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World Cup: World Cup 2026 - Pre Tournament & Qualifiers Thread

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Brain Crush said:
He's staring at a World Cup. He doesn't have time for this. He's giving his guys reps.
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Not saying I buy PM's theory, but politics are always part of squad & lineup selections at the NT level. This is the worst possible time to face a mutiny from vets who aren't ready to hand over the reigns, so you can't just go full Nagelsmann at Bayern, even if you have some oldies who used to be leading figures but now need to be replaced.
 
cgf said:
Yeah, I didn't want to comment on that because I could see it going either way. Especially when you consider the attitude shift that happened when our players demanded that Jogi move Lahm back to FB and kinda coached themselves the rest of the way.

I'd like to think our possession game would've solved their defense, but those counters were so lethal, even against a prime Neuer, Hummels, and Boateng.
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Yea, and we saw what Griezmann did to Germany (with the same CB pair and GK) just two years later without Mbappe. But how much of that is attributable to the difference in quality in the midfield between 2014 and 2016? I'd say a considerable amount. That 2016 midfield always felt very fragile, easy to slash through. Add to that Hummels and Boateng both being fully at their peak in 2014, and Lahm and Howedes at right back instead of a raw Kimmich and, what, Jonas Hector? I think they likely would've been able to manage it to a degree.

Really a shame that these two teams met in worse versions of themselves in 2016.
 
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Wee Baby Seamus said:
Yea, and we saw what Griezmann did to Germany (with the same CB pair and GK) just two years later without Mbappe. But how much of that is attributable to the difference in quality in the midfield between 2014 and 2016? I'd say a considerable amount. That 2016 midfield always felt very fragile, easy to slash through. Add to that Hummels and Boateng both being fully at their peak in 2014, and Lahm and Howedes at right back instead of a raw Kimmich and, what, Jonas Hector? I think they likely would've been able to manage it to a degree.

Really a shame that these two teams met in worse versions of themselves in 2016.
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F***in Jogi *sigh* that 2016 team should've been the most talented iteration of that generation, but they were already getting lazy & full of themselves, while making more & more mistakes tactically that they just overpowered with talent.
 
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I couldn't find a printable schedule in EST all on one neat page to put on the fridge for the group stage so I made one, you can edit it for your timezone.

docs.google.com

Group Stage World Cup 2026 Schedule

Group Date Time (ET) Matchup City Group Date Time (ET) Matchup City A Thu Jun 11 3:00 PM 🇲🇽 Mexico v 🇿🇦 South Africa Mexico City H Sun Jun 21 12:00 PM 🇪🇸 Spain v 🇸🇦 Saudia Arabia Atlanta A 10:00 PM 🇰🇷 S Korea v 🇨🇿 Czechia Guadalajara G 3:00 PM...
docs.google.com docs.google.com

cgf said:
F***in Jogi *sigh* that 2016 team should've been the most talented iteration of that generation, but they were already getting lazy & full of themselves, while making more & more mistakes tactically that they just overpowered with talent.
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I for sure think Germany would've had another trophy in that generation with a better coach. The Jared Bednar/Colorado Avalanche of coaches/teams.
 
Not a WC team, but Slovenia played a friendly yesterday and 16-year old Tian Nai Koren (son of former player Robert Koren) made his national team debut and is now Slovenia's youngest ever international player.

He moved from Maribor to Club Brugge last year and was impressive in this year's UEFA Youth League where he reached the final with Brugge. Will be very interesting to see when Brugge think he will be ready to get some minutes in the first team.
 
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gary69 said:
Sad news for Lennart Karl, who was injured in the training today. Nagelsmann said that it doesn't look good and Karl might miss the WC. El Mala to replace him?
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Looks like Ouedraogo, which...actually doesn't make a ton of sense at all. Not sure winger and hasn't been in form at all coming back from injury. Sané starting at a WC in 2026, looking like. Hope they can beat Curacao.
 
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Bringer of Jollity said:
Looks like Ouedraogo, which...actually doesn't make a ton of sense at all. Not sure winger and hasn't been in form at all coming back from injury. Sané starting at a WC in 2026, looking like. Hope they can beat Curacao.
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I actually think Ouedraogo is the best option. You’re not looking to replace position for position, Karl is a playmaker, you’re looking for the best remaining playmaker out there. And that’s what he is.

And for what it’s worth, on the final day of the Bundesliga season he scored a goal. Assisted by Yan Diomande 😅
 
Bringer of Jollity said:
Looks like Ouedraogo, which...actually doesn't make a ton of sense at all. Not sure winger and hasn't been in form at all coming back from injury. Sané starting at a WC in 2026, looking like. Hope they can beat Curacao.
Click to expand...

I wanted Ouedraogo to get picked in the first place because he gives us something different on the bench. Whereas El Mala is a better dribbling Beier, who doesn't work quite as hard against the ball, and Adeyemi is a more explosive but worse passing Sane.

Hopefully Leweling ends up starting in that spot by the knockouts, though I expect Leroy to get the first crack at starting tomorrow due to seniority.
 
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kabidjan18 said:
I actually think Ouedraogo is the best option. You’re not looking to replace position for position, Karl is a playmaker, you’re looking for the best remaining playmaker out there. And that’s what he is.

And for what it’s worth, on the final day of the Bundesliga season he scored a goal. Assisted by Yan Diomande 😅
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Eh, he doesn't really replace Karl in the final third, despite his nose for goal, but where he does excel is driving drive play into the final third.

All of the different midfielders does make me wonder how much JN plans to play a 4-3-3 with a midfield triangle against other top teams, rather than our typical 4-2-3-1 with a double-pivot.
 
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