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FIFA World Cup Canada, USA and Mexico 2026

585 replies · 31,989 views
18 days ago · edited 18 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
18 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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18 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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17 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
17 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
16 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
15 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
14 days ago
https://twitter.com/NZ_Football/status/2048203138126200877

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11 days 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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10 days ago · edited 9 days ago · History
Egypt to go into camp (domestic based players) from May 20th in Cairo, and play an as yet unamed opponent May 29th in the Egyptian capital. They have submitted a provisional 50 man squad to FIFA. The  Pharaohs also have a warmup June 6th Stateside verus Brazil.

https://africasoccer.com/egypt-step-up-preparations-with-key-friendlies-ahead-of-2026-world-cup/

https://ghanasoccernet.com/egypt-submits-50-man-provisional-2026-world-cup-squad-to-fifa

https://africasoccer.com/egypt-step-up-preparations-with-key-friendlies-ahead-of-2026-world-cup/
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10 days ago · edited 9 days ago · History
Sounds like Iran are already in camp in Tehran. Their domestic league season basically suspended indefinitely.
They will travel to Turkey to continue preparations in early May.

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/525648/Iran-prepare-for-World-Cup-2026-amid-challenges-and-uncertainty
 
The latest training camp began on April 20, 2026, in Tehran, bringing together 30 players from the domestic league. This mini-camp represents a key opportunity for the coaching staff, not only to evaluate emerging talents but also to assess the implementation of promised tactical adjustments. The camp will run for approximately two weeks, with players returning home after daily sessions to maintain optimal physical balance.

However, Iran’s preparations have not unfolded under normal conditions. Due to the imposed war by the U.S. and Israel against Iran, the conditions of the Iranian national football team have been affected. The domestic league was forced into an early suspension, disrupting the normal rhythm of competition and raising concerns over the fitness of the players. As a result, these camps have become more important for helping the team regain sharpness and teamwork.

Following the Tehran phase, Team Melli are scheduled to travel to Turkey on May 12, 2026, where foreign-based players will join the group. The Turkey camp will serve as the main preparation hub, with plans for five friendly matches, three during the camp and two during official FIFA windows. Negotiations are ongoing to finalize opponents, with a potential friendly against Panama in the United States expected to be the final warm-up before the tournament.
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7 days ago
Good price, was expecting more like 3-4 times that. Hopefully it works and doesn't just crash under demand.
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Endorsed by
theprof
7 days ago · edited 6 days ago · History
Reasonable price to watch every game live and on demand on TVNZ+
$44.95
 https://www.tvnz.co.nz/competition/fifa-2026 
Anyone with more than a casual interest in the tournament will want the pass.
 
If you want to watch the big teams and the big games and a decent amount of knock-out matches, you'll need to buy the pass.
Very few knock-out round games will be available free (see below) 
Plus you get extras like previews, interviews, news, highlights packages etc.

Be interesting to see how many they sell.
Most immigrants and Kiwis who follow certain national teams, will need the pass, unless they watch illegal live streams or use a VPN to watch matches from foreign broadcasters like SBS in Australia (all matches are free there, live and on demand). 

SBS and other overseas sources will have lots of ads.
Be interesting to see what level of ads you get with the TVNZ Pass.
I will buy the TVNZ+ Pass on principal, wanting to show broadcasters that there is public interest in screening football in NZ.
I long ago got sick of watching football on dodgy overseas live steams full of spam and ads..

There is the valid question of just how many games do you need to watch?
For me, that will be nearly every game - but some I will just watch highlights or fast-forward sections of the full on demand game to watch it in twenty or thirty minutes.
I need to see every Holland, England and All Whites game (my three nationalities), plus see how our Aussie neighbours are doing.
And all the big football countries, plus some of the smaller countries who end up doing well (like Morocco did last time).

With the Pass, all games are available on demand, so you can watch when it suits you. 
Minimal games available for free: 17 of 88 group & Round of 32 matches; 2 of 8 round of 16; one of 8 1/4 finals; one semi and the final. See here (scoll down):   FIFA World Cup 2026 TV Guide | Schedule | FANZO
All the All Whites games are free live on TV One and TVNZ+ and on demand.
But if you want to see the big games and the big teams, you'll need the Pass.
 
TVNZ did an excellent job with the last mens Euros football with all games live and on demand for free on TVNZ+
The streaming was good quality and better quality than Sky Go - and minimal ads. 

