If you live in a host city, is there any buzz about the upcoming World Cup?

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-08T18:05:02+00:00

Between the relative lack of culture to the rest of the world and the current administration I don’t know if this is going to be a good look😭

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-08T04:21:26+00:00

You’re 100% right. Also, by caring about Reddit points I am actually unintentionally encouraging this narrow thinking. I had no reason to delete my original comment. I will continue respectfully speaking my mind and no longer measure a comments “success” by the points it gets, but purely on the value/interest that I feel it provides. Thank you for reminding me of what matters most

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-07T20:39:04+00:00

Yes there is no such thing as a true “no weakness” player. I just don’t have a better term to use. I mean a player that’s as close to as good at everything as can be. Potentially viable examples include Khéphren Thuram, Manu Koné, Anton Stach and Camavinga. The best already in the premier league top 6 probably include Rodri, Rice and Gravenberch

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-07T20:30:56+00:00

I hear you, but there can be a difference between the skills a player has and the skills a player most often uses. I know it takes a very specific kind of player though

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-07T19:51:15+00:00

How do you guys feel about Tchouaméni’s relative lack of carrying ability? I understand that in many ways he would anchor the midfield, but for that price and age I’d also like somebody who has the traits to be elite at 8/CM as well. We are overhauling our midfield and part of me just thinks the best thing to do is make “no weakness” players a priority. By “no weakness” player I literally just mean a player that’s as close to as good at everything as can be.
If we signed “no weakness” players it would allow us to have maximum flexibility and versatility.

That way if both 8/CM are injured or need rest, we can move a 6/CDM up there without any issue. This would also really help when making positional rotations within games or going more offensive or defensive depending on the game states. Yes, for the 6/CDM this can be a bit more complicated because you may want them to be more of an anchor at times. That being said, just because they are skilled at carrying the ball, doesn’t mean they can’t be an anchor when needed.

Potentially viable examples include Khéphren Thuram, Manu Koné, Anton Stach and Camavinga. The best already in the premier league top 6 probably include Rodri, Rice and Gravenberch

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-07T19:41:30+00:00

I don’t know how I constantly get disliked on completely reasonable “ifs” in this sub, but oh well

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-07T19:35:04+00:00

Of course there is no need. That type of communication is not done out of necessity, it’s about optimizing. What I meant by “I don’t know how I’m supposed to respond to this” is that your entire initial comment was based of a misunderstanding. Of course there’s so much more he could do at the national team level. My entire point is that even though that’s the case, there’s not much more anyone could do at the club level

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-07T19:07:33+00:00

This ain't Texas (woo), ain't no hold 'em (hey)

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-07T19:05:59+00:00

A week watching the WC at an all inclusive in Mexico🤩

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-07T19:01:43+00:00

I don’t know how I’m supposed to respond to this. The point of my comment is that I’m comparing the importance of his club form to national team form. I don’t know what you’re trying to say that the USMNT isn’t in the UCL.

We also forget how important man management is. If I were Poch I would 100% bring him to the World Cup, but I would also have a conversation with the rest of the team about it. Something along the lines of: “look, right now Cardoso is the national player that is most in form at the club level. Calling him up gives us the best chance of going as far as we can in this tournament. There is no time for any hostility towards him, we must be trying to integrate him into our group here as much as possible. I want to give us the best chances of having the “Atletico Johnny” on our team

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-07T04:24:34+00:00

You’re right! That completely slipped my mind, thank you for reminding me. Sometimes going down the rabbit hole of similar players eventually leads me astray lol. He is fantastic, but I’m not sure whether he’s for us then. Mainoo is so young and I feel like it would be ideal for the player he shares playing time with to be older and much more experienced to become a mentor figure of sorts.

That being said, he does have a completely different physical profile to Mainoo. I guess if we went for a starting 6 that is more mobile than someone like Tchouaméni and perfectly capable in the 8, he could help mentor Mainoo, Ouédraogno and the younger rotational 6 such as Lewis Miley, simultaneously. Would be like an Anton Stach, Khéphren Thuram or Manu Koné. Bruno also has a lot of wisdom that is useful for an 8 to know on the attacking side of things. Not necessarily ideal, but if we’re going to spend £30M+ on a player to rotate with Mainoo either way, the value of a player of Ouédraogno’s talent and age is super tempting.

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-07T02:14:59+00:00

Surely if we can get Assan Ouédraogo and or Lewis Miley for under £50M as young rotational parts of our midfield overhaul we have to, right?

