16 minutes to go until we find out who awaits ....

4 minutes ago, Scotty said:

16 minutes to go until we find out who awaits ....

Lots of talk on Canadian TV that it would be great to have Scotland here in Toronto or in Vancouver. Not so much because of it being a possible win, but because of it meaning avoiding other UEFA teams in pot 4 and also having the tartan army in Canada. Does help that the co-panelists for the draw are regular TSN commentators/analysts Stevie Caldwell and Kevin Kilbane so plenty of deference to what Scotland have achieved so far :)

FIFA so want to have Italy at this world cup !!! Nessun Dorma to start the draw? Tenuous Inverness connection though since Andrea Bocelli is singing it !

1.5 hours in and only now drawing the first team (Brazil). Super cringeworthy production so far !!!

of course, we got Brazil and Morocco after half a dozen skips ....

Think we’ve now had Brazil in 5 of our last 7 world cups?

Edited December 5, 2025Dec 5 by Yngwie

So, unless they tweak it, it looks like BMO field in Toronto will have:

• June 12 - Canada -Vs - Italy/N.Ireland/Wales/Bosnia-Herzegovina

• June 17 - England Vs Croatia

• June 20 - Ivory Coast Vs Ecuador

• June 23 - England Vs Ghana

• June 26 - Senegal Vs Iraq/Bolivia/Suriname

According to website I am looking at, Scotland games are

• Sat, Jun. 13 Haiti vs. Scotland Metlife Stadium, NJ

• Fri, Jun. 19 Scotland vs. Morocco Gillete Stadium, Foxboro

• Wed, Jun. 24 Scotland vs. Brazil Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta

Official fixtures to be published tomorrow.

Go about 2/3 of the way down this page and you can select a team and see possible venues for all their games right up to the final:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/interactive/world-cup-2026-group-stage-draw-live/

Must admit this is very uninspiring. Apart from the Scotland games (and maybe Wales , Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland if they qualify) I don’t see me watching many, if any, group games.

Mind numbingly cringy draw. A few interesting ties in there though. Canada opening in Toronto against potentially Italy (or NIR/WAL/BIH) has a certain section of the city buzzing. Toronto has a huge Italian diaspora (tapping into that population was why TFC signed Insigne and Bernadeschi in the first place) and they are stoked ... even though they have to negotiate NI then Wales or BH.

There are also a lot of English in Toronto so the prospect that 2 of England's group games could be here and/or a last 32 match if they take the journalistic journey to the final that the English media are already predicting, has that population buzzing. Toronto has the smallest stadium so there is a possibility that the official fixtures might put them in the USA. I guess we will know in about 3 hours. Also, a lot of Croatians in Toronto (which is recognised as one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world) so if England -V- Croatia is here, expect both fireworks and lots of locally based fans too.

I work with a Brazilian colleague, so our banter has already started ... got a WhatsApp from them just after the draw! Looks like that game will be June 24th in Atlanta or Miami so that's either a 70,000 stadium or 65,000 so maybe a chance to get a ticket :) The other games are on the east coast - New Jersey / Massachusetts / Pennsylvania so anyone flying into NEWARK (EWR) and basing themselves in New Jersey would be halfway between Philly and Boston, and close to Harrison. It's not a short set of journeys, but doable without flying. All are pretty big stadiums so again, more chance of a ticket than here in Toronto!

... finally, I am also going to find a use for the Panama top my wife brought back from trip there a few years ago :)

Heard on BBC Radio Scotland in the car coming home tonight that the first 2 Scotland games are actually in Foxboro and the Brazil game is in Miami.

Seems to be about 30 miles from Boston.

First match being on in the middle of the night (our time) is a bit rubbish.

Yeah they seem to have switched the official order for some reason but it’s all good. 2 games in Boston and then a trip to Miami is doable for the tartan army.

They did the same thing in Toronto. Based on the draw, England should have been here but instead we get other games from that group with Panama instead. Germany V Ivory Coast though so that might be a cracker.

16 minutes ago, Yngwie said:

Seems to be about 30 miles from Boston.

First match being on in the middle of the night (our time) is a bit rubbish.

The players will thank you for it. June and July is bloody hot over here during the day but by 9pm local time it’s cooling off.

1 hour ago, Scotty said:

Yeah they seem to have switched the official order for some reason but it’s all good. 2 games in Boston and then a trip to Miami is doable for the tartan army.

They did the same thing in Toronto. Based on the draw, England should have been here but instead we get other games from that group with Panama instead. Germany V Ivory Coast though so that might be a cracker.

Reading a bit more into it in various places tonight and it seems to be mostly economics where Toronto is concerned. Its the smallest stadium at 45,000 whereas Dallas has closer to double that so more tickets and more revenue ... M21 should have been England -V- Croatia (as the #1 seed has the first match in the group) and M22 was Panama -V- Ghana. M21 was scheduled for Toronto and M22 for Dallas. They simply switched them (and others) to make more money by the looks of it.

I agree that economic factors will come into play, so I guess TV and advertising revenues also come into it too. It therefore suits the money men to schedule England's games earlier than Scotland's on the assumption that there will be a bigger TV audience.

A separate consideration for teams is the potential for having to play a game at altitude in Mexico City. At over 7,000' the altitude is unlikely to be an issue if you are just visiting, but it is an issue if you are a footballer giving 100% physical effort in a game. Teams who might end up playing there will need some acclimatisation. From what I can see on the FIFA site, Mexico, South Africa, Uzbekistan, Colombia and the winners of the Republic of Ireland's play off group will know they have group stage matches there. In the round of 32, the winners of group A will play one of the 3rd place teams from groups C,E,F,H and I. Then in the round of 16, the winner of that game will play again in Mexico against the winner of the match between the winner of group L and one of the 3rd place teams from groups E,H,I,J and K.

This means that apart from the teams specifically mentioned above, all the teams in groups C,E,F,H,I,J,K and L could potentially have one or two games at altitude and presumably will need to prepare accordingly.

It also means that if Scotland finish 3rd in their group, they could be playing in Mexico city in the round of 32. It also means, that were they to win that, they could then play England in Mexico city in the round of 16.

I did watch the draw, I was later home than usual and it was just starting as I got in so I missed all the guff beforehand. To be honest there are so many teams it's more like "2nd qualifying" than the finals. 72 matches to get rid of 16 team is nonsense. I can't imagine watching many games in the group stage.

Scotland have a tough draw, but with eight 3rd place teams going through it's certainly very achievable to get through, especially with a good result in game 1 against Haiti. At least they are non-european oppostion which makes it more interesting, and some "big" teams can take a while to get going. England's group is uninspiring - Croatia will be dull, Panama were poor oppostion in 2018 and only the Ghana match looks semi-interesting.

As usual it will get going when the knockouts start, although maybe that'll be last 16 rather than last 32 this time.

A goal, an assist and a deserved Man of the Match for Ryan Christie today.

25 minutes ago, Robert said:

A goal, an assist and a deserved Man of the Match for Ryan Christie today.

Must have played better than he did on this day 11 years ago!