DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The following World Cup shall be the largest ever after world soccer body FIFA took the leap from a 32-team field to 48 teams in 2026.
It means more of soccer’s so-called “little teams” that did not make it to Qatar shall be given a probability of a lifetime when the tournament is hosted by america, Canada and Mexico.
Still, it isn’t clear to everyone that greater is best.
While 48 teams might increase the probabilities of fairytale moments akin to Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win over Argentina within the group stage, there’s also probability of the alternative: more one-sided games which will take among the shine off a tournament that is supposed to be the very best vs. the very best.
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“It means that we’ll have to search out 16 more good teams,” said Arsene Wenger, FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development and a central figure in making a 48-team World Cup workable.
FIFA remains to be promoting the expansion as an upgrade and good for the worldwide game. All continents could have more slots and FIFA says opening soccer’s marquee event to more of its 211 member countries or territories should have an effect beyond the teams, with the prospect of much more eyes on TV screens and more kids inspired to kick balls across the globe.
“I’m convinced that if the teams, the countries have more opportunities to go to the world stage, it can do more for (soccer) development inside that country,” Wenger said.
Qatar’s World Cup is the primary within the Middle East and the furthest FIFA has ventured from the sport’s heartlands in Europe and South America. That call has provoked its own harsh criticism however the on-field motion may need been a timely advert for the 48-team plan, which FIFA announced in 2017 and has needed to defend ever since over doubts about what the precise format shall be.
In Qatar, Japan was one in every of three Asian teams to qualify for the last 16, which had never happened before. African teams collected more points within the group stage than ever. Morocco topped a bunch containing 2018 World Cup runner-up Croatia and semifinalist Belgium, and advanced to the quarterfinals by beating Spain on penalties on Tuesday. Cameroon signed off by beating Brazil, the primary time an African team has conquered the five-time champion and soccer’s most celebrated team at a World Cup.
“Just have a look at how the World Cup is unfolding,” said Senegal coach Aliou Cisse. “It’s not like 30 years ago when the massive fish were completely eating the little fish alive.”
Amid Japan’s run in Qatar, winger Takefusa Kubo said “they will’t underestimate Asia.” Ghana coach Otto Addo said Africa deserves its extra places and its teams now have a greater probability of going further.
Nonetheless, the expansion may not have much of an impact on the ultimate consequence of the World Cup.
European and South American teams — the massive fish Cisse referred to — have devoured up every one in every of the 21 World Cup titles to date, with 12 for Europe and nine for South America. No teams from one other continent have made a final in nearly 100 years of World Cup history. Eighty-two out of 84 semifinalists have been European or South American. The US in 1930 and South Korea in 2002 are the exceptions.
In Qatar, while teams from outside Europe and South America did well within the group stage, only Morocco advanced to the quarterfinals, where it can face Portugal on Saturday. South Korea, Japan, Senegal, america and Australia were all eliminated within the round of 16.
A much bigger World Cup does offer clear advancement opportunities for FIFA, though.
Just over 3.5 billion people, greater than half the world’s population, watched the 2018 World Cup in Russia, in line with FIFA, and the soccer body earned record revenues of $7.5 billion from industrial deals tied to the Qatar World Cup.
With those numbers within the bank from a 32-team tournament, 48 offers the apparent probability to sell World Cup aspirations to more people in additional places.
AP Sports Author Ronald Blum contributed to this report.
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