WC 2026 hot takes

[tazarbm]

I'm pissed!

I watched the draw for 2026 WC's groups and some YT vids on various scenarios (groups of death, rankings, etc) and all of the moronic idiots that I've watched are f**ing clueless about this sport...

They've invented labels like "group of life" when - until recently (when americans started pretending to care about football around 2020) - there was only the group of death and nothing else! PERIOD!...

They also invented bogus metrics like xG (whatever the hell this crap is, I don't even want to know what it is as I don't care about it in the slightest because it shouldn't exist)...

And on top of these, I've noticed some of these people referring to ugly as fuck groups as "cinema" (which - to my understanding - when you're referring to something as "cinema" it means that THAT particular thing is beautiful / scenic / entertaining). But these morons are calling groups that are not very pleasing as being "cinema", and only because they're hyped for the headlines (Mbappe vs Haaland, Senegal vs France, etc)...

Yes, group I (France, Senegal, Norway + 1) is indeed the group of death and an interesting (interesting as in "must watch") one for sure. But cinema?? Really? This group will be a borefest, if there will be 10 goals scored in the 6 matches of this group we should consider ourselves lucky... If any group is going to be cinema then that's the groups with offense-oriented teams like Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Japan, etc. and not groups with well-structured, defense-oriented teams like France or Norway. Fucking morons!

Anyway, as I said, I am very pissed after watching these clueless clones that are repeating each other like braindead idiots, and since I can't take my frustration on YT (I'm shadowbanned or something, because I call people out on their bullshit), I will have my say in here, and maybe I'll also spark more interest in the biggest sporting event on the planet

So, here are my HOT takes for the upcoming 2026 WC in case that anyone cares (I will make 1 hot take per group, although I could definitely come up with more, but let's keep it to a minimum for now):

Group A (Mexico, South Africa, South Korea + 1)... if Denmark qualify, they top this group
Group B (Canada, Switzerland, Qatar + 1)... if Italy qualify, they finish 3rd in this group, if Wales qualify, they finish 2nd (before Canada)
Group C (Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland)... Haiti draws both Scotland and Morocco
Group D (USA, Paraguay, Australia + 1)... there will be a maximum of 2 points between the 1st team, and the 4th team in this group, no matter who the 4th team is
Group E (Germany, Curacao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador)... Curacao beats Ivory Coast 2-0
Group F (Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia + 1)... Tunisia doesn't lose either against Japan, or the Netherlands, and - furthermore - they beat one of these 2 teams
Group G (Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand)... New Zealand hold Belgium to a scoreless draw
Group H (Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay).... Uruguay tops the group
Group I (France, Senegal, Norway + 1).... Senegal don't concede more than 1 goal per game both against France and Norway
Group J (Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan)... Jordan will be the team with the most conceded goals in the group stage (across all groups)
Group K (Portugal, Uzbekistan, Colombia + 1)... Uzbekistan don't score a single goal against Portugal or Colombia
Group L (England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama)... Panama will beat Ghana 1-0, finish 3rd in the group, and thus eliminate Ghana

There, these are real hot takes! Fight me!

 

[Deleted member 731332]

Ngl I’m American and I still don’t care about soccer no pretends here

 

[Builder Dave]

I'm not at all hyped about the WC yet, but I'm sure I'll watch a lot of it.

Regarding xG, it's a very useful metric. As long as you understand what it actually is, it can be pretty insightful in some cases.

Let's see if we remember to come back to your predictions after the group stage is done. I expect that at least some will turn out to be correct.

 

[tazarbm]

Ngl I’m American and I still don’t care about soccer no pretends here

honesty goes a long way, so all good

This being said, football (soccer as you guys call it) is still the number 1 sport worldwide, and the WC (which YOUR country hosts btw ) is the number 1 sporting event on the planet... actually, some years ago it was #2 after Tour de France, but I'm not sure that TdF is still #1...

But it doesn't matter whether you like football or something else, to each their own

I'm not at all hyped about the WC yet, but I'm sure I'll watch a lot of it.

you will become hyped for it as the kickoff approaches in June, believe me! If you're even remotely into football, as soon as the bug (football fever) takes over the world 1-2 weeks before the tournament starts you will get telepathically enthralled by it too, I've seen it happen too many times over 40 years of existence to know that it's true, every 4 years when the WC takes place I have friends and family members who tune in just for the vibes even though they don't know lick about the sport

Regarding xG, it's a very useful metric. As long as you understand what it actually is, it can be pretty insightful in some cases.

no, it's not! I have no idea what this retarded metric is (nor do I care about getting educated about bogus metrics that bored stats nerds invent for this very beautiful sport), but we've managed without it for nearly 200 years, I'm sure we can continue doing so until the sport dies (if ever). So, there really is no need for that crap...

Let's see if we remember to come back to your predictions after the group stage is done. I expect that at least some will turn out to be correct.

