Philadelphia: The new World Cup format has been criticised by Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz, who has questioned if football's biggest tournament has become less special after FIFA increased it to 48 teams.
According to Ghana Web, Carlos Queiroz, who has coached in many countries and World Cups, spoke after Ghana lost 2-1 to Croatia in Philadelphia. 'I believe that value comes when things are rare,' he said. '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.'
Queiroz expressed concerns that the qualification tournaments might start to lose their significance if everyone qualifies. He emphasized that qualification should be serious, tough, and competitive. He further stated, '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.'
The 2026 tournament is the first to use the new system, replacing the old 32-team format that has been used since 1998. The change was approved in 2017 under FIFA president Gianni Infantino and was meant to allow more countries to take part in the World Cup.