World Cup 2026. General thread

[bobh]

I'm the opposite. Zero interest in international football.

I hope England get smashed though.

Oh yes please!

[Seven seas of rhye]

My tip is France, although if I'm honest I've very little interest in this World Cup.
And yeah, anyone but Ingerland

[Rock_Flock_of_Five]

I have no idea who's going to win the tournament. If I had to choose, I'd prefer England to win.

[Elwood Blues]

This is a very hard World Cup to get enthusiastic about.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football...s/clyr6drdl79o


https://x.com/bt3/status/2064126184489697431?s=61

I haven't been enthusiastic about a world cup for many years now.

As a kid I would watch every match I could. See very little now.

[ToTaL ITK]

I'm looking forward to it, there are England and Scotland games, and then Argentina, Spain, and France it will be good and keep the football buzzing through the summer. As long as England doesn't win, it will be good.

On the other hand

[B. Oddie]

The USA flag was booed before the mics were quickly quietened.

[az city]

Have Fox poached Rebecca Lowe from NBC?

[the other bob wilson]

On the other hand

I was listening to a discussion on Nicky Campbell’s phone in on 5 Live about the World Cup this morning and there was an Englishman joining in the discussion saying he had tickets for games in the USA which he was trying to sell because his visa application was taking so long to come through that he was thinking he was going to be denied entry. He then said that he’d just had an e-Mail message to say he would not be granted a visa because he’d gone on a cruise to Cuba in 2025. As it turned out, someone else in the discussion said he was granted a USA visa in 2023 and he’s gone to Cuba in 2006.

[PontBlue]

I was listening to a discussion on Nicky Campbell’s phone in on 5 Live about the World Cup this morning and there was an Englishman joining in the discussion saying he had tickets for games in the USA which he was trying to sell because his visa application was taking so long to come through that he was thinking he was going to be denied entry. He then said that he’d just had an e-Mail message to say he would not be granted a visa because he’d gone on a cruise to Cuba in 2025. As it turned out, someone else in the discussion said he was granted a USA visa in 2023 and he’s gone to Cuba in 2006.

That's why I'm holding off going to Cuba until I've completed the last few USA locations I want to go to, once Trump has shuffled off of course. I think it was under Obama restrictions were increased which is why the 2006 visit didn't prevent a visa being issued.

[splott parker]

I wonder if having a USA stamp on your passport will one day make you a pariah?

[Taunton Blue Genie]

I wonder if having a USA stamp on your passport will one day make you a pariah?

Getting into Iran could be problematic.

[The Lone Gunman]

This is a very hard World Cup to get enthusiastic about.

Indeed. For a variety of reasons. The fact that 48 teams are competing is farcical. The fact that only 16 of them get eliminated at the group stage is even more ridiculous. And then there's the Trump factor combined with lots of unappealing kick-off times.

I've been through all of the group fixtures and there's only five games I intend to try to watch: England v Croatia, England v Ghana (although I'll be out at a quiz), Brazil v Scotland, France v Norway and England v Panama (although I'll be out at a party). I've got no interest in the rest, at least until we get to the knock-out stages.

[blue matt]

I was listening to a discussion on Nicky Campbell’s phone in on 5 Live about the World Cup this morning and there was an Englishman joining in the discussion saying he had tickets for games in the USA which he was trying to sell because his visa application was taking so long to come through that he was thinking he was going to be denied entry. He then said that he’d just had an e-Mail message to say he would not be granted a visa because he’d gone on a cruise to Cuba in 2025. As it turned out, someone else in the discussion said he was granted a USA visa in 2023 and he’s gone to Cuba in 2006.

I believe the Cuba / ESTA ban is only if you have Visited Cuba since Jan 21, so 2006 was ok, 2025 not

you can still apply for a Visa, just not use the ESTA program

[Rock_Flock_of_Five]

This World Cup is already proving a disaster for 'football crazy' China. I would normally head to packed out bars to watch the games, but not this time.
​This tournament will have zero primetime slots for the Chinese audience. To put it in perspective, the previous World Cup in Qatar had 31 matches kickoff during China's prime evening viewing hours (6 PM to midnight). The North American tournament has zero prime-time slots for Chinese audiences.
All the games here kick off between midnight and midday.

[Jordi Culé]

Anyone got any Visa tips for this bloke?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football...s/cn8qgny4186o

[bobh]

This World Cup is already proving a disaster for 'football crazy' China. I would normally head to packed out bars to watch the games, but not this time.
​This tournament will have zero primetime slots for the Chinese audience. To put it in perspective, the previous World Cup in Qatar had 31 matches kickoff during China's prime evening viewing hours (6 PM to midnight). The North American tournament has zero prime-time slots for Chinese audiences.
All the games here kick off between midnight and midday.

On a similar note, I can't recall 1am and 3am kick-off times in previous WCs in Mexico or USA - were there?

[Bluebirdman Of Alcathays]

Anyone got any Visa tips for this bloke?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football...s/cn8qgny4186o

No, but maybe they can let him play five minutes in the Super Cup.