₦airaland Forum

Odunayaw:
How far the building?

Cement don finish 😂

TheSuperNerd:
This is Spain. Not Argentina. Spain will likely win this WC. I already said the winner of this game is the WC Winner unless the Football gods has something for England afterall.

Argentina will win 2026 WC

Na who win sabi play ball. The way France demolished Morocco is the same way Spain demolished France.

All the juice in Mbappe, Dembele and Olise legs dried up.

Suddenly there weren't spectacular anymore. They should go and sit down jare.

I pray England knocks out Argentina. The WC is not the property of France or Argentina.

soetanoreoluwa:
Argentina will win 2026 WC

Taaaaaa. Nibo?

Mujtahida:
Taaaaaa. Nibo?

It was written 😆

Spain have recorded 6 clean sheets at this tournament - a record for a single World Cup 🤯

Fairly balanced game though

Mujtahida:
Na who win sabi play ball. The way France demolished Morocco is the same way Spain demolished France.

All the juice in Mbappe, Dembele and Olise legs dried up.

Suddenly there weren't spectacular anymore. They should go and sit down jare.

I pray England knocks out Argentina. The WC is not the property of France or Argentina.

This your bad belle na wa o 😂 wetin France do you

Unai Simon already owns the Longest Cleansheet streak WC Record.

And also has only been beaten once in this WC (by Belgium). High end technicality and a solid tactically drilled defence that has a 19 yr old.

PDPGuy:
Spain have recorded 6 clean sheets at this tournament - a record for a single World Cup 🤯

Yes, close but then France never truly came close to scoring. Spain limited them to non-clear cut chances.

Goke7:
Fairly balanced game though

soetanoreoluwa:
Argentina will win 2026 WC

I will quote this with the winner on July 19.

La Furia Roja showed for the 3rd time in a meeting between both nations within the last 2yrs why they are indeed France's boogey team. The Arch-Nemesis of Les Bleus strike again and with a show of superior technical quality. 2-0, controlled the game flow from minute 1 to end and most especially in critical phases and limited a really scary France attack to non-clear cut chances. France were never really close to scoring. The European Champions march on into another major final within 2yrs. Will they lift a 2nd WC title? July 19 will only answer that after the super classic between England and Reigning World Champions, Argentina. Who joins Spain for a date with destiny?


🔰Now, 3 out of my 12 Favorites/Darkhorses/Outside force selections are still in ahead of the final. 9 are OUT.
8 of the 9 OUT got booted out by 3 of the 3 still in the competition.




Semi Finals Action Ends

🟣Next-up in this selection:
🟢 England (Top 5 Fav) vs Argentina (Top 5 Fav) on July 15th.


Top 5 Favs in no order:
- Spain✅️✅️✅️✅️*(WC Final🔥🇪🇦)*
- France✅️✅️✅️❌️*(Third place Playoff)*
- Portugal✅️❌️⭕️
- Argentina✅️✅️✅️*(Semi finals)*
- England✅️✅️*(Semi finals)*


Solid Dark horses:
- Brazil❌️❌️⭕️
- Germany❌️❌️
- Netherlands❌️❌️
- Belgium✅✅️❌️⭕️
- Croatia (coz of their last 2 WCs)❌️❌️
- Norway✅️✅️❌️⭕️


Outside Force:
- Morocco✅️✅️❌️⭕️



💯

TheSuperNerd:
The Albiceleste of Argentina showed World Champions Character in overcoming a really stubborn Swiss side reduced to 10men no thanks to Embolo's moment of hollywood foolishness😂 Messi and his World Champions have set up a super classic date with a team historically associated with Maradona's Best Moment of the 1986 WC. Argentina's quest for back to back titles clashes heavily with England's quest to fulfill the dreams of "It's coming home" chants. The Final 4 is complete. No hiding places, no second chances, no time for excuses... You show up or you miss out on your date with destiny in the final.



🔰Now, 4 out of my 12 Favorites/Darkhorses/Outside force selections are still in. 8 are OUT.
7 of the 8 OUT got booted out by 4 of the 4 still in the competition.




Semi Finals Action begins

🟣Next-up in this selection:
🟢 France (Top 5 Fav) vs Spain (Top 5 Fav) on July 14th.