FREE TO AIR VS. TVNZ+ PASS
Phase                                        Total Matches  | TVNZ 1 Free Coverage | TVNZ+ Pass Coverage
Group Stage/ Round of 32 | 88 matches    | 17 matches                        | 88 matches
Round of 16                         | 8 matches       | 2 matches                         |  8 matches
Quarter-Finals                     | 4 matches       | 1 matches                          | 4 matches
Semi-Finals                         | 2 matches        | 1 match                             | 2 matches
Final                                     | 1 match            | Shared coverage              | Shared coverage
Third/Fourth Play-off          | 1 match                                                         | TVNZ+ only
 

Big Pete 65, Christchurch

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7 days ago
yeah hopefully they've improved the stability of the platform, 

Queenslander 3x a year.

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7 days ago · edited 7 days ago · History
As it's a relatively low cost I'll pay so I can guarantee access - don't want to be sitting down to watch say a semi final and a VPN or DNS fails which I've had happen when trying to watch major events through overseas sources before. And with the times I'll be watching some at work where I don't have access to the WIFI settings so can't always get a VPN or DNS settings to work. But I also have BBC, ITV and SBS Australia setup in case TVNZ fails (or if it ends up being American commentators and full of ads).

From memory the Euros worked ok on TVNZ, though probably with less demand. 
 
Also agree you need to support these things, else if no one buys it then it won't look worth buying the rights again in future making it less accessible. 
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Endorsed by
Big Pete 65martinbnumber8
6 days ago
Bought mine, good value, can’t wait 
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Endorsed by
Big Pete 65
6 days ago
Just been looking at the Belgium team player stats:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium_national_football_team#Players
Their major weakness is a lack of goals outside of three players in their likely squad.
None of those three except midfielder de Bruyne featured in the March window squad and the six forwards in the March window squad only have 17 international goals between them.
Belgium scored only one goal at the last World Cup in Qatar in a dismal display.
Of their only three regular national team goal-scorers, of course, Lukaku knows how to score for Belgium (89 goals in 124 apps) but is aging and has struggled with fitness this year, pulling out of Belgium's squad for their March friendlies.
 Batshuayi of Frankfurt has 27 goals in 55 apps but blows a bit hot and cold and was dropped for the last Euros.
He has a poor scoring record in major leagues and was only prolific in Turkey.
He wasn't called up for the March friendlies.
Kevin de Bruyne of course has a good scoring record for a midfielder (36 goals in 117 apps) but age will be catching up with him soon.
Trossard of Arsenal only has 11 goals in 50 apps and was injured for the March window.
Of the several other players in all positions called up over the last 12 months who weren't called up in March, they have only scored eight goals between them.

Big Pete 65, Christchurch

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4 days ago
This may be in the wrong thread, but any word on if the main cities in NZ will have big screens showing NZ games?
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4 days ago
I haven't heard anything but I might call the WCC tomorrow to ask if they are planning anything
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4 days ago
Big Pete 65 wrote:
Just been looking at the Belgium team player stats:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium_national_football_team#Players
Their major weakness is a lack of goals outside of three players in their likely squad.
None of those three except midfielder de Bruyne featured in the March window squad and the six forwards in the March window squad only have 17 international goals between them.
Belgium scored only one goal at the last World Cup in Qatar in a dismal display.
Of their only three regular national team goal-scorers, of course, Lukaku knows how to score for Belgium (89 goals in 124 apps) but is aging and has struggled with fitness this year, pulling out of Belgium's squad for their March friendlies.
Batshuayi of Frankfurt has 27 goals in 55 apps but blows a bit hot and cold and was dropped for the last Euros.
He has a poor scoring record in major leagues and was only prolific in Turkey.
He wasn't called up for the March friendlies.
Kevin de Bruyne of course has a good scoring record for a midfielder (36 goals in 117 apps) but age will be catching up with him soon.
Trossard of Arsenal only has 11 goals in 50 apps and was injured for the March window.
Of the several other players in all positions called up over the last 12 months who weren't called up in March, they have only scored eight goals between them.
I don't think they'll be losing sleep about how to crack our impenetrable defence, but I do think of all the european 'giants', Belgium the mostly likely to pull an Italy 2010 type of shocker.

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Endorsed by
Big Pete 65
1 day ago
loyalgunner wrote:
This may be in the wrong thread, but any word on if the main cities in NZ will have big screens showing NZ games?
Asked the WCC if they were going to put up big screens, this was their response.
image.png 11.72 KB
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