2026 World Cup: Blood for semi-finals, Infantino hints at 64-team expansion – live | 2026 World Cup
Important events
I mean just look at him.
In this regard, here are the words about the great man.
I think I can accept that, for some, Lionel Messi is the greatest of all – his consistency and longevity are unmatched – but I’m not sure it’s possible to hit a higher level than Diego did that month, and the following season when he led Napoli to their first scudetto.
Hello, what a fixture. Mexico 86 was my first World Cup and an important part of me is still there. I remember when Diego scored his second goal, Bazza cried “And you have to say that’s great,” and seven-year-old me cried “that’s better than beauty”.
What I didn’t see at the time was that I was being given a false idea of what could happen in football: I thought that one person running from the other team between him and the goal was a possibility, but it turned out that it could only happen with Diego. No one has ever done anything else to dispute the fact that football is a team sport.
Back in the pub section, it’s good that businesses are gaining momentum. The problem, however, is what happens after that.
double quotation mark Not all pubs are enjoying the football bonanza, however. Steve Hopkins, owner of the Shovel Inn in Stourbridge, where Bellingham was born, is leaving the business after the tournament.He said: “I’ve been to pubs for six World Cup matches. Most of them were very good in commercials but this time it was worse.
“Since Covid, people have been staying at home, it’s a different way of life now. I’ve been running pubs since I was 18, and now I’m 64, and I’m glad I’m out.
“It’s a semi-final and it opens at a good time on the night of it. People usually want the atmosphere in the bar to share the experience, because you can’t get that at home. If I don’t get a really good result that would just sum it up.”
At the Shovel Inn, a good night’s take can be £3,000. Hopkins said: “If I get a grand on Wednesday I’ll be doing well.”
Email! Ryan writes: “While I’m not a fan of FIFA’s attempts to change the World Cup just to make more money, I’m actually not against the idea of going to 64 teams. The difference in quality between number 48 and 64 in the world isn’t that big, so I don’t see how that would reduce the quality of the tournament to the two best teams that we can move back to the top two teams. Each team, which creates a lot of risk and hopefully some interesting games.” in the collections.”
I agree. Naturally, it sounds wrong, but in reality it might be right. However, I would like to know more about logistics, as we do not want a situation where only a few countries have the necessary infrastructure to handle it.
I must say I am sad. Yes, I’m biased just because Infantino wants it, but I can’t deny that the increased competitions – and in the Euros – offer us something different, countries that don’t include enriching the experience. Furthermore, if we were to reach 64, we would do away with the third-place playoff, which allows teams to advance after beating the worst team in their group and out; we will no longer play 72 games to lose only 16 teams. Or, in other words, the extended field is clean – although the training would be more difficult than before, and I wonder how, in terms of infrastructure, any host can help so many teams, not only in terms of grounds, but hotels, training facilities, media and so on.
Let’s start with the latest Infantino:
How do we feel about this?
Background
Hello everyone and welcome to the first day of our final World Cup week!
Yes, we are in the middle of trying 63 hours with no real football, but together we will get through it – I promise.
So let’s spend today reflecting on what we’ve seen, considering what we’ll see, and generally discussing all things The Good Game.TM.
Let’s go!
