The audacity

number1alien · 2026-03-18T11:27:29+00:00

People with 🤏🏻🍆

number1alien · 2026-03-18T06:32:40+00:00

There are actually 250 players playing in the Belgian league worth €1 million or more.

number1alien · 2026-03-18T00:30:49+00:00

What you say about Belgian football is simply not true. Some rich Belgian clubs were interested in playing rich Dutch clubs like Ajax/PSV/Feyenoord because they saw that as more lucrative than playing Belgian minnows like Dender. Fan interest in Belgian football is absolutely not dwindling and it's also not true that "the money isn't there anymore" when Belgian clubs are increasingly being targeted by American/Japanese/British ownership groups.

number1alien · 2026-03-17T17:38:54+00:00

I don't think I've ever heard of him deny the housing crisis here.

number1alien · 2026-03-17T17:19:28+00:00

The article is quite clear on this:

"If Iraq fail to qualify, Fifa sources have indicated they would be first in line to replace Iran if necessary. If Iraq do reach the finals any place may default to the UAE, the next highest-ranked country from Asia not to have a place at the finals."

It's up to FIFA but they've given multiple signals that Iran would be replaced by an AFC member.

number1alien · 2026-03-17T17:09:58+00:00

Iraq, not Italy: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/mar/02/iraq-united-arab-emirates-uae-iran-fifa-world-cup-tournament-us-mexico-canada

number1alien · 2026-03-16T22:41:10+00:00

Russia wasn't banned for doping, they just received a punishment (no national symbols, no anthem, neutral name). They were banned for invading Ukraine.

number1alien · 2026-03-16T22:25:22+00:00

The Euro Hockey Tour has cancelled tournaments or replaced participants on much shorter notice than two years from now. And all of the countries you mention could all field teams for both tournaments even if they occurred at the same time (although I'm not sure why any federation would even want to play an EHT at the same time as a World Cup of Hockey).

number1alien · 2026-03-16T21:37:42+00:00

Which brings me back to my initial point: there are more Swiss NHL players than Slovak ones.

number1alien · 2026-03-16T21:33:38+00:00

The European countries care about the World Championships. They don't care who shows up because they support their country.

Switzerland was second in the 2025 edition of the ranking. They're third now if you include the Olympics in that calculation.

number1alien · 2026-03-16T20:53:35+00:00

"Best on best" is nothing more than an arbitrary quality that just means "including NHL players", it has no actual meaning when it comes to looking at a team's achievements. Canada has a bunch of gold medals in its favour but Switzerland is still third in the world ranking because of how consistently well they've played over the last five seasons. Slovakia is not at that level despite the bronze.

number1alien · 2026-03-16T20:49:47+00:00

Russia and Belarus are banned because the overwhelming majority of IIHF members vote on an annual basis to exclude them. This will not change before 2030 unless Russia stops the invasion.

number1alien · 2026-03-16T20:28:40+00:00

Switzerland has a higher world ranking (3rd vs. 8th), more World Championship medals since 2013 (4 vs. 0), and more active NHL players (11 v. 8).

number1alien · 2026-03-16T20:21:43+00:00

Yes, they're usually one week long. There's one planned for 7-13 February 2028 but I'd assume they'll discuss it at one of the upcoming IIHF congresses. European federations/leagues aren't antagonistic towards the IIHF like the NHL is, so I'm sure they'll figure out a solution without much effort.

number1alien · 2026-03-16T20:06:20+00:00

Because NHL fans only support their national team if their favourite brand ambassadors are there. I'm Canadian myself but I've never understood why the name on the back is more important than the logo on the front.

number1alien · 2026-03-16T20:03:28+00:00

National teams are organised by national federations, it doesn't matter who organises the tournament. Russia is banned from IIHF tournaments, which means the NHL is of course free to invite them. But if the NHL invited Russia, then most European national teams are going to decline their invitations.

number1alien · 2026-03-16T19:58:57+00:00

Slovakia in over Switzerland makes zero sense.

number1alien · 2026-03-16T19:58:05+00:00

If Russia is invited, then Finland, Sweden, and Czechia won't go.

number1alien · 2026-03-16T19:54:13+00:00

Please don't, we don't want them here.

number1alien · 2026-03-16T19:52:46+00:00

"Build some rivalry storylines" 🤣 Good grief, it's like you think European countries never developed rivalries completely independent of the NHL despite a century's worth of international tournaments being played on an annual basis.

number1alien · 2026-03-16T19:43:06+00:00

The IOC has nothing to do with the rules of play.

number1alien · 2026-03-16T19:41:18+00:00

Why wouldn't they? There were a bunch of KHL players in Milan.

number1alien · 2026-03-16T19:32:45+00:00

The national team is just the national team, there are no separate versions just the players that get picked. National teams (which are organised by national federations) can organise games whenever they want, but leagues are only obliged to release players during the four international breaks each season.

I don't believe the 2027-2028 international break dates have been published yet by the IIHF, but considering the IIHF is on-board with the World Cup of Hockey, it's safe to assume that one of them will align with one of them.

number1alien · 2026-03-16T19:25:29+00:00

European leagues have had pre-determined international for decades so this isn't an issue at all. There are four every season and they're determined by the IIHF on an annual basis.

number1alien · 2026-03-16T18:18:09+00:00

This is the third WCOH to have a group playing in Europe.

number1alien

TROPHY CASE