World Cup 2026
 

Time for a topic on this as the playoffs draw is tomorrow.

England have already qualified, and well done to Scotland, that was an exciting match last night.

Wales and Ireland have qualified for the playoffs via 2nd place in their groups, and Northern Ireland should qualify for them via their Nations League position.

Congrats also to Curacao, the smallest nation to ever qualify for the main competition.

Re: World Cup 2026
 

Sunday just gone was Hungary vs Republic of Ireland. I had a choice at 2pm Portugal who gave Armenia a thumping or Republic of Ireland with a slim chance of making the next round. I chose Hungary thinking Szoboszlai will give a MOTM performance. The game was incredible. Hungary looked as though they had enough to see them through but they took it for granted later on in the game. Hungary should have finished Republic of Ireland off. What came about was Hungarys own doing. Incredible Republic of Ireland. Good for them for turning up. :clap:

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Fantastic to have both Scotland and Curacao both qualify.:tu:

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Shame UEFA appear to be a bunch of muppets.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2084wyx1plo

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Consistency would be good. Social media influencers tend to cross the line often.

Strict :rolleyes:

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Update

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Would that be AI cocking it up again you reckon? ;)

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The final draw is tomorrow. The show is to begin at 5pm UK time

https://www.youtube.com/live/9HX_tQBA-Iw

Re: World Cup 2026
 

So happy that Scotland will finally be at the World Cup again after 27 years. I have actually still got my Scotland Home top from Euro 96, and it still fits, lol. Was that lovely tartan one.

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My first World Cup wallchart was in 1978. Scotland were the only UK country that qualified.

The wallchart was a complicated affair, that involved placing stickers of the countries flags, against the appropriate fixtures. Seem to remember having a lot of Scotland stickers left over at the end of the tournament ;)

Re: World Cup 2026
 

Fans are going to need very deep pockets to follow their teams through the tournament…

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/extra/i4...-stadium-guide

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...4&d=1764880742

For instance, for teams who will be in the "Western Region", Vancouver and LA are over 2,000Km apart.

Central Region - Guadalajara to Kansas City - 2,500Km

Eastern Region - Miami to Boston or Toronto - 1,500Km

The quarter-finals are in LA, KC, Miami, & Boston, the semis are in Dallas & Atlanta, the game for 3rd place in Miami, and the Finals are in New Jersey…

So, if you’re fortunate enough for your team to get to the Final, you could (after getting through the qualifying stage, the Round of 32, and the Round of 16), you could be travelling from LA to Dallas to New Jersey (2,300Km then 2,200Km).

Update - and then you’ve got the Ticket prices…

https://archive.ph/CKthr

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Anybody know what times these matches will be played generally each day.

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Past your bedtime Den :LOL:

I think we'll find out later. Watch the draw on YouTube at 5pm

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The dates of all the matches are set, but they dont seem to have times yet.

Given the timezones, I would think around 8pm at the earliest (i.e. a 3pm Eastern kickoff).
The latest could be 4am (8pm Pacific kickoff).

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Thanks.

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Times to be released tomorrow Den

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Let's hope the tournament is a lot better than this travesty of a draw.

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Well i didnt watch it as I was out, what was the travesty ?

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It took 2h 15 minutes. Shoddy production at times. And trump gets a peace award especially made for him by FIFA who don't like to mix politics and sport.

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Our initial matches are evening kick-offs in the UK.

Wed 17 June, England v Croatia @ 9pm

Tue 23 June, England v Ghana @ 9pm

Sat, 27 June, England v Panama @ 10pm

Re: World Cup 2026
 

Our game times are a bit late to watch at the pub!

Scotland - Group C

02:00, Sun, 14 June v Haiti - Boston (21:00 local)

23:00, Fri, 19 June v Morocco - Boston (18:00 local)

23:00, Wed, 24 June v Brazil - Miami (18:00 local)

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:rofl:

like Iran isn't already pissed off :LOL:

LGBTQIA+ :shocked:

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Oh well, nevermind. Aren't the US banning everyone from those countries from entering the US anyway?

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Regardless of who it is, why schedule a match to clash with a festival, seems like poor planning.

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Well, other things will be happening in the city when football games are on. London wouldn't postpone Pride if a World Cup game were happening at Wembley, I don't think.

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"Supporters hoping to attend next year's World Cup final face paying vast prices, with tickets in the 'supporter value tier' starting at £3,119 ($4,185)."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football...s/c80x38e04yro

Re: World Cup 2026
 

They missed a cracking headline there

"Trump introduces tariffs for football supporters" :D

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I was intending to go. I've been collecting England 'caps', i.e attending England games, for the last couple of years and joined the England Supporters Travel Club with a view to this World Cup, but the prices are insane. Far more than anyone was expecting.