I hope that you don't remember ('cause I will get a lot of them wrong ), but yeah, some of them will be correct for sure. The ones for groups D, E, J, and L in particular I feel very confident about

 

[Ben Arthur]

I'm pissed!

I watched the draw for 2026 WC's groups and some YT vids on various scenarios (groups of death, rankings, etc) and all of the moronic idiots that I've watched are f**ing clueless about this sport...

They've invented labels like "group of life" when - until recently (when americans started pretending to care about football around 2020) - there was only the group of death and nothing else! PERIOD!...

They also invented bogus metrics like xG (whatever the hell this crap is, I don't even want to know what it is as I don't care about it in the slightest because it shouldn't exist)...

And on top of these, I've noticed some of these people referring to ugly as fuck groups as "cinema" (which - to my understanding - when you're referring to something as "cinema" it means that THAT particular thing is beautiful / scenic / entertaining). But these morons are calling groups that are not very pleasing as being "cinema", and only because they're hyped for the headlines (Mbappe vs Haaland, Senegal vs France, etc)...

Yes, group I (France, Senegal, Norway + 1) is indeed the group of death and an interesting (interesting as in "must watch") one for sure. But cinema?? Really? This group will be a borefest, if there will be 10 goals scored in the 6 matches of this group we should consider ourselves lucky... If any group is going to be cinema then that's the groups with offense-oriented teams like Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Japan, etc. and not groups with well-structured, defense-oriented teams like France or Norway. Fucking morons!

Anyway, as I said, I am very pissed after watching these clueless clones that are repeating each other like braindead idiots, and since I can't take my frustration on YT (I'm shadowbanned or something, because I call people out on their bullshit), I will have my say in here, and maybe I'll also spark more interest in the biggest sporting event on the planet

So, here are my HOT takes for the upcoming 2026 WC in case that anyone cares (I will make 1 hot take per group, although I could definitely come up with more, but let's keep it to a minimum for now):

Group A (Mexico, South Africa, South Korea + 1)... if Denmark qualify, they top this group
Group B (Canada, Switzerland, Qatar + 1)... if Italy qualify, they finish 3rd in this group, if Wales qualify, they finish 2nd (before Canada)
Group C (Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland)... Haiti draws both Scotland and Morocco
Group D (USA, Paraguay, Australia + 1)... there will be a maximum of 2 points between the 1st team, and the 4th team in this group, no matter who the 4th team is
Group E (Germany, Curacao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador)... Curacao beats Ivory Coast 2-0
Group F (Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia + 1)... Tunisia doesn't lose either against Japan, or the Netherlands, and - furthermore - they beat one of these 2 teams
Group G (Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand)... New Zealand hold Belgium to a scoreless draw
Group H (Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay).... Uruguay tops the group
Group I (France, Senegal, Norway + 1).... Senegal don't concede more than 1 goal per game both against France and Norway
Group J (Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan)... Jordan will be the team with the most conceded goals in the group stage (across all groups)
Group K (Portugal, Uzbekistan, Colombia + 1)... Uzbekistan don't score a single goal against Portugal or Colombia
Group L (England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama)... Panama will beat Ghana 1-0, finish 3rd in the group, and thus eliminate Ghana

There, these are real hot takes! Fight me!

You’re not wrong. Half the people talking football online sound like they discovered the sport yesterday. Calling every matchup “cinema” is hilarious when some of those groups will put us to sleep.

Your hot takes are actually more fun than their analysis. Chaos, but the good kind. Honestly, keep them coming.

 

[tazarbm]

You’re not wrong. Half the people talking football online sound like they discovered the sport yesterday. Calling every matchup “cinema” is hilarious when some of those groups will put us to sleep.

because they have, and I'm not talking about americans only, I'm also seeing people from countries with football pedigree (Iran, Croatia, England, Colombia, etc) that are calling themselves fans of the sport, but they're actually doing it for the views and likes instead of passion for the sport.

Your hot takes are actually more fun than their analysis. Chaos, but the good kind. Honestly, keep them coming.

thanks! I will give more if there's enough interest in this discussion, otherwise I'll be talking to the void

 

[SirTop]

I still don’t care about soccer no pretends here

I thought Trump already agreed with Rio that ya should start calling it football not soccer

 

[Builder Dave]

I replied to @Deleted member 731332. I'm also Eastern European... I think... (Romanian if that matters)

Oops! My bad I'm Bulgarian, so pretty close actually

 

[tazarbm]

Oops! My bad I'm Bulgarian, so pretty close actually

very close! I don't follow football as closely anymore (my national team is pure garbage, I won't even root for them to go to the WC, I think it would be a disservice to Turkey who have much better players and play better football overall... although, I don't trust Montella as a manager, I genuinely don't know why they've not sacked him after the 6-0 loss to Spain, but whatever...)

