# FIFA World Cup 2026 - discussion etc **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** football-soccer-fifa\ **Created:** [October 14, 2025, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962 "2025-10-14T15:43:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 128
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/2541 "2026-07-02T01:48:51Z")
What a shot!!! ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/2542 "2026-07-02T01:49:47Z")
Should the goalie have stopped it? ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/2543 "2026-07-02T01:50:11Z")
He did get a bit of a hand on it. ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/2544 "2026-07-02T01:51:11Z")
I have to confess, the red card flipped me to the US side. And that was the prettiest goal I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/2545 "2026-07-02T01:52:27Z")
Senegal was up 2-0 about this time, but BH doesn’t have a Lukaku (sic) ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/2546 "2026-07-02T01:53:49Z")
Did he kick the goalie? ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/2547 "2026-07-02T01:56:47Z")
Looked like buddy gently placed his hand on goalie’s back (still a douchey move) but goalie reacts like he was, yeah, kicked, or something. Almost should’ve gotten carded for going down in a foetus like that for an absurdly long time. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/2548 "2026-07-02T01:57:00Z")
For better or worse the referee has had an outsized effect on the game. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/2549 "2026-07-02T01:57:37Z")
10 minutes. Wow. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/2550 "2026-07-02T01:59:57Z")
10 futbal minutes, not 10 football minutes… ---
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/2551 "2026-07-02T02:07:09Z")
Well, that was fun. Pochettino has some scheming to do this weekend. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/2552 "2026-07-02T02:07:18Z")
U.S. is through! ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/2553 "2026-07-02T02:11:09Z")
My dream of a Canada vs Mexico final is still possible… ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/2554 "2026-07-02T02:15:01Z")
Very happy. I hope that USA can make at least the semifinals. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/2555 "2026-07-02T02:20:10Z")
I have a dumb question: When the players are yelling at the referee, or the referee is talking to the players, or the players from opposing teams are barking at each other, what language(s) are being spoken? Does everybody speak/understand English? ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/2556 "2026-07-02T02:25:10Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > When the players are yelling at the referee, or the referee is talking to the players, or the players from opposing teams are barking at each other, what language(s) are being spoken? Does everybody speak/understand English? I’d guess sometimes Spanish. That was most likely the case during the Ecuador / Mexico match yesterday when the Ecuadorian player was sent off during the second half extra time. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/2557 "2026-07-02T02:39:47Z")
I’d say that if it’s not two countries that already speak (more or less) the same language playing (Brazil Portugal, for example, or USA Australia), they’re probably speaking English. Which makes me wonder if FIFA polices for hand gestures. Obviously different cultures assign different meanings to different gestures, but I suppose a few are as close to universal as possible. Like if I disagreed with a call and made the masturbation gesture toward the ref, I’d probably be looking at a yellow card. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/2558 "2026-07-02T02:45:59Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > I have a dumb question: > > When the players are yelling at the referee, or the referee is talking to the players, or the players from opposing teams are barking at each other, what language(s) are being spoken? Does everybody speak/understand English? I once had a soccer teacher that was once a ref. He said that at that level refs were assigned to games were they do know a lot or a bit of the languages of the teams of the match, also back then refs from different nations used to exchange lists of common insults with refs from other countries. Of course that does not always happen, so AFAIK, the ref crew frequently includes officials who speak many languages, allowing them to decipher most player conversation. More recently I also noted that in this World Cup, [there is a live video feed coming from the refs,](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/joe-pompliano-a8569486_the-wildest-camera-at-this-years-world-cup-activity-7464686233726746626-Nbzz) you bet that other refs or translators are now giving feedback to the refs about any obscure insult that takes place on the game field. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/2559 "2026-07-02T02:47:12Z")
In this afternoon’s match, Senegal played Belgium, and French is a national language of both countries. But the ref was from Ecuador. Doubtful if he speaks any French. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962/2560 "2026-07-02T02:50:34Z")
As mentioned, yes, not always you get a ref that speaks all; but they do get help from a ref team that does. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962.md?page=127) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fifa-world-cup-2026-discussion-etc/1023962.md?page=129)