Lopes over the course of the tournament.

When you look at Spain, and their footballing infrastructure it would make you shudder. Even England are relatively deficient in ways (for example the creation of good coaches/managers), and yet have a conveyor belt of good players.

We didn't qualify, we supplied no referees, and I'm not aware of many Irish trained coaches in backroom staff etc.

[tonto1888]

No, that was an average wc not helped by the yankie pricing and trump interfering.  I think ths is the way football is going though.  All about the money

it had been all about money for quite some time now

[Tony Baloney]

There can be a lot of short term memory or receny bias when labelling it the best WC ever. It was a good tournament. 2018 and 22 were good tournaments too.

France 98 and 2006 were maybe better tournaments. The flair of Croatia with Davor Suker or Bergkamp shining for Holland.

It was a good tournament in many ways. I think that

No, that was an average wc not helped by the yankie pricing and trump interfering.  I think ths is the way football is going though.  All about the money

And then you see Morgan Rogers going for 120 million straight after this world cup where he wasn't even a starter. Soccer is probably at its lowest ebb in a while. Thank God for the GAA and our amateur national sport.

Sure Ireland had to vicariously live through Pico Lopes over the course of the tournament.

When you look at Spain, and their footballing infrastructure it would make you shudder. Even England are relatively deficient in ways (for example the creation of good coaches/managers), and yet have a conveyor belt of good players.

We didn't qualify, we supplied no referees, and I'm not aware of many Irish trained coaches in backroom staff etc.

Pico sure to get a run out on the Late Late.

[weareros]

Will Ireland make the Spain/Portugal World Cup?

If it's 64 teams, yes. 48 likely.

I wouldn't be so  sure. Uefa will probably only get 3/4 more spots  for a 64 team tournament

If even. Infantino wants to expand to give China a chance to qualify. The Euros will the premiere soccer competition. The Fossil Fuel World Cup will always have the mystique of past glories but a rake of low quality teams. And where will the poor auld Scots find an Irish pub in Saudi Arabia?

[Captain Obvious]

Bit of an underwhelming final as was to be expected. Spain deserved winners. Argentina could have hijacked it with their ultra negative approach but would have left a very sour taste for the purists.

Tournament over all was decent I suppose but like the final and American culture in general, promised a lot more. Spain came through the tougher side of the draw but there looked to be a serious lack of contender quality overall. No great Dutch, German or Brazil teams. Portugal very average. No maverick Eastern Europeans. Italy didn't even qualify for the 48. There was a serious dearth of maverick players and strikers in general. Just everyone going through a process of low risk no mistake football, play not to lose and hope to nick a goal. The way the game has gone it's the smart approach but hardly gets you on the edge of your seat. And less said about the HT show the better.

Spot on, it's the same at Club level as seen with Arsenal winning a rare Premier League title and reaching the Champions league final with few memorable matches on route instead mostly what you have outlined above.

[AustinPowers]

This  was probably the worst WC I've seen. What actually stands out?  Cape Verde , and a few goals for Messi

The England games were  memorable, not in a  wow way , but  because we were invested in those matches more, because  most of us  wanted them out ASAP.

Germany, Netherlands,  Portugal, Brazil were all poor . France looked decent up front  at times. Other times they were dire. Spain  were a hard watch.

When you think  back to iconic moments from previous WC's ,  there were few here

[AustinPowers]

Will Ireland make the Spain/Portugal World Cup?

If it's 64 teams, yes. 48 likely.

I wouldn't be so  sure. Uefa will probably only get 3/4 more spots  for a 64 team tournament

If even. Infantino wants to expand to give China a chance to qualify. The Euros will the premiere soccer competition. The Fossil Fuel World Cup will always have the mystique of past glories but a rake of low quality teams. And where will the poor auld Scots find an Irish pub in Saudi Arabia?

And India, no doubt. The two  most populated countries. Plenty of  exposure and more money to be made

[rodney trotter]

This  was probably the worst WC I've seen. What actually stands out?  Cape Verde , and a few goals for Messi

The England games were  memorable, not in a  wow way , but  because we were invested in those matches more, because  most of us  wanted them out ASAP.

Germany, Netherlands,  Portugal, Brazil were all poor . France looked decent up front  at times. Other times they were dire. Spain  were a hard watch.

When you think  back to iconic moments from previous WC's ,  there were few here

You must have missed 2010 with the vuvuzelas blaring out at every game.  2014 wasn't great either. Brazil as hosts hammered 7-1 in the semis. The final was poor. Ze Germans won in extra time.

[johnnycool]

£100M doesn't buy you a whole pile of player nowadays.

Elliott Anderson, Morgan Rodgers, Bruno Guimaraes, Adam Wharton all being quoted at that and above.

heck, even Rayan, a bit part player at this WC is priced at over £100M..

[rodney trotter]

Italy in talks with Guardiola about becoming the new manager.  They need a lift. Missing out on 3 consecutive World Cups is really poor. Paulo Maldini was appointed technical Director recently.

[quit yo jibbajabba]

Surely for a proud nation like italy that be frowned upon appointing a spaniard

Like imagine if England hired a German.....

[rodney trotter]

Surely for a proud nation like italy that be frowned upon appointing a spaniard

Like imagine if England hired a German.....

Be more of a rivalry with France and Germany. They have went through a lot of Italian managers and been a disaster.

[From the Bunker]

This  was probably the worst WC I've seen. What actually stands out?  Cape Verde , and a few goals for Messi

The England games were  memorable, not in a  wow way , but  because we were invested in those matches more, because  most of us  wanted them out ASAP.

Germany, Netherlands,  Portugal, Brazil were all poor . France looked decent up front  at times. Other times they were dire. Spain  were a hard watch.

When you think  back to iconic moments from previous WC's ,  there were few here

You must have missed 2010 with the vuvuzelas blaring out at every game.  2014 wasn't great either. Brazil as hosts hammered 7-1 in the semis. The final was poor. Ze Germans won in extra time.

The biggest problem is asking humans to play in the midday sun of a hot country to accommodate maximum TV audiences.

[Look-Up!]

I suppose next logical step for a TV suit would be PPV.