But never mind. Hopefully, the Euros won't be as expensive, and so far, UEFA have priced both the Euros and the Champions League final far more reasonably. Around £100 for one of the cheaper tickets at both finals and around £1000 for the most expensive.

I should have enough England caps by then to attend every England game up to and including the final should we make it. :D

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Makes the BBC licence fee option look excellent value.

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The prices for the final are just nuts, I hope the stadium is empty.

The group matches dont seem as bad, around £165 for at least two of them.

After that it starts to get silly again, over £500 for the quarter finals, £700+ for the semis.

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Who replaces Iran?

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Potentially you can next in their group?

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I was thinking Russia :LOL:

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Possibly United Arab Emirates, that's who came 3rd in Irans qualification group.

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Oh I bet they'll be thrilled having just bombed them.

This is plucking at straws, wont teams in their group want their results written off so the group looks different possibly :shrug: how far do we go back

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There are many possibilities, if/until they actually withdraw, its all speculation.

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Italy have failed to qualify for the third world cup in a row.

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So sad. The sweet prince, the wild horse won't be there :(

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I think this time, with all the things going on, they might be secretly pleased not to be going :D

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What ?

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Riccardo Calafiori. Grrr. :o:

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Gattuso was never the right choice as Italian coach.

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Welcome to the Land of the Fee…

https://news.sky.com/story/england-f...games-13533132

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Daylight robbery. Trump needs to intervene :LOL:

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How would bombing the 163 bus route help? ;)

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Air lift everyone. Fly Trump. :D

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I would not waste my time and money going to the World Cup anyway.

Regarless of the fact you risk not being let in, or detained, for posting the wrong cat video, the prices for matches are ridiculous.

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Qatar cough cough ohh my rights lol

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One is a semi-authoritarian oligarchy masquerading as a democracy, where the police arrest people off the street without warrants, and the people running the Country are corruptly enriching themselves blatantly, using the Government to persecute anyone they disagree with, and the other is Qatar…

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I'm presume you had some point, but no idea what its supposed to be.

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With that cough and an apparent history of Ear Nose Throat issues, I think he meant to say 'catarrh'

:D

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My point was Qatar deemed an awful place to host a world cup looks paradise now the land of the free is exploiting the tournament.

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No, it doesn’t - it was an awful place to hold the tournament, and still is…

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The tournament itself was one of the greatest ever. The final arguably the greatest.

I wasn't there I don't know how much the fans paid but I doubt Qatar fleeced them.

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And the relevance to your previous comment is?

Re: World Cup 2026
 

Your original post

Getting fleeced.

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There's a choice in there, it's only 9 miles.

A) Pay the stupid price
B) Walk or get a bus/taxi

:D

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That is the Bus price…

You’re a braver man than me if you walk through New Jersey (and the Lincoln Tunnel ;) )

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...2&d=1776681254

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To be honest Hugh, probably only the rich and stupid will be there . . I fall into neither category :D

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From memory and its not that great. You cant legally walk to the stadium.

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About 10 years or so ago, I visited my brother-in-law when he lived in Summit, NJ (about 25 miles from Manhattan, 50 minutes by train, which if I remember correctly was cheap (around $10 at the time)), so I decided to have a day trip to do some shopping in Manhattan, and I walked from his house to Summit rail station (about a 15 minute walk).

This was around 10am, and I didn’t see one other pedestrian between his house and the station, and I was stopped by a Patrol Car and asked if I was OK, and had my car broken down - I said I thought it was a lovely day for a walk from the house to the station, and he intimated that this was not usual for Summit residents (it was/is a commuter town for reasonably well-of people who either worked in Wall Street or Big Pharma).

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Indeed as we have Russia, America and Saudi Arabia to add to that, FIFA have the morals of a alley cat and that is insulting the alley cat.

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England squad has been announced. Good for Tommy Toucs picking a squad he thinks is fit for the tournament

https://news.sky.com/story/england-s...#liveblog-body

With moments it's there's but I reckon other teams will have those special moments that win the tournament

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I have no expectations of England winning, I dont consider they are good enough.

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They might be if Tuchel picked the players on form

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Interesting seeing Stones still rated highly by Tommy Toucs.

https://www.skysports.com/football/n...ded-key-shirts

https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/...wtw-filter=ALL

3am, 2am, 5am infact fixtures after 12am are not sensible viewing hours :no:

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I'm afraid I won't be one of those trying to stay awake to watch the matches . . and then falling asleep . . waking up at 6am with a dead arm and drool down the front of my shirt :D

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England have a couple of friendlies in the USA, before the World Cup starts.

6th June, 21:00 : England v New Zealand
10th June, 21:00 : England v Costa Rica

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This year would have my Mum and Dads 60th wedding anniversary.


They saw the final in a Guernsey guest house, the same couple were still running it when we went back for their 21st.

