USA-Mexico-Canada Joint Bid for 2026 World Cup

[MJWalker45]

Just now, crashcarson15 said:

Korea Republic was in Group D and Japan was in Group H when they co-hosted the 2002 World Cup. They'd likely stagger Canada, Mexico and the U.S. through to avoid having host countries meet in the rounds of 32 or 16.

 

You could have hosts in A, E and I, which would guarantee the earliest any could meet would be a quarter-final.

I was thinking along the lines that host nations get the easiest pairings. But yes, ensuring that they don't meet in the group of 32 or 16 makes more sense.

[Mac the Knife]

With 16 groups of 3 and 32 knockout qualifiers in 2026, keeping the U.S., Canada and Mexico from meeting until the Round of 8 if they do it right.  Or they could put them all in one group, ensuring that two of the three advance to the knockout stage and produce an entire group that would be sure to sell out no matter the venue.

[MJWalker45]

55 minutes ago, Mac the Knife said:

With 16 groups of 3 and 32 knockout qualifiers in 2026, keeping the U.S., Canada and Mexico from meeting until the Round of 8 if they do it right.  Or they could put them all in one group, ensuring that two of the three advance to the knockout stage and produce an entire group that would be sure to sell out no matter the venue.

The US will probably solely play in the US, Mexico could play anywhere except for maybe Montreal, but maybe not even then. 

[dfwabel]

1 hour ago, Mac the Knife said:

With 16 groups of 3 and 32 knockout qualifiers in 2026, keeping the U.S., Canada and Mexico from meeting until the Round of 8 if they do it right.  Or they could put them all in one group, ensuring that two of the three advance to the knockout stage and produce an entire group that would be sure to sell out no matter the venue.

The United bid book proposed an Opening Match Day with each host nation playing a game. Mexico City, L.A., and a Canadian city.

[OlavoP]

On 6/18/2018 at 12:44 PM, MJWalker45 said:

Something I just though of. Would any cities not hosting games still try to set up some type of fan zone during the tournament or would that be something that the MLS teams just do for USA/Mexico/Canada games? I know Audi Field hosted something for the Russia-Saudi Arabia game but would the bigger cities like San Antonio or Minneapolis try something like this? 

 

If I remember correctly, almost all every big city/state capital in Brazil (if not all of them) had those fan zone type of things during the 2014 World Cup.

[Digby]

In a recent Grant Wahl column, he mentioned that 2026 will feature 16 groups of three. It was kind of a toss-off but also seemingly mentioned with authority. 

 

Hate the idea. Effectively a double play-in round for a regular bracket tournament, if that stays the plan.

[MJWalker45]

5 minutes ago, Digby said:

In a recent Grant Wahl column, he mentioned that 2026 will feature 16 groups of three. It was kind of a toss-off but also seemingly mentioned with authority. 

 

Hate the idea. Effectively a double play-in round for a regular bracket tournament, if that stays the plan.

That's what Infantino presented as well. That way it saves them a lot of reshuffling for third place teams and a lot of calculations for who goes where. 

[The_Admiral]

FIFA you can either ban games in Foxborough or ban the Irish, we can't let the two meet.

[Mac the Knife]

2 hours ago, MJWalker45 said:

That's what Infantino presented as well. That way it saves them a lot of reshuffling for third place teams and a lot of calculations for who goes where. 

 

16 groups of three teams each.  A two game grouping round, followed by a 32-team knockout round.

 

It'll bite 'em in the *** eventually when an entire group goes 0-0-2 with 2 goals and 2 goals allowed, or when all three teams go 1-1-0 with 2 goals scored and 2 allowed.  The "Fair Play" stuff will be gone by '26, replaced with something else, as people are already squawking about it.

[MJWalker45]

24 minutes ago, Mac the Knife said:

 

16 groups of three teams each.  A two game grouping round, followed by a 32-team knockout round.

 

It'll bite 'em in the *** eventually when an entire group goes 0-0-2 with 2 goals and 2 goals allowed, or when all three teams go 1-1-0 with 2 goals scored and 2 allowed.  The "Fair Play" stuff will be gone by '26, replaced with something else, as people are already squawking about it.

They'll finally be able to use FIFA rankings. 

[Mac the Knife]

10 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

They'll finally be able to use FIFA rankings. 

I'd personally prefer the two tied teams square off in a 20-minute mini game, with PK's afterward if it can't be resolved.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

1 hour ago, Mac the Knife said:

I'd personally prefer the two tied teams square off in a 20-minute mini game, with PK's afterward if it can't be resolved. 

 

So...like existing soccer extra time, except 30 minutes?

[Sykotyk]

Costa Rica, Senegal, and Poland are in one group.

 

What if it's CR-SEN, SEN-POL, and CR-POL as the schedule., yet, CR & SEN tied, 0-0, while each lost to Poland, 1-0. Senegal is sitting in their hotel, possibly hundreds or thousands of miles from the site of CR-POL. When would this magical 30-minute game be played?

[UnclearInitial]

10 hours ago, crashcarson15 said:

Korea Republic was in Group D and Japan was in Group H when they co-hosted the 2002 World Cup. They'd likely stagger Canada, Mexico and the U.S. through to avoid having host countries meet in the rounds of 32 or 16.

 

You could have hosts in A, E and I, which would guarantee the earliest any could meet would be a quarter-final.

That was back when the defending champions qualified automatically and played the opening game. IIRC it was Senegal shocking France

 

I’d imagine they’d want the opener in either Mexico or Canada if the latter stages are being held in the US. Probably a good bet to pencil in Mexico at the Azteca in Group A

[tigers]

Will FIFA allow the 'Americans' to alter their competition if the need arises?

[dfwabel]

1 hour ago, anythinglogos said:

That was back when the defending champions qualified automatically and played the opening game. IIRC it was Senegal shocking France

 

I’d imagine they’d want the opener in either Mexico or Canada if the latter stages are being held in the US. Probably a good bet to pencil in Mexico at the Azteca in Group A

The bid book has Canada in Group A, Mexico in Group E and USA in Group I.

As I stated earlier today, they would like each host team to play on Match Day 1.

 

For the knockout stages, the bid book suggests it start in the west and make itself east to MetLife Stadium. Both Canada and Mexico would host two games in the Round of 32 and one in the Round of 16.

[MJWalker45]

10 hours ago, tigers said:

Will FIFA allow the 'Americans' to alter their competition if the need arises?

No, once the rules are set that's it. FIFA could set up seeding and brackets that make it easier for host teams to escape their groups. BTW, Americans includes all of the Americas, not just the US. The majority of the Western Hemisphere basically.