2026 FIFA World Cup Finals

[NAXEHT]

Back to South America with you’s. Horrible team. Tantashev won’t be leading any more matches, that was beyond embarassing. Made one right call with the pen but that was it. The lack of yellows let Paraguay know they could keep going and how they managed to end that match with zero is simply a farce. Not to mention reds as well.

Hope they fail in upcoming South American qualifiers. Thankful France handled that with grace and neutralised them.

 

[Dreadmed]

Made one right call with the pen but that was it.

Arguably not even that considering it was a VAR review, I wouldn't have been surprised if he opted to stay with his original decision despite how obvious it was... it was just one of those games where the ref had no control over it.

 

[zaxs]

Arguably not even that considering it was a VAR review, I wouldn't have been surprised if he opted to stay with his original decision despite how obvious it was... it was just one of those games where the ref had no control over it.

If there was a good referee, he would see and whistled that foul right away, without VAR help - bcs it's was obvious penalty.

Glad that France has endured that difficult, difficult match and won it.

 

[Touring Mars]

So glad that Paraguay are out - but this match raises a lot of questions.

The standard of refereeing was so poor that it begs the question how on Earth this person got to officiate such a big game - it's up to the officials to ensure that violent and unsportsmanlike conduct is punished immediately - and they singularly failed to do that last night, thus only emboldening their crap attitude.

Thankfully, justice was done in the end - good riddance to Paraguay.

 

[Blitz24]

Red card on Balogun has been rescinded.

 

[Joey D]

Red card on Balogun has been rescinded.

Good, FIFA violated its own rules to give it. I absolutely love football snobs melting down on social media over this like Ronaldo didn't have the same thing happen to him so he could play in the World Cup.

 

[Famine]

Red card on Balogun has been rescinded.

Only the one-match ban has, and that's been suspended for a year.

The card itself (which was VAR horse****) stands for the stats, he's just not allowed to accidentally stand on someone else in the next 12 months.

 

[zaxs]

Brazil - Norway for an hour, predictions?

I'm giving a new goal to Haaland, but Brazil wins.

Though they don't have positive score with Norway.
It will be hard match.

 

[Lightsider74]

Brazil - Norway for an hour, predictions?

I'm giving a new goal to Haaland, but Brazil wins.

Though they don't have positive score with Norway.
It will be hard match.

I think Norway may well win this one or if not at least put up a very hard fight. Might even go to pens. Should be a good game.

 

[toastet]

Big chance for Norway with this brazilian team

 

[sirjim73]

Brazil - Norway for an hour, predictions?

I'm giving a new goal to Haaland, but Brazil wins.

Though they don't have positive score with Norway.
It will be hard match.

I think Norway may well win this one or if not at least put up a very hard fight. Might even go to pens. Should be a good game.

Big chance for Norway with this brazilian team

I'm expecting an attacking goal fest (which probably means it will be 0-0 ), I think Norway will edge it because both teams are good going forward but Brazil defence is poor whereas Norway can actually defend!

 

[Blitz24]

Only the one-match ban has, and that's been suspended for a year.

The card itself (which was VAR horse****) stands for the stats, he's just not allowed to accidentally stand on someone else in the next 12 months.

And apparently politics played a role in it as supposedly FIFA only suspended it after Trump asked. Yeah, now I kind of don't want them to win.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Erling Haaland can actually win Norway the World Cup.

 

[Touring Mars]

Amazing result! Haaland is the real deal...

Ridiculous ending though, but never mind...

So stupid that they didn't bring the ENG - MEX game forward - could be delayed by some time... I'll be watching it tmrw in any case so off social media after this post... good night and enjoy the match!

 

[Joey D]

And apparently politics played a role in it as supposedly FIFA only suspended it after Trump asked. Yeah, now I kind of don't want them to win.

Eh maybe, Trump has a history of lying and taking credit for thing he had nothing to do with. Maybe he called, but I have a hard time seeing him doing it for someone with birthright citizenship. Plus it's not like this is anything new:

 

[toastet]

They did it 😄

 

[Phoenix]

Unfreakingbelievable!

 

[zaxs]

Mexico - England moved to 03:00h due thunderstorm.

 

[alanpurwantia]

I almost fell a sleep in first half...
They just dont have that magic tonight.

