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Loss
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The 2026 World Cup draw will be rigged in favor of the United States.

The World Cup draw is tomorrow. ... I think this is gonna be the most rigged draw ever for the United States. And I put together my, this is my pick for our group: USA, Iran, South Africa, New Zealand.

Hot TakeSoccerHotSarcastic
The 2026 World Cup draw placed the USA in Group D with Australia, Paraguay, and a UEFA playoff winner — not with Iran, South Africa, and New Zealand as PFT predicted. The draw was not conspicuously 'rigged' for the US either, as Australia and Paraguay are competitive opponents.
Open
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The USMNT should reach the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup

I think our ceiling is probably the semi-finals at the very best in the next World Cup... Quarterfinals in the World Cup. And we've got a good enough team. The players are good enough to do it.

The 2026 World Cup has not happened yet.
Win
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Gregg Berhalter is a shitty coach

Our coach stinks. And having him get this tie against Brazil is gonna—because we are a loser country in soccer—[make people think] Greg's got the team on the right track and he's not gonna be fired... I do know that it's gonna be bad news if he's the coach of the World Cup team.

Gregg Berhalter was fired in July 2024 following the USMNT's poor performance in the Copa America.
Push
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The USMNT's tie against Brazil is actually 'bad news' because it keeps Gregg Berhalter around

This was a bad tie because now it's gonna keep a shitty coach around because people are gonna be like, 'Good job Greg. You're coaching for your job and you got a major win when you tied Brazil.' ... It's gonna be bad news if he's the coach of the World Cup team.

Berhalter was eventually fired after the 2024 Copa America disaster, so the tie didn't save him forever.
Loss
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

My World Cup betting strategy is to bet every game in the group stage to be a tie

My strategy in the opening round of the World Cup in the group stage. I'm just gonna bet every game to be a tie. Ooh. Across the board that's, I'm rooting for ties nonstop. You usually get good plus signs next to 'em.

There were only 10 draws in the 48 group stage matches of the 2022 World Cup; betting every game to tie would have resulted in significant losses.
Loss
Billy FootballBilly Football

Ecuadorian players were paid off by the Qatari government to throw the opening World Cup match

I saw a tweet from a reporter that said that Ecuadorian players were getting paid off by the Qatari government to, you know, to let, let the Qatar [win]... they said it end [1-0] after the end of the second half.

Ecuador won the opening match 2-0; the rumor of a Qatari bribe was debunked and proved to be false.
Void
HankHank

Soccer is a joke because games are decided by penalty kicks with lasers in players' faces

I said that soccer is a joke. Like the fact that, you know, your spot at the world cup is determined by a fucking penalty kick with laser beams getting shot in your face is a joke.

A subjective opinion about the legitimacy of a sport.
Void
HankHank

I don't believe the United States will ever be good at soccer

I just don't believe that we will win. It's that simple... I wish we were good at soccer. We're not. And I'm not gonna pretend like soccer matters in this country when it doesn't.

The USMNT has struggled to achieve top-tier global status, though they did qualify for and reach the knockouts of the 2022 World Cup.
Void
Big CatBig Cat

The European Super League would actually have been sweet because of the high-level matchups.

The Super League kind of would have been sweet. ... Imagine if there was just a Wednesday, like every Wednesday afternoon, just the best teams in the world playing each other. ... would you watch because it's going to be sweet. They'd be like, yeah, I'd watch. ... It would have been fucking sweet.

Subjective opinion on sports entertainment value.
Push
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The European Super League was a trial balloon that will eventually lead to it actually happening.

It's going to happen. The Super League's going to happen. This was a trial balloon that they sent out there.

While the specific breakaway league failed, UEFA changed the Champions League format to a 'Swiss Model' that guarantees more games between top clubs, often called a 'compromise Super League'.
Void
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

VAR is ruining soccer and we should go back to just complaining about refs

My other fire fest... is robots. Especially VAR robots in the World Cup, in the Women's World Cup. It's ruining soccer. It is absolutely ruining it. I'm actually the mindset that I'm out on instant replay across the board. I think we've gone too far. Fuck the robots. We need to complain about refs.

This is an ongoing subjective debate in the soccer world. VAR remains highly controversial years later.

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