Move up from 32 to 48 teams is on the way soon
The Associated Press
MOSCOW» Savor the thrills, unpredictability, and constant drama of this World Cup. Even FIFA accepts the soccer showpiece might never be so engrossing again.
Russia might have staged the last 32team World Cup. Or at least the last one not shoehorned in a crammed format at the end of the calendar year.
FIFA has yet to definitively rule out adding another 16 teams in time for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but the leap to 48 teams will be happening for certain for the triplehosted North American tournament in 2026. Welcome to 16 groups, each featuring three teams of which two advance to a round of 32.
Soccer leaders were seduced by the extra cash an expansion tournament would offer, but at the expense of the spectacle itself. Russia vindicated the 2016 internal FIFA briefing document that determined 32team finals tend to produce the “highest absolute quality” on the field.
Here is a look at a winner and some losers of the tournament, which ended with France lifting the World Cup on Sunday after beating Croatia 42 in the final:
Russia: The lowestranked team at the finals, the hosts set the tone for the tournament by thrashing Saudi Arabia 50 in the opener. It wasn’t a fluke as Stanislav Cherchesov’s side unexpectedly qualified from its group and even eliminated 2010 World Cup winner Spain in the round of 16. It was only a successful penalty shootout away from reaching the semifinals.
As a tournament organizer, Russia also exceeded expectations. No one doubted Vladimir Putin’s ability to mobilize the resources of the state to ensure operations ran smoothly. But police often adopted a relaxed approach to fans gathering on street corners and drinking in the streets. The hooliganism and racism that has scarred Russian football was absent. Even as they celebrate their second World Cup title, the French should have a sense of dread.
Germany became the third holder from the last three World Cups to be eliminated in the group stage. Germany’s demise was a combination of complacency, failing to strike the right balance blending the young and older generation, and a simmering row over the Turkish heritage of Mesut Ozil and Ilkay Gundogan.
This was a tournament to forget for the top three players at last year’s FIFA awards. Player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo excelled in only one match, scoring a hat trick against Spain, before European champion Portugal was knocked out by Uruguay in the last 16. Lionel Messi managed a solitary strike to help Argentina qualify from its group. And like Portugal it fell at the start of the second round, losing to France 43. The world’s most expensive player at least made it a round further. But Neymar was still struggling for fitness after three months out with a broken toe.
The pitfalls of making a hasty return from injury were clear for Mohamed Salah, whose shoulder injury in the Champions League final in May meant the Egypt forward was unable to replicate his freescoring form. He scored only twice as Egypt was eliminated in the group stage.