Me too. Paraguay should've already had 4 red cards because of how many fouls they have against France throughout this match.

They did it 😄

Yep. Norway beating Brazil 1-0 thanks to Erling Haaland is a massive achievement.

 

[Dreadmed]

I'm not proficient in Portuguese so I can't pinpoint exactly what he was saying before and after the penalty to make it 2-1 (Neymar to Nyland) but going off the finger-pointing to the badge I'm assuming it was a similar provocation Cunha made against Japan, I.E "We're 5 time winners, show us respect you plebs"... lads, your most memorable World Cup match of the past 20 years was when you got spanked 7-1 on your home turf, you aren't fit to lace the boots of those teams.

 

[Famine]

Good, FIFA violated its own rules to give it.

I haven't really been paying attention to this World Cup but... why do you think this?

I've seen a comment from a former referee saying it broke VAR protocols, but I've not seen what protocol it broke, or how. It's also worth noting that individual tournaments, under different organising bodies, may have different specific rules - such as the mouth-covering rule only valid in this World Cup.

As far as I saw, it was a VAR-flagged incident that the referee missed, and the referee made his decision after the VAR review. Also as I said up-thread, it was a bollocks red card - he wasn't looking at the player and made no attempt towards the outcome, and his foot was only where and angled how it was because they tangled legs initially - but that's what the VAR-assisted decision was.

And apparently politics played a role in it as supposedly FIFA only suspended it after Trump asked.

I've not seen anything like this confirmed anywhere. I know Rubio questioned if it could be appealed, but you'd expect 0.957 to boast about how he made it happen if he had anything even close to even a quantum influence on it - like @Joey D said.

The gross toadying from Infantino certainly doesn't help appearances on that front though.

Edit: I see there's multiple reports citing the same single source that 0.957 phoned Infantino about it.

Plus it's not like this is anything new:

So... actually it is. Very new. The first time it's ever happened, as far as I can tell.

While I fully agree that players serving suspensions for red (and yellow) cards in international matches should be suspended for their next international matches, there's actually tiers to it.

At the very lowest level, there's a demarcation between friendlies and competitive matches. In essence, suspensions picked up in one may not apply to the other.

Then we have the type of competition. The various confederations - AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC, and UEFA - have their own competitions, and FIFA has the World Cup, but qualification for the World Cup is, outside of Interconfederation Play-Offs, not directly under the auspices of FIFA itself. FIFA determines how many countries from each confederation can qualify, but each confederation is responsible for organising its own qualifiers.

This part is pretty crucial, as it means that the red card Cristiano Ronaldo picked up - when he was sent off against Republic of Ireland in the penultimate round of UEFA's Group F in the FIFA World Cup Qualification First Round - was in UEFA competition. FIFA recognises the competition, of course, but it's a UEFA competition. That gave him a two-match suspension to be served in FIFA/UEFA competition matches.

He served the first of those in the final match of UEFA's Group F in the FIFA World Cup Qualification First Round, against Armenia. Portugal's next competitive match, having topped the group, would be outside of UEFA's purview, in the FIFA World Cup; they played four more matches between the two, all friendlies, and Ronaldo played in two - against Chile and Nigeria - because his suspension didn't apply.

FIFA chose to not apply the suspension to the FIFA World Cup, meaning that Ronaldo's next suspension would be in the next competitive UEFA match for Portugal - which will be the UEFA Nations League Group A game against Wales on September 24th - except FIFA decided to suspend the suspension (lol) so as long as he doesn't do it again in the next year he's fine. He's retiring from international football at the end of the World Cup. Good japes.

The same thing applies to some other players. Moises Caicedo was sent off for two yellow cards in the final round of CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup Qualification. That would have suspended him for Ecuador's next competitive CONMEBOL match, and FIFA has chosen not to apply that to the FIFA World Cup, so he'll be suspended for the first match of Copa America qualifying, whenever that is.


Where Balogun's situation differs from Ronaldo/Caicedo (neither of whom should have played the first game of the World Cup), and others (as they're far from precedent-setting; France benefitted from a similar situation in 2014), is that he was sent off in a FIFA competition and FIFA has elected not to recognise the automatic one-match suspension - that it reaffirmed back in the FIFA Vancouver meeting in April, along with the other notes above about pre-competition suspensions - in the exact same competition.

