THIS WORLD CUP SUCKS ASS!!!!

but I WUV it so far. I'm pissed off I missed italy-croatia (the only interesting game i've missed so far!) but it will hot up once the second round starts (no more saudi arabia etc).

Cabras Don't say bad things abt World Cup: You'll miss it when its gone!

This world cup is gonna be the most media driven its gonna be crazy.

Given that she is a rilly, rilly big footy fan and all, despite being female. And Welsh.

Club world cup is a good idea, I think...anyone engaging with it?

Terrible idea. I don't know anyone who is interested in it but then I don't know everyone.

I haven't watched a sec of it but my reflex would be to want to see European and South American teams playing each other, other parts of the world too. Problem is its at the end of season. Obv FIFA running it is another issue...

I went to see Dortmund vs Mamelodi Sundowns with my brother-in-law and nephews because one of the boys is a Dortmund fan. The stadium was about half empty and it was very hot out, but the game was actually pretty good, Dortmund plugging away to win 4-3. Attendance seems to have been lousy outside of games featuring the biggest name clubs/players. I don't understand the logic of putting it on in competition with the Gold Cup but then again I don't work for FIFA or CONCACAF.

Seems kind of like an Infantino ego trip and another attempt to sell football to the US/ China/ anyone with lots of money.

the games have been good! trying to see if the prices go down for semifinals

Streaming has been free on DA ZONE so I've had day matches on in the background. Cool that Brazilian teams were doing a great job of upstaging the Europeans for a bit.

Most of the hot weather US World Cup stadiums are domes, don't know why they put so many of these in the worst climates for summer day games in the open air.

While it might be good for South American teams to get some money and a piece of the pie, there is too much football. The players are being treated like cattle and get less and less time off. And it's obviously also all very connected to Trump and Maga. Besides the ethics of it, I haven't watched any of it because it just feels like one of the meaningless tournaments you get in any preseason.

Is too much football true outside of a few superstars? Most players even in the top leagues average less than one match a week for the year including national teams.

If you’re a Madrid or PSG going deep in every competition with international starters, you can afford to rotate more.

That's the problem imo, it's just more of an arms race for bigger and bigger squads and a small number of powerful teams. I think one game a week is a lot also? And the summer break seems to get shorter and shorter.

whole tournament was obv a way for Saudi to financially reward FIFA for giving them the world cup. the best players never getting a summer free from football is why so many end up getting crocked surely. haven't watched any of the matches.

Seems like more and more top top (top) players are carrying on to 40 or over too tho.

In America or Saudi Arabia but besides goalies not really at the top level?

Sure, I just wouldn't say it's too many games in this respect (plus winter breaks seem to have increased). In the past there'd be a Confederations Cup around now (I miss it!).

In theory I guess it could be a good idea, in current and previous incarnations, it is not.

it's just more of an arms race for bigger and bigger squads and a small number of powerful teams

Spain has been a 2.5 team league for ages, France a 1 team league for a decade, Italy is actually competitive, Germany has been a 1 team league for decades then OTOH everyone in the Premier League can outspend and outpay everyone aside Barcelona/Madrid/PSG/Bayern, none of that's a product of the CWC and the superteams are the ones complaining about too many competitions because they refuse to rotate/use a larger squad.

South American clubs getting some of this windfall might actually marginally weaken Europe for a little while if they can keep a few more talents for longer.

Seems like more and more top top (top) players are carrying on to 40 or over too tho.

James Milner

South American clubs getting some of this windfall might actually marginally weaken Europe for a little while if they can keep a few more talents for longer.

Absolutely no chance of that happening. The Saudis, the Gulf states have all their money in Europe, the Americans are heading that way too, they couldn't give a fuck about South American football.

not sure that's really true - the superteams are playing in the cwc, not complaining about it.

the people complaining about it are former coaches or fans, as far as i can see.

and while it is true that leagues are dominated by a small number of teams, that situation can still get worse, and it is.

this isn't going to make club football truly global in any way, so all it will do is widen the gap between rich and poor european teams. much of what happens now in football in europe is making sure the current order is made permanent and this is another part of that.

xpost

xp - it's happening right now though! Miami was confirmed as clearing north of $20mn for making the round of 16, with them that's 6 Western Hemisphere clubs getting that payday and several of them have a chance to go deeper. Plus Benfica getting that money from outside the big money European leagues.

that situation can still get worse

How can the situation get worse than Spain/France/Germany?! Bayern might win 12 straight titles instead of 11?

bayer leverkusen won the league last season.

besides that - it can get worse by the financial gap between clubs being bigger and more permanent and that has knock-on effects down the leagues.

bayer leverkusen won the league last season.

And Dortmund blew it on the last game of the season the year before.

any good that comes from it, and it's at best a mixed bag in that regard, is just a side effect anyway. this tournament and how it came to exist is rotten to the core.

