Re: FIFA World Cup 2026 :Canada/Mexico/United States: Discussion Thread
We shall discuss everything from qualification, preparation, and then the commencement of the actual Fifa world cup in 2026. 
Honestly, I thought this increase from 32 to 48 teams was very good, but making groups with only three participants, and ranking two in order to take two thirds of all teams to a direct elimination duel is insane, in my opinion.
Obviously this is not defined yet, but I would prefer to see 12 groups with four teams each, so that fewer teams qualify for the second phase.
And you, do you agree?
I also have another question.... how do you imagine that Argentina, current champions, will perform in the next World Cup without Lionel Messi and Ángel di María?
I think Argentina need to be concerned early on about how they are going to deal with this deficit in their attacking team.
I agree with you.
Groups of only 3 teams could lead to a lot of manipulation and fixing of results, and the quality of the game and the uncertainty of the competition will decrease.
As for Argentina, it seems to me that Messi has stated that if Argentina becomes world champion, he will play in the next world cup as well.
Whether Messi and Ángel di María play in the next World Cup or not, Argentina is a very good team and will be competitive for the title again in the next World Cup.
Of course, if they play without Messi, it will be much more difficult to repeat the result from Qatar.
Tradition speaks against Argentina because the last team to defend the title of world champion was Brazil back in 1962.