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World Cup 2026

571 replies · 30,963 views
8 days ago · edited 8 days ago · History
theprof wrote:
none of thse are great! All pretty bland and non-descript!
The Argies away strip is a bit of fun, but I assume their home kit is the same old blue and white stripes.
Belgium have the best away kit for mine and Croatia with their traditional checkered look!
Eye of the beholder and all that but I really like some of the bland and non-descript! 

Big fan of what Adidas has done with their away kits (Spain, Curaçao, Japan, Belgium, Mexico) 
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Endorsed by
theprof
8 days ago
for me, there is no clear differentiation between what any of the manufacturers have done with their designs. They all look like they could have come from the same four design platforms.

Queenslander 3x a year.

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8 days ago
Thankfully football qualification doesn't work like that. Though our record against Italy at World Cups is pretty good.


A top envoy to Donald Trump has proposed that Fifa replace Iran with Italy in the upcoming World Cup, the Financial Times reported.

“I can confirm that I have suggested to Trump and Fifa president Gianni Infantino that Italy take Iran’s place at the World Cup,” US special envoy Paolo Zampolli told the Financial Times.

"I’m an Italian native and it would be a dream to see the Azzurri at a US-hosted tournament."

Zampolli argued that Italy’s four World Cup titles justified its inclusion in the tournament, which will be co-hosted by US, Mexico and Canada, after the team failed to qualify for the third consecutive time following a loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The plan is reportedly an attempt to repair the relationship between Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The two fell out after the US president criticised Pope Leo XIV over the Iran conflict, leading Meloni to condemn the remarks as "unacceptable". Tensions further escalated when Italy refused to allow US fighter planes to refuel at an American base in Sicily during the Iran war.
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8 days ago
Trump is such a lunatic.
Italy vs NZ...bring it on. I would fancy our chances. Italy have never beaten NZ at a WC.
But seriously its a shame Italy are not going to the USA. They have a huge Italian/American population. The support would be amazing
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Endorsed by
theprof
8 days ago
I'd fancy our chances better against Iraq or UAE which should be the correct process to follow given Confederation allocations but this is the organization that gave Trump the infamous peace prize so realistically a late Italy entrance is probably is more likely.
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Endorsed by
Buffon II
6 days ago
austin111 wrote:
Trump is such a lunatic.
Italy vs NZ...bring it on. I would fancy our chances. Italy have never beaten NZ at a WC.
But seriously its a shame Italy are not going to the USA. They have a huge Italian/American population. The support would be amazing

Why is a shame? Their football is forgettable, since many years. It would be a shame if they get invited, why them?
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Endorsed by
theprof
6 days ago
Rock Hopper wrote:
I'd fancy our chances better against Iraq or UAE which should be the correct process to follow given Confederation allocations but this is the organization that gave Trump the infamous peace prize so realistically a late Italy entrance is probably is more likely.
Fifa need to tell trump et al where to insert themselves. If Iran doesn't go then the next highest in that confederation gets the spot. 
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Endorsed by
Big Pete 65
5 days ago
https://twitter.com/NZ_Football/status/2048203138126200877

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1 day ago
As mentioned elsewhere by Austin, FIFA increase the cash given to WC qualifying nations

It's likely about 40% or $NZ7M of that will go to the players, but yeah approx $NZ10M is still a very healthy war chest win for NZF.
I mean the 2010 WC FIFA windfall, seemed to finance the whole international teams (mens/boys & womens/girls) programme up to now almost.

Hopefully means the players are flying business class to the WC, and wthin the States as well.

Be interesting to see what FIFA gives the Ferns and other womens internationl teams for qualifying to WWC Brazil 2027 next year. Could be another very nice pay day for NZF.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/fifa-announce-huge-changes-2026-37084447 
 
“The increased pot will be broken down as follows: Preparation money: increase from USD 1.5 million (£1.1m) to USD 2.5 million (£1.85m). Qualification money: increase from USD 9 million (£6.6m) to USD 10 million (£7.4m)

“Additional team contributions: subsidies for team delegation costs and increased team ticketing allocations totalling over USD 16 million (£11.8m)

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