Anyway, as I was about to say, I'm not up-to-date with Balkan footballing nations anymore, so what's up with Bulgaria? Have you guys lost it too after the golden generation, or where are you at at the moment? I know for sure you're not at the WC as I just saw the draw, but what's your situation like? Do you at least have some promising emerging stars (maybe not of Stoichkov / Berbatov caliber, but at least some Ivanov, Kostadinov, Balakov level players)? Any hope in this regard? Or at least some decent coach that can get the best out of your team? Because sometimes - if the manager is good - he can make the team perform better than the sum of its parts, so any good news in this regard? Not for this WC, of course, but maybe for the next EURO / WC?

 

[Builder Dave]

so what's up with Bulgaria?

Romania look like world beaters compared to us, we are currently utter garbage and there is no sign of improvement in sight. Our golden generation from 1994 have been running the Bulgarian Football Federation for a long time now and they have run everything into the ground. The only way real talent could be developed for our national football team would be from families abroad and their children training in other European nations like Germany, Italy or the Netherlands as here corruption and incompetence have permeated absolutely everything at every level. It's so bad, I have stopped watching our national team and I don't expect us to have a chance to qualify for anything anytime soon. Last year we drew with Luxembourg at home, we're that bad...

 

[tazarbm]

The only way real talent could be developed for our national football team would be from families abroad and their children training in other European nations like Germany, Italy or the Netherlands as here corruption and incompetence have permeated absolutely everything at every level.

dang, this sooooo sounds like Romania. Sorry to hear, bro, we're in this shit together, believe me because when Romania did not participate in tournaments I almost always rooted for neighbors (Bulgaria and Serbia mostly, but Croatia and Hungary too every now and then, depending on how good / bad their generation is), so yeah, I totally feel you...

It's so bad, I have stopped watching our national team and I don't expect us to have a chance to qualify for anything anytime soon.

that makes 2 of us. If we ever meet I invite you to a beer and ping-pong or pool instead of watching our national teams play

Last year we drew with Luxembourg at home, we're that bad...

I don't know, man. Aren't Luxembourg the guys that Germany barely managed to beat recently? Because if they are and I'm not mistaking them for another nation then drawing Luxembourg is far better than losing to Bosnia and Cyprus (yep, that would be Romania that managed this ), nations that we used to thrash (home and away that is) 3-0 or 4-0 some 20 years ago...

 

[tazarbm]

updating this thread because we finally know all 48 nations that are participating in this WC, and - to my genuine shock - neither Italy or Denmark made it, which is absolutely shocking given what perennial powerhouses (or at least constantly good) these 2 nations are when it comes to football...

Also, having watched more friendlies of these teams, and more shows on the WC in general (and being less than 2 months away from the kick-off) I feel like my predictions have changed (especially with Czechia and Bosnia being now in, at the detriment of Italy and Denmark, so things have definitely changed)...

Last but not least, some of my previous hot takes have not been really hot, so I feel like I can do better now that we're closer to the event and I'm a bit more tuned in on the anticipation of what this WC will bring, so... let's do this

Group A (Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czechia)... S. Korea will finish last in the group, and S. Africa will beat Czechia 2-1
Group B (Canada, Switzerland, Qatar, Bosnia & Herzegovina)... Qatar beats Bosnia, and Canada gets at least 2 red cards across their entire participation at this WC
Group C (Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland)... Haiti hold Scotland to a 0-0 draw, and Scotland draw 1-1 with Morocco
Group D (USA, Paraguay, Australia, Turkey)... all teams in this group will finish with either 3, 4 or 5 pts. each
Group E (Germany, Curacao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador)... Ecuador will draw 0-0 with both Ivory Coast and Germany, but they'll beat Curacao 6-0
Group F (Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia, Sweden)... Sweden top the group, and this will be the most entertaining (wide open and offense-oriented) group at this WC
Group G (Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand)... New Zealand will tie both the Iranians and the Egyptians (0-0, and 1-1 respectively)
Group H (Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay).... Spain vs Uruguay ends 0-0 and there will be at least 3 red cards in this game
Group I (France, Senegal, Norway, Irak).... all 4 teams in this group will score in all of their matches
Group J (Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan)... Austria will draw 1-1 with Argentina, and top the group (with Argentina coming in 2nd)
Group K (Portugal, Uzbekistan, Colombia, Dr. Congo)... both Dr. Congo and Uzbekistan will end up with 2 pts. each, getting both of them eliminated in the group stage
Group L (England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama)... Ghana will hold England to a scoreless draw, but will still be sent home by having accrued only 2 pts. in total (which will be insufficient to advance to the knock-outs)

I might make a 3rd (and final) hot takes update right around, or before kick-off come June (and after the last 2 friendlies will have been played and we know the full rosters of each nation), but until then I'll roll with these predictions, so - if anyone's bold, or brave enough to debate me - let me have it!