Top 5 Favs in no order:
- Spain✅️✅️✅️*(Semi finals)*
- France✅️✅️✅️*(Semifinals)*
- Portugal✅️❌️⭕️
- Argentina✅️✅️✅️*(Semi finals)*
- England✅️✅️*(Semi finals)*


Solid Dark horses:
- Brazil❌️❌️⭕️
- Germany❌️❌️
- Netherlands❌️❌️
- Belgium✅✅️❌️⭕️
- Croatia (coz of their last 2 WCs)❌️❌️
- Norway✅️✅️❌️⭕️


Outside Force:
- Morocco✅️✅️❌️⭕️



💯

robosky02:
People way we beat wotowoto

4-0 for abuja

Ohh na true ooo🤣🤣

PDPGuy:
Based on performances so far, Africa has clearly shown that they rightfully belonged in the tournament. 9 out of the 10 African teams made it out of the first round and most of those that exited in later rounds, made it very tough for their opponents.

So the next time bitter critics such as Gattuso question why Africa deserves 10 World Cup slots, the statistics speak for themselves.

In truth, even 10 places may not be enough. Traditional African heavyweights such as Nigeria and Cameroon failed to qualify for the tournament altogether. Add emerging and consistently competitive nations such as Angola, Zambia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and others, and it becomes clear that the continent possesses far greater depth than many are willing to acknowledge.

Africa deserves at least 4 additional World Cup slots. If achieving that requires expanding the tournament from 48 to 64 teams, as some have proposed, then so be it. The more, the merrier.

Europe could also receive 6 additional places to accommodate strong footballing nations that missed out, such as Italy, Poland, Serbia, the Republic of Ireland, Wales, Romania, Greece, Ukraine, Denmark and Russia, whose absence stems from non-footballing reasons.

The remaining slots could then be allocated to the other confederations. Asia, in particular, should receive around four more places, not necessarily because of its current footballing strength, but because it is home to well over half of the world's population, much of which is consistently underrepresented at the World Cup. Just imagine the global interest if football giants in terms of population like China and India became regular participants. The commercial appeal and worldwide engagement would be enormous.

CONMEBOL and CONCACAF could then share the remaining two slots.

If this tournament has demonstrated anything, it is that football's competitive balance is broader than ever before. The long-held assumption that Europe and South America alone deserve the lion's share of World Cup places is becoming increasingly difficult to justify.

One of the major advantages of expanding the FIFA World Cup to 64 teams is not just that more nations would qualify, but that more countries would also have the opportunity to host the tournament.

Hosting rights are fiercely contested, and unsuccessful bids often leave deserving countries disappointed after years of planning and investment. A 64-team World Cup would require more stadiums and infrastructure, making multi-nation hosting the norm rather than the exception. This would allow more countries and cities to enjoy the economic, tourism and infrastructural benefits that come with staging the world's biggest sporting event. For example, a future UK bid could more meaningfully involve Scotland and Wales alongside England, ensuring that the benefits are shared more widely.

Importantly, expanding to 64 teams would not increase the workload for the participating teams. The eventual champions would still play the same eight matches: three group-stage games followed by the Round of 32, Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. The only structural difference would be the elimination of the current system where some third-placed teams advance to the knockout rounds. Every group would simply produce two qualifiers, making the format cleaner and easier to follow.

Neither would the quality of the competition be diluted. As already highlighted, Europe alone had at least ten strong footballing nations miss out on this edition, while Africa had at least six competitive teams fail to qualify. South America also saw Chile miss out despite its rich footballing pedigree. These are countries capable of competing at the highest level and would enhance, rather than weaken, the tournament.

The only confederation where concerns about additional places may arise is Asia. However, the best way to raise standards is through greater participation. Giving more Asian nations the opportunity to compete regularly on the biggest stage would accelerate their development, just as increased exposure has helped African and North American teams improve significantly over the years.

Ultimately, a 64-team World Cup would make football's greatest tournament more inclusive without compromising its competitiveness. It would spread the economic and cultural benefits of hosting to more nations, provide opportunities for deserving teams that narrowly miss qualification under the current format, and further strengthen the global growth of the game.

The Olympic Games cover the whole world, so, nothing unwieldy about Football taking up about a quarter of it with 64 teams..

4 to 5 African teams supposed to be at the round of 16 if we are serious football playing continent....na real disgrace that 10nations from Africa qualified only 2advanced to round 16.... Too poor

TheSuperNerd:
2026 WC Top Scorers (Updated)

