Non: World Cup 2026 USA Canada Mexico

Mossy1 said:
Sky reports Iran will have to fly in and out of the US on matchdays with ongoing concerns over visas.
I see France played a friendly in Lille tonight when England and Scotland flew into the US last week
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That was surprising to see from France .

Sadly the Iran situation is not .
 
There had always been real concerns that supporters would have difficulties getting into the United States for the 2026 World Cup.

But not a referee.

The tournament is supposed to bring together the best of the best in football - players, coaches and officials.

Omar Artan is the number one referee from Africa. He will not be allowed to officiate at the World Cup.

Artan, from Somalia, flew into Miami to join up with the other 51 referees. After what he says was an 11-hour grilling by immigration officials, he was put back on a plane.

www.bbc.co.uk

World Cup 2026: Does referee case show Fifa has lost control of its tournament?

With referee Omar Artan denied entry to the United States and worries over staff and supporters being turned back, what does this tell us about the World Cup?
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk
 
DJ said:
I think Qatar was worse, with the slave labour and deaths during construction of stadia…
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That was well documented.

But was thinking more generally with over pricing and general problems for fans and officials, going or trying to go.

Personally can’t get any enthusiasm for this one.
 
Most games are actually not too bad for those of you in the UK. England's first game starts 9pm, which is a normal European kickoff time.
The evening games on the west coast will be the worst for you, though, as it's an 8-hour difference.
 
canadiancherry said:
Most games are actually not too bad for those of you in the UK. England's first game starts 9pm, which is a normal European kickoff time.
The evening games on the west coast will be the worst for you, though, as it's an 8-hour difference.
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The late kick offs rule out watching any games for the kids on school nights which is pretty rubbish.
 
I think criticism of the World Cup format is fair enough. The lack of reasonable jeapordy in the group stages renders a huge chunk of matches into feeling pointless.

Sure, the final round will always generate some drama because that's an actual knockout fixture. And sure, some unexpected teams will still conspire to completely fcuk it up.

It's still a format which is about maximizing the number of fixtures whilst trying to protect big teams who underperform in that round.

That's nothing to do with the US or other hosts and everything to do with FIFA.

It reminds me of the early stages of the cricket World Cup. Way too many matches with such a reduced capacity of getting eliminated.

I'll probably watch some here and there, but it's likely to be watching with half an eye whilst doing something else for the first two rounds of fixtures.
 
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