World Cup 2026 — My Completely Unqualified Predictions From a Coach Who Plays Soccer Every Week

"I'm not an expert. I'm not a pundit. I'm a guy from Romania who grew up with a ball at his feet, plays every week with a group of Romanian friends in Canada, and has watched enough YouTube predictions to have formed strong opinions I'm not qualified to have. This is a Random Rant. You've been warned." — Sorin

The 2026 FIFA World Cup starts Thursday. It's being hosted across the United States, Mexico and Canada — which means for the first time in my life, the biggest sporting event on the planet is happening in my backyard. And I have opinions - the kind I usually save for my coaching journal.

Not expert opinions. Not pundit opinions. The opinions of someone who grew up in Romania where soccer wasn't just a sport — it was the sport. The thing you played in the street, the thing everyone watched, the thing that defined your social calendar from age six onward.

So let's get into it.

A Little About My Credentials (or Lack of Them)

When I was a kid in Romania, bringing your own ball to the game had serious privileges. If it was my ball — I chose my position. Usually somewhere exciting. If it was someone else's ball, I ended up in goal. Which means I've played every position on the pitch at one point or another.

When I moved to Canada I lost contact with the game for a while. No team, no regular games, nothing. Then through a friend — who was also playing — I got connected with a group of Romanian expats who play together regularly. We've been playing ever since. We even competed in an over-35 league for a while.

Every end of year our group votes for the best player of the year by position. For the last three years I've won best defender of the team.

So when I give you my World Cup opinions — this isn't someone who's only ever watched it on TV. But it's also not an expert. It's somewhere in between. A guy who loves the game, plays it regularly (take training approach seriously) , and has consumed enough YouTube predictions this week to have formed a view.

Take everything that follows with the appropriate amount of salt.

My Thoughts on This Tournament Before We Get to Predictions

48 Teams — More Inclusion, Less Quality

I have mixed feelings about the expanded format. On one hand — the quality is diluted. There are teams that qualified simply because there are more spots available, and they genuinely have no chance of going deep. That's just reality.

On the other hand — there's something genuinely beautiful about a team like 🇨🇼 Curacao getting to participate in a World Cup. For players from smaller nations this might be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. That matters. You can't put a number on what that means to a country that rarely gets to stand on the biggest stage in world football.

So — diluted quality, yes. But also expanded dreams. I'll take it.

North America as Host — A Real Challenge for Some Teams

Being hosted across North America is going to be a genuine competitive factor that doesn't get talked about enough. Nordic teams — I'm looking at you 🇳🇴 Norway, 🇩🇰 Denmark — are not built for high temperatures and high humidity in June and July. The climate in some of these cities is going to be punishing for teams from cooler climates.

Add to that the travel factor. If a team has to go from the east coast to the west coast between group games the recovery time is significantly reduced. Some teams will have a geographic advantage simply based on where their group games are scheduled. This is a legitimate tactical consideration that most prediction videos don't factor in.

The Tourism Side — Exciting but Exhausting

From a pure tourist perspective this is an incredible opportunity. The venues span some of the most spectacular cities in North America. But it's also genuinely exhausting to travel that much — and on game day in Toronto? I'll be honest with you. I'm staying home.

The tickets are expensive. They're hard to get. The demand is insane because that's what happens when you host the World Cup and people are willing to pay almost anything for the experience.

My plan? Beer, a big screen TV and the whole tournament from my couch. That's a much better value proposition. Though I'll admit — my thinking would be completely different if 🇷🇴 Romania had qualified. Then no ticket price would be too high.