Professional sports in general are rotten to the core but the primary European complaints seem to all be issues created by Europeans - financial gaps (existed long before this), too many competitions (UEFA created the Nations League, no one makes England have two cups, just expanded the Champions League, etc.), refusal to rotate (Liverpool gleefully ran its best players into the ground while washing out of the cups, Champions League and not being in the CWC).

i'm not speaking in general, i'm speaking specifically about the cwc. do you know how it came to exist, without googling?

and financial gaps, as we have discussed, are worsening.

'europeans' do not all own or control uefa - it is a small organisation, and again, it is not the clubs who are complaining about cwc, it is people who care about the game. the clubs are happily participating.

as for 'refusal to rotate', we're now entering truly bizarre territory.

washing out of the cups

they got to the final of the league cup and in the fa cup they were knocked out after resting almost every player.

champions league

narrowly lost to the team that won it after beating them away.

and they also won the league.

but what liverpool's selection policy has to do with the tiny group of powerful people that run the game is beyond me. oh wait, because they're 'europeans', though of course liverpool are actually owned by americans.

also wtf is 'not being in the cwc' in this context? this year is the first ever cwc and it only began after the end of the prem season.

Yeah its a fucked situation with so much football at both club (Champions league changing format) and International level (the nations league, which again I've hardly engaged with).

More playing careers will end much sooner.

exactly, the expansion of the cl and the nations league are part of the same problem.

What led to the revive was seeing a tweet by someone enjoying Palmeiras and Botafogo (they were enjoying the Palmeiras kit, which is this shade of green, lol).

But the tournament itself would be a lot shorter. Its just the wrong time and environment to introduce this xp

Meanwhile, Chelsea game suspended for two hours with just 4 minutes left to play and when they come back Benfica have taken it to extra time with an injury time penalty lol

yeah i am definitely aware of the angle that south american teams want this tournament, it's been discussed a lot in the various football podcasts etc. just too many other bad things about it, imo. but hey, maybe it'll mean liverpool win the league again, albeit by continuing their mad strategy of prioritising the most important trophy.

xpost

Club World Cup is football's 'worst idea ever' - Klopp

global players' union Fifpro released a report saying players should be allowed at least a four-week off-season break

those crazy europeans are at it again

but what liverpool's selection policy has to do with the tiny group of powerful people that run the game is beyond me.

Because Liverpool aren't subject to what the "tiny group of powerful people" have done this time but still ran their starters into the ground, which indicates that this particular competition might not be the supreme villain. "Too many matches" is an issue affecting a small number of star players at a handful of the biggest and richest clubs and the solutions already exist - larger squads, more rotation, sitting out irrelevant national team matches.

The player with the most minutes at Udinese played 39 matches (including two in Poland before transfer) and a handful internationally. That's far closer to the norm for players in even the top leagues than Madrid running out one guy for 70 and the choice to do that rests on the player and club who don't properly rest.

Larger squads built by buying the best players from clubs poorer than them (and then hardly playing them), further impoverishing those clubs and making it even harder for them to compete with the rich clubs that keep poaching their best players.

Wait are you describing what's been happening since the '80s or the future if Manchester City actually used all 25 spots it can register for each competition?

Next thing we might hear is that a rich continent is hoovering up all the best talent from poorer nations.

Yes, and we're saying it's getting worse. That's about the fourth time someone has had to point that out.

And Liverpool played their best players, from a relatively small squad for a bigger side, because they had to, in order to win the league, which is their priority. You seem to be saying if you were in charge you'd have won every trophy by resting more players, if only Arne Slot had realised that, Darwin Nunez could have lightened the load for Mo Salah. Or players could simply not play international matches - maybe especially if their country isn't very good? Obviously nobody has ever thought of this before nor has it been a massively controversial move if any player ever tried it.

And Liverpool are subject to what the powers that be do, that's the point you're continuously missing. The CWC is a further example of a trend towards a more packed calendar. It's the latest addition to it.

Players don't want this. Lots of fans can see it worsens an already bad situation on a number of levels, and the creation of the tournament is as naked and grand a piece of corruption as the game as ever seen, arguably. That part can't be ignored either.

immediate lol

I was told by a friend that the food at the stands were free, and another friend tried to open and eat a can of sardines that he got from Portugal’s stand in the middle of a crowd. A truly insane decision that several of us worked as a group to stop.

Italy in severe danger of not qualifying AGAIN - down to 10 men, 1-1 in extra time versus Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Would be funny, also would be cool to see Bosnia-Herzegovina there.

Fingers crossed for the Czechs.

Italy out!

Bosnia win, I'd much rather have seen Italy at the World Cup than Bosnia tbh. Czechs win so will Kasper Høgh come to Celtic after all?

That second Bosnia penalty was incredible

3rd time in a row Italy miss out on qualifying for a World Cup

Yes, shocking. They really are not very good though.

no wc knockout games for italy from the 2006 final until at least 2030

& in that time also managed to win the european cup

Yet another man in his 40s on the pitch this Summer (if Dzeko stays fit.