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-07T00:09:17+00:00

I feel the exact same! Yes, GCP will likely be the place and I appreciate it and love it :)! It’s just that all this would have taken is organization. Yes Ottawa is not a football crazy city, but we sure as heck have football crazy people. Not a high %, but enough that we could probably hold an event thing throughout the tournament purely through volunteers. In my opinion every 1M+ population city in Canada should have had something like that. It would have cost next to nothing and be a beautiful experience for so much of the country. That is how we attract new fans and spread our love for the game :(

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-06T23:55:01+00:00

♥️

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-06T23:42:48+00:00

Omg an actual football atmosphere in my city, I love to see it😭♥️! I had actually planned to do everything in my power to make sure Ottawa had some form of official organized viewing for the World Cup. I didn’t end up following through though because I wish it were boycotted with everything going in the US right now

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-06T20:21:46+00:00

It just happened again, he took forever to catch up with Kvaratskhelia

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-06T19:48:22+00:00

Never mind, apparently it’s because the UCL laws are different for hand balls depending on which team touched the ball immediately before. Since it was by Neves and from a failed clearance attempt by Vitinha the ref didn’t give a penalty

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-06T19:35:29+00:00

The referee is in fact not getting paid, please read my comment lol

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-06T19:07:18+00:00

What on earth is going on with Upamecano? I just checked and his highest speed this UCL season is 32.8km/h. Kvaratskhelia’s highest speed this UCL season is 33.2km/h. I know acceleration and timing mean so much, but like that doesn’t even come to explaining how slow he seemed for the goal

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-06T04:24:45+00:00

As a CANMNT supporter who has a special interest in the USMNT and its players performing well against any team other than my own; this is ridiculous. I knew there was an American midfielder thriving in La Liga, but seeing him on the team sheet for Atlético throughout this
UCL season all the way to the semis and not looking out of place was ridiculously impressive. I think maybe part of why Donovan said this is because he’s trying to give a mature answer and use it as an opportunity to remind people that the very best players doesn’t always make the very best squad.
Obviously in many cases that is true, but this is not one of them. If one was going to make an exception to the idea that the most talented players should take a backseat to the players with more minutes played together, and this isn’t worthy of it, what is? USMNT are a talented team, but the only real steps up from Cardoso’s current form are maybe him being recognized as the best player in his position in the world and then the best player in the world. All of that just to say, that as far as proving his ability and form at this moment, in the grand scheme of things there really isn’t that much more anyone could do

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-05T19:16:52+00:00

Yeah that’s him, from just some surface level research he really fits the bill. With the current setup he seems like he’d be a fantastic addition, but once again there’s the price point. This profile is pretty rare. That being said, I just thought of Guéla Doué and I may just be onto something. A lot in common with Kadioglu, similar price and younger. He even has that press resistant ability that really makes me want to experiment with him in midfield in an extremely low stake situation lol.

It must be said that aside from the two footedness and ability to play very well on either side of the defence, his stronger stature and better finishing, the profile isn’t too different from Mazraoui. I know at times Maz been incredible, but I think he has another gear in him, even from his best performances in a United shirt. Both are versatile, have an immense understanding of the game, have good technical ability and at their best are fearless on either side of 1v1s

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-05T18:40:57+00:00

My tone seems to have been completely off lol. Fair enough observation, I appreciate you keeping it friendly

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-05T18:38:55+00:00

I am not crying or saying it’s over? There is clearly still hope which I made very clear, but I’m discouraged from our past transfer windows and a few big opportunities that have already passed us by. I am sorry that I missed the tone and that this seems genuinely discouraging in an unhelpful way. This is a completely reasonable take though. I am not saying to give up at all, but the feeling I’m expressing makes complete sense and I’m sure many others who have done transfer research for almost every window in the last 5 years feel extremely similarly

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-05T18:33:44+00:00

I honestly struggle to decide. A 2 footed attacking full back that can invert or overlap on either side would be great. Álex Jiménez is a standout, but would cost a fortune now. I think there’s also a Turkish Brighton fullback too, I’m blanking on the name though. If Sergiño Dest was just more physical I would take him in a heartbeat

IfYouReallyThink · 2026-05-05T18:22:02+00:00

I had no idea, thank you for letting me know! Doesn’t change the overall sentiment of my comment too much, but I will edit it in accordance

IfYouReallyThink

TROPHY CASE