It is without precedent. FIFA has offered no explanation as yet for its decision, but under Articles 25 and 27 (which it cited) it can do what it likes:

25. DETERMINING THE DISCIPLINARY MEASURE
1. The judicial body determines the type and extent of the disciplinary measures to be imposed in accordance with the objective and subjective elements of the offence, taking into account both aggravating and mitigating circumstances.
2. Disciplinary measures may be limited to a geographical area or to one or more specific categories of match or competition.
3. When determining the disciplinary measure, the judicial body shall take into account all relevant factors of the case, including any assistance of and substantial cooperation by the offender in uncovering or establishing a breach of any FIFA rule, the circumstances and the degree of the offender’s guilt and any other relevant circumstances.
4. In exercising its discretionary powers, the relevant FIFA judicial body may scale down the disciplinary measure to be imposed or even dispense with it entirely.
[...]
27. SUSPENSION OF IMPLEMENTATION OF DISCIPLINARY MEASURES
1. The judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.
2. By suspending the implementation of the sanction, the judicial body subjects the person sanctioned to a probationary period of one to four years.
3. If the person benefiting from a suspended sanction commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked by the judicial body and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.
4. Disciplinary measures relating to match manipulation cannot be suspended.

Edit: Garrincha was also sent off in a World Cup and served no suspension. His came in the 1962 semi-final, but he played in the final as suspensions weren't automatic at that time but determined by a disciplinary panel that elected not to apply one.

It wasn't unique, as Vladica Popovic and Angel Cabrera were both also sent off in the 1962 competition, in the same match (Yugoslavia vs Uruguay) in the group stage, and both played their nations' very next games.

Red cards did not exist at the time (they were introduced for the World Cup in 1970, in Mexico).

 

[zaxs]

It begins!
Was it worth to wait it? We will see.

 

[IngRobNy]

☺️

 

[zaxs]

View attachment 1548896
☺️

Congratulations!
You have the best striker in the world.

England has 1:2 at HT.


2nd half begins.

And now direct red card for England...

And now penalty for England...
Kane for 1:3!
What a match!

EDIT: Kane does a penalty! Jimenez 2:3

EDIT 2: it's over, England wins and reaches quarter finals vs. Norway.

 

[Famine]

The only way a match should have 12 minutes of injury time at the end of the 90 (after five in the first half) is if there's a serious injury. Otherwise it means that the referee lost control of it.

There was four minutes of injury time when Christian Eriksen died in Euro 2020.

 

[Touring Mars]

I watched the second half - and it looked like the game of the tournament from that alone.

Mexico were excellent but England were super organised and disciplined, and Tuchel managed a huge challenge brilliantly.

Got to fancy England against Norway, but what a QF that will be.

The red card was almost a massive disaster but the ref got most calls right I thought - and Mexico will rue the fact that they've dominated for 30 mins but failed to break down 10-man England.

Great performances all round though, and England must have a chance now...

 

[Tired Tyres]

The only way a match should have 12 minutes of injury time at the end of the 90 (after five in the first half) is if there's a serious injury. Otherwise it means that the referee lost control of it.

There was four minutes of injury time when Christian Eriksen died in Euro 2020.

Well with the breaks for hydration adding up to 3 minutes added on at least.

 

[IngRobNy]

Congratulations!
You have the best striker in the world.

England has 1:2 at HT.


2nd half begins.

And now direct red card for England...

And now penalty for England...
Kane for 1:3!
What a match!

EDIT: Kane does a penalty! Jimenez 2:3

EDIT 2: it's over, England wins and reaches quarter finals vs. Norway.

I was hoping for England, I'm a big fan of english football and Manchester United, so Norway against England, it can't be any better than that, not for me at least.

 

[Jimlaad43]

Having just got back from the Grand Prix, I wasn't awake enough in the evening to stay up for the matches. In fact I fell asleep just before the goals in the Norway match, so had to watch the highlights this morning. The Mexico-England game somehow compressed into a 10 minute package was still absolutely nerve-shattering and seems to have been the Absolute Cinema everyone was hoping for. I'm glad England survived that as it was definitely the biggest banana skin match and location possible after some unconvincing performances. Roll on Norway, where everyone in this team knows of Haaland at least. Should be another blockbuster match!

 

[Touring Mars]

It is without precedent.

I prefer red card decisions to be without president.