@Landon

25d

The Maxican Cohost

Mexico Mexico is looking to face their demons and put the past performances behind them. In 2026 they are hosting games of the World Cup and will have a home crowd to root them on. Mexico did not play any World Cup qualifying games. So let’s look at their friendlies. Since winning the Gold Cup against the United States they have played 14 games, they had 6 wins, 2 losses, and 6 draws. They scored 19 goals and conceded 11 goals. They played top level teams like Japan, South Korea, Columbia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Paraguay, Panama, Bolivia, Portugal, and Belgium. They lost to Columbia 0-4 and Paraguay 1-2. Other than those games they won or tied their opponents. Mexico plays a 4-3-3 hybrid focusing on making sure everything is organized. They have a strong group of defenders. Those four that will most likely be starting will be Gallardo, Vásquez, Montes, and Reyes. All of those players come from Mexicos leagues but primarily Liga MX. This team is very conditioned and will not run out of stamina. This Mexican National Team does lack offensive creativity, they don’t have anyone who will dance through the defense. That’s a problem for me in the long run of this tournament. A break out star will be Gilberto Mora, the next Mexican wonder kid. at 17 years old he is representing his country on the biggest stage. Last year he was 16 and playing in the Gold Cup final. If he can be creative and make chances for Mexico that could make an astronomical impact. If Mora can have a big tournament Europe will be calling very soon. Mexico does have one premier league player and that is Raul Jiménez. He played 36 matches for Fulham this season and had a match average of 6.7. He will be an important forward for Mexico despite being 35. Obed Vargas will also have to have a big tournament if Mexico wants to make it far. Playing only 12 matches for Athletico Madrid this 20 year old should be ready to come off the bench late in the match. I’m not saying I don’t believe in this team but I don’t really expect them to get to far. Sitting in a tough group A with South Africa, South Korea, and Czechia they are going to have to win, not draw. I don’t see the firepower up front. If Álvarez can get going early and stay hot that would be huge. I like South Korea to win this group though. Mexico should definitely make it out in second place with Czechia not far behind. I see Mexico losing pretty early in the knockouts. I know how that sounds coming from an American, but I truly don’t see them getting anywhere special. I have been wrong before and I’ll keep being wrong, so who really knows. How far do you think they’ll go?

Mexico

Replies:

Iraq repeats Infamy

This one hurts because I have a soft spot for the Lions of Mesopotamia, however, with their 5-0 loss to Senegal, they have officially thrown their hat into the ring for worst World Cup performance ever. 3 losses, 1 goal for, 12 goals against and -11 goal differential I mentioned in the Tunisia did you know that 9 teams have ended a World Cup with a goal differential of -10 or worse. Well, before today, only 5 teams had ever ended a World Cup with a goal differential of -11 or worse. Iraq is now the 6th. Which World Cup is most like Iraq’s 2026? Believe it or not, North Korea 2010: 3 losses, 1 goal for, 12 goals against and a -11 goal differential The comparison is even more striking when you realize North Korea was in the group of death back in 2010 alongside Brazil, Portugal and Ivory Coast. However, North Korea’s run was more humiliating than Iraq. After narrowly losing to an over-the-hill, but still daunting Brazil team 2-1, North Korea had an idea. Clearly feeling supremely confident in their squad, they broadcasted their 2nd game on local TV networks for the whole nation to see. They cut the broadcast in the 60th minute because North Korea was losing 4-0 to Portugal. The North Koreans went on to lose 7-0 and their government claimed the loss was acceptable considering Portugal’s talent (they did not mention that they lost 7-0). North Korea did not broadcast the last game against Ivory Coast, which they lost 3-0. Yes, 2026 Iraq put together one of the 10 worst World Cup campaigns ever, but they didn’t humiliate themselves. Hopefully they’ll be back in 4 years to make up for it. Ideally not in the group of death.

@FlameRaptorRaven

Tunisia’s Torturous Tournament

Tunisia’s 2026 World Cup campaign is mercifully over and it will go down as one of the worst ever. 3 losses, 2 goals for, 12 goals against, -10 goal differential. They became the 9th team ever to finish the World Cup with a goal differential of -10 or worse and the first to do it since 2010. Out of those 8 other teams, which runs are most similar to Tunisia? Once we take out the 5 runs with a goal differential worse than -10 and Greece’s 0-goal -10 in 1994, there are actually 2 that look identical: Mexico, 1978: 3 losses, 2 goals scored, 12 goals against and a -10 goal differential New Zealand, 1982: 3 losses, 2 goals scored, 12 goals against and a -10 goal differential Mexico 1978 was in Pot 2, Tunisia 2026 was in Pot 3 and New Zealand 1982 was Pot 4. By that logic alone, Mexico 1978 would be the worst of the 3, with Tunisia 2026 in 2nd worst, making them the 8th worst World Cup performance ever. However, I think you could argue they’re as high as the 4th worst performance depending on how much you consider the advances in a team’s football program and their prior history.

@Landon

No Neymar No Problem?

After Neymar was selected to the Brazilian national team the immediate question was when can he play? Now two games into the tournament Brazil tied Morocco and beat Haiti without Neymar. As we know Neymar is not the player he was 12 years ago in the 2014 World Cup. He can’t move like he used to and he’s had a rough couple years. The question is the Brazil team has been playing pretty decent without him, does Brazil need to add Neymar at all? Is it worth possible throwing off the chemistry that these players have built the past couple months? We cant answer those questions but we can maybe answer the question of when he returns. From what Ive read I think he could potentially return against Scotland in their last match of the group stage. He will mostly come off the bench in that game if he is fit to play. One things certain about Neymar, he will give it his all. After tearing his ACL he said that the recovery was the hardest thing he’s ever had to do and he seriously considered retiring. But he wanted to be back out there with his teammates fighting. He only played 8 matches with Santos FC but he scored 4 goals and had 2 assists with a match average of 7.5. Also, he’s not that old he’s 34. He could definitely make a mark and continue to add to his legacy of great Brazilian footballers. Only time will tell if Neymar can show up and deliver.