Mbappe - 8 goals

Messi - 8 goals

Haaland - 7 goals

Jude Bellingham - 6 goals

Kane - 6 goals

O.Dembele - 5 goals

Mikel Oyarzabal - 4 goals

Vini Jr - 4 goals

Julian Quinones - 4 goals

Ismaila Sarr - 4 goals

R.Lukaku - 3 goals

Charles De Ketelaere - 3 goals

C.Ronaldo - 3 goals

Manzambi - 3 goals

Ismael Saibari - 3 goals

Cunha - 3 goals

Balogun - 3 goals

Raul Jimenez - 3 goals

Brian Bobbey - 3 goals

Y.Wissa - 3 goals

Cody Gakpo - 3 goals

D.Undav - 3 goals

Havertz - 3 goals

Just - 3 goals

J.David - 3 goals

Mikel Merino - 2 goals

Barcola - 2 goals

Lautaro Martinez - 2 goals

Dan Ndoye - 2 goals

Emam Ashour - 2 goals

Soufiane Rahimi - 2 goals

Azzedine Ounahi - 2 goals

Breel Embolo - 2 goals

Youri Tielemans - 2 goals

Malik Tillman - 2 goals

Pape Gueye - 2 goals

L.Trossard - 2 goals

A.Ueda - 2 goals

Nicolas Pepe - 2 goals

Mostafa Ziko - 2 goals

R.Mahrez - 2 goals

A.Elanga - 2 goals

Ruben Vargas - 2 goals

C.Summerville - 2 goals

D.Kamada - 2 goals

C.Larin - 2 goals

Amad Diallo - 2 goals

Habib Diarra - 2 goals

Daniel Munoz - 2 goals

Arnautovic - 2 goals

Ayari - 2 goals

R.Rezaeian - 2 goals

Maxi Araujo - 2 goals

Ermin Mahmic - 2 goals

2026 WC Top Scorers (Updated)

Mbappe - 8 goals

Messi - 8 goals

Haaland - 7 goals

Jude Bellingham - 6 goals

Kane - 6 goals

Mikel Oyarzabal - 5 goals

O.Dembele - 5 goals

Vini Jr - 4 goals

Julian Quinones - 4 goals

Ismaila Sarr - 4 goals

R.Lukaku - 3 goals

Charles De Ketelaere - 3 goals

C.Ronaldo - 3 goals

Manzambi - 3 goals

Ismael Saibari - 3 goals

Cunha - 3 goals

Balogun - 3 goals

Raul Jimenez - 3 goals

Brian Bobbey - 3 goals

Y.Wissa - 3 goals

Cody Gakpo - 3 goals

D.Undav - 3 goals

Havertz - 3 goals

Just - 3 goals

J.David - 3 goals

Pedro Porro - 2 goals

Mikel Merino - 2 goals

Barcola - 2 goals

Lautaro Martinez - 2 goals

Dan Ndoye - 2 goals

Emam Ashour - 2 goals

Soufiane Rahimi - 2 goals

Azzedine Ounahi - 2 goals

Breel Embolo - 2 goals

Youri Tielemans - 2 goals

Malik Tillman - 2 goals

Pape Gueye - 2 goals

L.Trossard - 2 goals

A.Ueda - 2 goals

Nicolas Pepe - 2 goals

Mostafa Ziko - 2 goals

R.Mahrez - 2 goals

A.Elanga - 2 goals

Ruben Vargas - 2 goals

C.Summerville - 2 goals

D.Kamada - 2 goals

C.Larin - 2 goals

Amad Diallo - 2 goals

Habib Diarra - 2 goals

Daniel Munoz - 2 goals

Arnautovic - 2 goals

Ayari - 2 goals

R.Rezaeian - 2 goals

Maxi Araujo - 2 goals

Ermin Mahmic - 2 goals

More "Spanish-class" records set in the aftermath of the 2-0 semis win vs France.

🟢1st Euro nation to win 8 consecutive K.O games in major competitions (a run since Euros 2024).

🟣Equals Italy's 37-game unbeaten run in international football.

🔵Only 5 Euro players in history with unbeaten streaks across the Euros and the World Cup are all Spaniards in the current team

World cup prodigy-most do it across 3 World cups(12years)


Max age on average for that is 33 for Africans. Which means that at most, they should be debuting at their first World cup by age 20. Mind you!

Considering how African Football is, or more precisely, Nigerian football, to carry undisputed talented youth of that age as debut for World Cup is impossible due to the off field antics.

Carrying and playing are even two different things.

If we want to move forward we need to trust the youth with valuable minutes. Not random questionable ones. But ones that are talented like Mikel, Iheanacho, Kanu, Martins, etc of those years. See Bouaddi aka Guendozi 2.0 for Morocco.

This mentality that WC is always for "seniormen" is crap. If a youth can outperform the seniormen several times, then that rule should be trashed.

Sadly, age and injury can hamper a lot as well. But that's even the more reason they should start early.


We need to fix our castle.

Yamal just made it 9 wins out of 11 games vs Mbappe (club and country).

TheSuperNerd:
Yamal just made it 9 wins out of 11 games vs Mbappe (club and country).