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Can anyone say when Scotland are playing, a friend get free electricity for 2 hours each time England or Scotland play , but has to sign up the day before each game. I have no idea as I have. Zero interest in soccer :shocked:

Re: World Cup 2026
 

Saturday, June 13: Scotland vs. Haiti at Boston Stadium (Foxborough, MA)
Friday, June 19: Scotland vs. Morocco at Boston Stadium (Foxborough, MA)
Wednesday, June 24: Scotland vs. Brazil at Miami Stadium (Miami Gardens,

Re: World Cup 2026
 

Are you folk going to show Brazil a proper sun tan?

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Thank you:angel:

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Christian Eriksen has collapsed again

Re: World Cup 2026
 

However he is now conscious.

After the 2020 collapse he was fitted with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD). and chances are that kicked in.

BBC News - Eriksen conscious after collapsing in Denmark game
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football...s/czrxgd2nljno

Re: World Cup 2026
 

That's good news

---------- Post added at 21:24 ---------- Previous post was at 21:19 ----------

Watching the Marocco v Norway game and ITV had no commentary for the whole of the first half. Hope that's not a sign of things to come from ITV this World Cup! Second half they now have commentary from an American broadcast ��

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If I were him I'd be considering medical retirement, not continuing to push my luck.

Sounds like a technical issue with the sound, which I'm sure they will fix.

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Watched the whole game and it didn't get fixed so whatever the technical issue was it must of been a big one. Hopefully they won't have any issues when the World Cup starts.

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On my third Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) now and l am surprised they are allowing him to play as l cannot even do swimming as a exercise because of my heart function because of my dilated cardiomyopathy.

Having had several shocks from the ICD its quite a thing when it gives one a shock.

---------- Post added at 12:55 ---------- Previous post was at 12:53 ----------

Exactly my thoughts.

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Hopefully Christian Eriksen will be okay but agree with other he should now retire.

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What a role model :woot:

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Why has a New York Street been renamed after him? What's the connection?

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Opening Ceremonies - the most tedious viewing ever, whether its the Olympics or World Cup. We"re not interested in dancers with their ribbons unless they're kicking a football or each other...

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Mr Grumpy

---------- Post added at 19:24 ---------- Previous post was at 19:22 ----------

Don't know. The mayor is a massive Arsenal fan :shrug:

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It is just temporary. I mean better him than naming a street after the orange balloon.

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He's got a building :rolleyes:

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He'll be jealous of having a street though. He will want one.

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Sithole. What a name. Rod Fanni.

Re: World Cup 2026
 

For once I agree with you, and avoid them.

Re: World Cup 2026
 

More Red cards than goals on the opening game.


so one more red then it will equal the total issued in the last world cup.

Re: World Cup 2026
 

I found it ok,second one better than the first one

---------- Post added at 10:19 ---------- Previous post was at 10:16 ----------

I know,I nearly choked on my beer!

Re: World Cup 2026
 

I like the Opening Ceremony for the Olympics, but that's because it's a proper event. It is its own set piece, ticketed separately and scheduled on its own time for the eve of the Olympics proper. It gets a few hours and a big budget. Look at London 2012 or Beijing 2008, proper shows. Paris 2024 was okay and ambitious, even though I don't think it worked entirely. Still, it's often the most watched part of the Olympics.

But World Cups and Euros aren't real ceremonies. A small-budget production for 30 mins max ahead of the game that people actually game to see, so even the in-person audience isn't engaged. Really little point to it all. I hope we at least give it a good try for Euro 2028.

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Who would have put Scotland at the top of their group after the first match, in which Brazil is in?

Re: World Cup 2026
 

It's one game, and Brazil had Morocco.

I think people still would have expected Brazil to win, but it's hardly a major shock for them to draw and Scotland to beat Haiti. I think quite a few people would have thought Scotland would lead the group after the 1st game.

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Let's see where they are when the group concludes,my betting is not top!

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Great result, but watched and Haiti had slightly the better of it. Don't see them getting very far. Best fans by a mile though put England's of balding, ageing rabble to shame. 'Boogie woogie' is a much better song than 'Engerland, Engerland, Engerland.....' (repeat 500 times).

England - predict a loss to Croatia, a draw against Ghana , and then beat Panama to scrape into the next round, but again won 't progress much further ( unless they meet Scotland of course ;))

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:LOL: the band needs to learn new songs :rofl:

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1-0 really is that the best they can do :shocked:

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It was a lucky 1 - 0 as well, the goal was a deflection, and Haiti could (should) have scored at least once.

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Think the BBC pundits are poor,particuarly Olivier Giroud who is has a poor command of the English language. Also, full marks to ITV who mention games on BBC1 and iplayer,unlike BBC who inform us the game is available on BBC Sounds! Pathetic BBC! One last moan,I hate the way the BBC take every oportunity to trll us we need a licence to watch tv! Is that because less than half the country apparently doesn't have one?