Ghana head coach Carlos Queiroz has strongly criticized FIFA's decision to expand the World Cup to 48 teams, arguing that the change has devalued the qualification process and turned the tournament into something “vulgar and ordinary.”
First 48-team World Cup underway
This year's tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico is the first to feature 48 teams, replacing the 32-team format that had been in place since 1998. The decision to expand was made in 2017, driven by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who argued it would increase “access” to the tournament, allowing more nations and fans to participate in the world's most popular sporting event. Critics, however, contend that Infantino's real motivation was to boost FIFA's revenues and consolidate his power.
Queiroz's historic achievement
Queiroz, who has managed 11 different national teams over a coaching career spanning more than four decades, became the oldest coach to win a World Cup match when Ghana beat Panama 2-1 in their opening game in Toronto on June 17. At 73, he surpassed the previous record. That victory, combined with a hard-earned 1-1 draw against England, secured Ghana's place in the knockout rounds as one of the best third-placed teams.
Criticism of third-place qualification
Despite his team's success, Queiroz is not convinced that third-placed teams should advance beyond the group stage. Speaking after Ghana's 2-1 defeat to Croatia in Philadelphia on Saturday, he said: “I believe that value comes when things are rare. The number of teams that can qualify for this competition can turn it into something vulgar and ordinary. When so many teams can qualify, is the value still rare? That would seem debatable to me but it is only my opinion.”
Qualification loses significance
Queiroz, who became only the second coach after Bora Milutinovic to appear at five consecutive World Cups—having led Portugal in 2010, Iran in 2014, 2018, and 2022, and South Africa in 2002—lamented the diminished importance of qualification. “The real success now in South America would be in not qualifying,” he said, noting that six of South America's 10 teams now qualify automatically, with the seventh-place team getting a second chance via inter-confederation play-offs. “Who did not qualify in Europe? The qualification tournaments start to lose their significance if everyone qualifies. Qualification should be serious, it should be very tough, very competitive. The World Cup should be something with meaning and significance. It should be rare. But, as you know, today money talks in the game. Where we used to talk about football, it is now moneyball.”
