FIFA approves plan to expand World Cup to 48 teams

Because the Qatar World Cup wasn't controversial enough:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jan/10/fifa-vote-expand-world-cup-48-teams-from-2026?CMP=share_btn_tw

100% against this. Completely devalues the qualification process and makes a drawn out tournament even longer.

Fake football is the future.

Qualifiers will be pretty pointless in most confederations.

One good thing is more knockout games with the same amount of group stage games.

One terrible thing is how easily will these groups get manipulated on the last match day

Absolute crap

Good to know they are making the majority of the World Cup irrelevant like they did with the Euros last year.

Does this mean lesser number of qualifiers?

Let me see, less qualifiers, less money. No, it means more qualifiers.

rincon wrote:Qualifiers will be pretty pointless in most confederations.

One good thing is more knockout games with the same amount of group stage games.

One terrible thing is how easily will these groups get manipulated on the last match day

Which ones? The only ones I can think are assured are the cases of Japan in Asia and Mexico in NA.

Awful move, especially the 3 team groups, the potential for collusion on the 3rd game is too high.

BarrileteCosmico wrote:

rincon wrote:Qualifiers will be pretty pointless in most confederations.

One good thing is more knockout games with the same amount of group stage games.

One terrible thing is how easily will these groups get manipulated on the last match day

Which ones? The only ones I can think are assured are the cases of Japan in Asia and Mexico in NA.

Awful move, especially the 3 team groups, the potential for collusion on the 3rd game is too high.

Well we have 4 and half spots in SA. That probably becomes 7 and a half or so depending on the split. Only 2/3 teams won't go from SA, that's pretty pointless qualifiers. All the strong teams will 100% go.

Then we'll have no playoff for the second placed teams in Europe for sure, they'll all go.

Around 2 more spots for NA and the Caribbean. Bringing it to 5 or 6 teams making it from the current hex, basically all of them.

And so on. Pretty much every decent team will be guaranteed qualification.

How many new spots for Asia?

Can't complain, It'll help global football.

They haven't said how the spots will be split, I was just going by the spots we have now and adding a couple proportionately to what we already have.

I have never been in favour of this, but if we look objectively at the expanded euro results, the smaller countries did change the tournament!

The number of upsets was up substancially and I suppose that makes for more competitive and better futbol. Over the long run this exposure will help the smaller countries develop.

What it means to the big teams, is just like their ligas and CL, EL, there will be games against lessor teams and they can't take anything for granted.

The question to ask is will the inevitable upsets only occur in early rounds or will someone be able to pull off a key tournament upset. If we look at Euro, there were upsets all the way, with Portugal , who never won along the way (in regular tine) able to upset the winner of the actual final (Germany - France).

Which brings me to another pitfall and that is the tournament seeding. If they screw up, by not separating the top teams then we end up, like in the Euro where the top two teams met before the final.

Getting more teams into the world cup actually helps football in developing nations. Japan was a joke globally until it got to host a world cup, and then actual interest and money was put behind the national team instead of a human interest story that aired before Tsubasa specials. A team everybody thought was too physically incapable of competing in football against other groups(shortness, low speed) messed around and got to a world cup before they even hosted it behind that push.

More teams in the world cup greatly improves football, and expands the brand of FIFA.

@rincon ah I misread as that they're currently pointless. My bad. I assume seeding will be done via fifa rankings though so teams would still have an incentive to do their best.

Doing a WC with 48 teams is like throwing a birthday party and inviting your parents, grandparents, your uncle and your auntie. The party begins when they leave.

futbol_bill wrote:I have never been in favour of this, but if we look objectively at the expanded euro results, the smaller countries did change the tournament!

For the worse, the quality of football for the majority of that tournament was terrible.

Portugal's path to the finals ( fair play to them though, you can only beat what's in front of you) says all you need to know.

There isn't a single reason why you make this move if you are concerned about the quality of the product and FIFA have admitted as such by stating the move was made for political reasons.

@mole, i agree with you, but you couldn't help but admire the Wales and Iceland efforts tho. In the long run, it will help develop the smaller countries which is likely the objective. But as I said earlier, I'm not in favour of this.

To me, it really means, a lot of park the bus games, several upsets and generally speaking less quality futbol. To me that was what the Euro was (not to mention how upset I was at Spain's effort!), plus it killed my futbol pool winning streak!!

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:

futbol_bill wrote:I have never been in favour of this, but if we look objectively at the expanded euro results, the smaller countries did change the tournament!

For the worse, the quality of football for the majority of that tournament was terrible.

Yeah so everything like it has been since the start of time

Love this! The more, the merrier!

I personally find the 3 team groups and no draws far worse than the 48 teams

Same. The extra knockout stage is fine. There will be exciting games hidden there. The problem is the match with the 3 team group stages. I can't believe they would go back to that knowing how easily it can be rigged.

futbol_bill wrote:@mole, i agree with you, but you couldn't help but admire the Wales and Iceland efforts tho. In the long run, it will help develop the smaller countries which is likely the objective. But as I said earlier, I'm not in favour of this.

To me, it really means, a lot of park the bus games, several upsets and generally speaking less quality futbol. To me that was what the Euro was (not to mention how upset I was at Spain's effort!), plus it killed my futbol pool winning streak!!

Aren't upsets good things?

I actually like this, hopefully Concacaf gets an extra spot. Not that my country would benefit from this but who knows.

Doc wrote:I actually like this, hopefully Concacaf gets an extra spot. Not that my country would benefit from this but who knows.

You guys were in the big show a decade ago.

Soca warriors will be back long before 2026.