Jesus Italy tho, just maddening.

Sweden making it is a complete (tho fairly obvious) joke but hats off to Potter.

Don't think the official world cup song has been posted to the thread, so let's all enjoy it now - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5LixsSFMTg

Vomit

I don't mind Denmark missing this world cup. It's going to be a shitshow, and we weren't good enough. By I hate that Sweden and Norway made it instead :( :( :(

Trump could die before the tournament starts.

Really cool Iraq qualified

USA in the same group as Turkey. Looking forward to the Turks annihilating them.

Evidence so far suggests that people are going to have a phenomenal time at games based in Mexico and be forced to take a $75 train to get to a stadium located in the middle of nowhere for US ones.

Mexicans and Iraqi fans in Monterrey chanting together and celebrating Iraq’s return to the World Cup. ❤️🏆

Nothing unites people from different countries like football does. 🇮🇶🤝🏼🇲🇽

pic.twitter.com/znFayqcLd9

— All Fútbol MX 🇲🇽 (@AllFutbolMX) April 1, 2026

Imagine how good Ireland playing in Mexico could have been :/

just makes me think of

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_0ZEh6LPnA

Schweat just drippin' off Big Jack's big red face

Would love a where is he now on that bureaucrat cunt. I remember when Football Manager came out a little after that World Cup and all the brilliant photos from it could be used as wallpaper, had Aldridge giving the fingers as mine for a long time.

Ticket prices are astronomical

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/48369993/world-cup-ticket-sales-fifa-website-last-minute-buy

People are paying no matter how high it goes. I went to Ukraine v Tunisia in Berlin 20 years ago and paid 115 Euros.

Feels a bit early to start a new thread so happy to carry on here for now.

definitely early tho i read an article saying 70 days or whatever this week and that made me think it's very soon.

hate so much about it but i can't help but look forward to watching it all the same.

Yup. That's what I'm doing.

Wait,they are still playing qualifying games ?? thought it would have all been sorted well before now

It's done as of Tuesday late night although this was preposterously late idk why - not much time for those teams to prepare. I guess Iran could still pull out.

Not really many juicy clashes in the group stage and not seeing much scope for upset due to the expansion so qualification looks too straight-forward for most big teams right now. England-Croatia feels virtually guaranteed a turgid 0-0 (tho losing would surprise me less than winning).

yeah groups prob gonna be really boring and maybe even first phase of knockouts. i'm in germany for the early knockouts so that should be fun. sadly looks unlikely to be an england germany match, would really enjoy getting into the spirit for that with a litre of lager in hand.

LG may be unsurprised to hear that Aldridge's nemesis above is part of a literal dynasty that sewed up the AFCON leadership for over 60 years.

https://www.insideworldfootball.com/2019/07/14/caf-grandee-mustapha-famy-hammers-ahmad-leadership-letter-fa-presidents/

I'm boycotting half the group stage by which I mean going to bed at a reasonable hour.

thank you LG for quality Aldridge content

"the gentleman in the yellow hat exists nowhere in the firmament of international football" was really some fantastic commentary from George Hamilton

Hahaha

yes loved that

Really looking forward to seeing some really weird match ups in the groups.

Sort of mad I need to work and can't stay up all night every night.

I do like that in Group K none of the teams have ever played each other before - not even Colombia v Portugal apparently.

You could quit your job xpost

in 2006, I was working an assembly line job that started at 5:30am and ended at 1:30pm, so I got home just in time to watch the first match every day

I mean it was a fucking awful in many ways, but it really was ideal for that World Cup

I've had a lot of lucky working patterns where I got to watch most matches, feels like a very grim comedown when that's not possible

I do enjoy running out of work to the nearest pub in time to see the first kick off of the day, that's always a vibe, mostly empty pubs where you're the only one that wants to watch the football cos it's not an England game

no WC games in Chicago (ffs, how?) but the US is playing Germany in a warm-up at Soldier Field right before the tournament starts… of course tickets are insane, lowest current price $125

In general just having a spare afternoon and there always being games on is great. Also love being on holiday in another country when it's on, memories of individual games I watched abroad always stand out, France Argentina with the amazing goals from Pavard etc after my train broke down and I had to spend a few hours in Narbonne.

You could quit your job xpost

― LocalGarda, Thursday, 2 April 2026 bookmarkflaglink

I have applied for one just today! If I can get it then I quit just before it stars and then take a couple of weeks off in between :)

Rahm Emanuel refused to allow any games in Chicago, iirc.

Group A and B look very open, as none of the teams are any good. Arguably D, too.

Group F could be a banger now Sweden have some momentum.

Have been following Japan for more than 20 years and am really hoping this time they can get past the first round of the knockout stage.

There's a permutation where they'd play Scotland..