fig96 said:

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We've all always known FIFA sucked, but it's like they've just started going out of their way to be generally awful.

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If FIFA could charge for air being breathed while watching the match, FIFA would do it.

“Erling looks great with his hair down, but I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of the coach Stale Solbakken. He’s a tough guy.”

Norway have released an iconic 'Viking' image ahead of their trip to the World Cup.@GregOK speaks to photographer David Yarrow about how it… pic.twitter.com/0mnfnoID5Q

— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) June 4, 2026

YNWA.2013 said:

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Exclusive @TheAthleticFC

FIFA make last-gasp change to World Cup stadium rules: BANNING fans from bringing refillable plastic bottles, so fans must buy water in stadia

As of May, empty bottles permitted so fans could refill amid heat concerns. Not nowhttps://t.co/OuyjvgPoxN

— Adam Crafton (@AdamCrafton_) June 3, 2026

The ****tiness of FIFA continues

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I looked at the regulations, and just about any receptacle you could potentially drink out of is banned, even paper or plastic cups with one exception.

You could bring an empty gallon size Ziploc bag, fill it up at a water fountain, and drink from that.




Oh and you can also bring/play just about any standard size harmonica (diatonic or chromatic) provided it doesn't interfere with experience of those around you. I'm actually surprised a team supporters have thought of this before. They certainly wouldn't be as loud as a vuvuzela but can you imagine the sound of 10K harmonicas just humming out random notes?


(Maybe this is one of those ideas that just doesn't need to be on the internet)

I love it

I have a friend in who is in BCS for the match on Saturday and wants to know where he could go watch the USA game earlier in the day. Is there a soccer watching spot in town?

ColoradoMooseHerd said:

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Since I enjoyed part 1 so much, I wanted people to know that part 2 is up

The Sickos F.C. World Cup Preview - Part 2

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ok these sicko guys are starting to piss me off....

Quote:

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Sweden

• Base Camp: The Westin Dallas Stonebriar Golf Resort & Spa, Frisco, Texas and FC Dallas Stadium, Frisco, Texas
• Closest chain restaurant to base camp: III Forks - Prime Steakhouse - I know it's not food but it is hilarious a Volvo dealership is within walking distance of the hotel.
• National dish: They don't have a national dish but the most renowned Swedish culinary tradition is the smörgsbord. Also Swedish meatballs are good too.

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There's an IKEA like 2 miles away too. What type of research are they doing??!!

Quote:

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You could bring an empty gallon size Ziploc bag

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mexican fans are excited.

Looks like FIFA is walking back the water bottle ban already. They'll spin this as some big caring move for the fans while people still cant afford to go to games

Also Iran has got their US visas

I like trying out the Adams, Mckennie, pulisic, tillman, balogun attack.
Not certain it will work, but would be good reps today

Who is starting the thread for the Germany friendly?

Not sure what I want to see today

Field is gonna be dry. And have weird wet-dry patches. No sprinklers… just dudes with fire hoses roaming around.

TRM said:

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Who is starting the thread for the Germany friendly?

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Done

deadbq03 said:

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Field is gonna be dry. And have weird wet-dry patches. No sprinklers… just dudes with fire hoses roaming around.

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Nevermind it's light rain now's probably a good thing.

wangus12 said:

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Also Iran has got their US visas

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I'm in several volunteer chats and soooo many people are getting their visas denied. They have done all their training l, booked accommodations and flights, and are just now finding their visas are not approved. FIFA is calling up people from the waitlist who can no longer volunteer or are facing a similar problem. Tons of volunteer shifts are still not covered. It's a real mess.

nai06 said:

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wangus12 said:

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Also Iran has got their US visas

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I'm in several volunteer chats and soooo many people are getting their visas denied. They have done all their training l, booked accommodations and flights, and are just now finding their visas are not approved. FIFA is calling up people from the waitlist who can no longer volunteer or are facing a similar problem. Tons of volunteer shifts are still not covered. It's a real mess.

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Stories are popping up all over the place. I saw that even a growing number of Scottish fans were suddenly running into visa/entrance issues.

Yep. Visas were green lit and then pulled with no explanation.

Story Here

There's a story out there that one of the World Cup referees was not allowed to enter the country. He's Somalian but is slated to officiate games so I wonder how that's gonna work.

wangus12 said:

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Man between FIFA and the US Gov, it seems they are doing everything possible to tank this thing lol.

Glad I got tickets, because it isn't coming back in my lifetime lol

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It's not just fans and volunteers

• Aymen Hussein who plays for Iraq was questioned for 7 hours before being admitted.
• Breel Embolo who will be making his 3rd WC cap for Switzerland was denied entry but eventually made it over
• Somall ref Omar Artan, (2025 CAF referee of the year and FIFA ref since 2018) was denied entry in Miami last week despite having a valid visa and diplomatic passport

jessexy said:

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Story Here

There's a story out there that one of the World Cup referees was not allowed to enter the country. He's Somalian but is slated to officiate games so I wonder how that's gonna work.

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Yeah. He was AFCON's 2025 Referee of the Year.

Iraq's starting striker was held at O'Hare for 7 hours and their team photographer was denied entry.

I guess FIFA didn't grease the wheels quite enough...

getting very very stoked to see WC football live next week

TXAggie2011 said:

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jessexy said:

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Story Here

There's a story out there that one of the World Cup referees was not allowed to enter the country. He's Somalian but is slated to officiate games so I wonder how that's gonna work.

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Yeah. He was AFCON's 2025 Referee of the Year.

Iraq's starting striker was held at O'Hare for 7 hours and their team photographer was denied entry.

I guess FIFA didn't grease the wheels quite enough...

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I hope he wasn't the ref for African Cup final, possibly the biggest ****show in the long history of soccer reffing ****shows.

oh no said:

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Chris Richards full participant in training today

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watching the last ep of the HBO doc, I'd forgotten how strong he'd come on for us. that dude is simply hard to cover on set pieces, especially with the extra 4 inches of hair height ha. We didn't see much of that at Palace, but Palace is far from a set piece powerhouse.

and, he's just a really likable, chill dude.

so stoked to have him at decent health. he was heartbroken to miss the Qatar WC

nai06 said:

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wangus12 said:

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Man between FIFA and the US Gov, it seems they are doing everything possible to tank this thing lol.

Glad I got tickets, because it isn't coming back in my lifetime lol

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It's not just fans and volunteers

• Aymen Hussein who plays for Iraq was questioned for 7 hours before being admitted.
• Breel Embolo who will be making his 3rd WC cap for Switzerland was denied entry but eventually made it over
• Somall ref Omar Artan, (2025 CAF referee of the year and FIFA ref since 2018) was denied entry in Miami last week despite having a valid visa and diplomatic passport

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Maybe embolo should have kept his nose clean? I'm sure he'll still make it but soccer and organize crime overlap a lot in Europe.

Quick polling question.

The way we've done these tournaments in the past is to have this main thread as well as individual threads for the USMNT matches. We've also done threads for individual stages (each group/Ro16/QF/SF/F), but it can clutter up the board. I've done the individual group/round threads with tables to make tracking points and who advances easier. I've done those threads since 2010 and its no sweat off my back to make them and keep track of every thing.

I feel like group threads could be super handy, but there will likely also be a group or two that just doesn't have much interest (which is fine). Then we could do threads for each knockout round.

For the first time in a few months I don't mind being unemployed lol. Though come to think of it I was also laid off during the last women's WC, so this is starting to be an unfortunate trend.