More than half of the games, Yamal wasn't even as influential as Oyarzabal and Merino or Cubarsi. Na who get PR go sha carry this stat sha. Defenders dey suffer no pr sha

One of my options can still happen; ESP v ARG. Though I have a feeling it will be ESP v ENG and ESP winning the WC.

FRA v ARG might just happen again with less stake.

Odunayaw:
Scaloni should know his starting 11 from this game.

Fairytale final for me is either;
FRA - ARG. Mbappe wins it again and becomes a legend in his own right.
SPA - ARG. Kamal becomes ushers the new generation.
Or Messi just wins the damn thing again and Ronaldo fans cause another flood with tears.

---

FRA - ENG would have been great for Kane cements his legacy but bruh we don't want noise pollution from the Brits.

Well, both are the centerpieces for their sides for club and country so it would always be about them before anyone.

daveP:
More than half of the games, Yamal wasn't even as influential as Oyarzabal and Merino or Cubarsi. Na who get PR go sha carry this stat sha. Defenders dey suffer no pr sha

10 African teams went to the world cup just to record 10wins in total
SA 1-0 Kor
Mor 1-0 Sco
Mor 4-2 Hai
Sen 5-0 Ira
Alg 2-1 Jor
DRC 3-1 Uzb
CIV 1-0 Ecu
CIV 2-0 Cur
Egy 3-1 Nzl
Gha 1-0 Pan
🥱🥱 Mediocrity

JohnBullMySon:
Too bad. The signs were there from the beginning.

Honestly, I didn't see it coming. We might still see a France vs Argentina game though.

When people were shouting about how great this French team was, I never quite saw it that way. Prime Pogba, Kante, and Griezmann are levels above the current French midfielders. Michael Olisa, to me, is a better and significantly more talented version of Chukwueze, but he is not a natural 10. He is a winger that can split a defense with a pass, but he is not a real 10 like Martin Ødegaard, who is a natural creative midfielder.

Spain have better midfielders than France, and it showed up in this game. Aurélien Tchouaméni, Manu Koné, and Adrien Rabiot will not smell the Spain starting 11. None of the current French midfielders are at the same levels as prime Kanté, Pogba, and Griezmann. Spain won the midfield battle today and deservedly comfortably won the game.

Furthermore, I still have doubts about Dembele in big games. You just cannot trust him to show up on big occasions. Superstar players constantly show up on the biggest stage; Dembele constantly fails to show up on big occasions. This is why, in my opinion, I will never view him as a world-class player.

Odunayaw:
😆 Ah you too de with them ni

Abeg wetin be ogunmepon?

If it was African teams leading France by 2goals you will see comeback . 😂. Not Spain . France was humbled

Odunayaw:
😆 Ah you too de with them ni

😂😂😂

The name dey always crack me up. Leave banter for naija fans abeg

AndSunGorilla:
Abeg wetin be ogunmepon?

Ronaldo mimicking Simeone celebration

soetanoreoluwa:
Argentina will win 2026 WC

Not a fan, but I will celebrate as long as England does not win the World Cup.

Full match video of Basel's 2-2 draw vs FC Winthertur in a preseason friendly last saturday.

📽⤵️
https://www.youtube.com/live/hOR0COHZzD0?feature=shared

Akpe Victory featured from the start.

Philip Otele scored one of Basel's goals.

ICYDK: Otele returned to Basel after his loan duration at Hamburg.

Goke7:
This your bad belle na wa o 😂 wetin France do you

😂😂😂 Dem and Argentina don too kolobi the world cup. Make the thing go round small

TheSuperNerd:
Good analysis. As scary as the French are, we must remember they beat a side the Dutch crushed 5-1 and the Dutch are OUT now... beaten by a side who the french will likely cross paths with in the Quarter finals.
But indeed the French remain scary. Their attacking flow and the freedom Deschamps affords Olise as the orchestrator and Dembele as the wide receiver all working in Sync with "General" Mbappe makes them a lethal force.


And I agree with you on the likely oppositions to worry France. Argentina is not likely to be much of a problem but Spain and Morocco will be problems for the French, most especially Spain because, in addition to having the quality depth and dominant possession style, Spain are the only side to beat France TWICE within 90mins in competitive fixtures in the last 2 yrs (at Euros 2024 and in the Euro Nations League Semis last year). Both games were tight but had same result: A Spanish Win.

Italy and Croatia secured Nations League wins over France in one game only in 2024 and 2025 respectively but ultimately lost the reverse fixture.

So Spain are like some sort of major worry for France but France would only get to worry about the Spaniards if Spain themselves get past Portugal or Croatia in the round of 16. Titanic path.

See am