New faces, gulfs in class and flawed drama: how 48 teams changed the World Cup | 2026 World Cup
ILess than 12 months after Gianni Infantino took over from Sepp Blatter as president, FIFA announced the expansion of the men’s World Cup from 32 to 48 teams. The reaction was mixed. Diego Maradona said he was “happy with Gianni’s move” because it allowed each country to have the dream of reaching this tournament, renewing their love for football. Joachim Löw, then in charge of the world champions Germany, said: “I don’t think it’s a good idea to reduce the quality of the sport … Over time, the quality deteriorates.”
On the evidence of the first edition of 48 teams, won by Spain after 104 games in five and a half weeks in North America, it is fair to conclude that Maradona and Löw both had a point.
Cape Verde leads the way with new faces
“Football is more than Europe and South America; football is global,” Infantino said after the 48-team format was announced in 2017, and the 2026 World Cup was undoubtedly a celebration of the diversity of the sport. Africa and Asia have benefited more than the other confederations when it comes to major qualifying shares and all four starters have had their moments. Livano Comenencia’s equalizer for Curaçao against Germany was a landmark in the group stage and Cape Verde were the saddest of the tournament, even if they didn’t win a single game.
The addition of the last 32 also gave six countries the opportunity to play in the finals of the World Cup for the first time, with Egypt and Canada recording their first such victories. With Infantino likely to spread the tournament’s records across all of Fifa’s member associations, you could argue that smaller countries – especially those that draw on a previously untapped diaspora – will be stronger in future tournaments.
Gulf class
With the big tournament came a wide gap between the opponents in the group stage. In the last 32-team World Cup in Qatar, Brazil and Haiti were the biggest group mismatch, with a difference of 77 in their world ranking. In this tournament there were five group matches with more than 65 slots. Some of them were competitive – England 0-0 Ghana, Spain 0-0 Cape Verde. But there was little chance of a shock defeat for the big guns, let alone a humiliating exit from a team like those who ran Spain in 2014 or Germany in 2018. Poor Uruguay were the only ones to suffer early this time.
While Costa Rica had the worst goal difference in 2022 (-8), there were five countries that matched that or did worse in 2026. Iraq (-11) were the whipping boys in Group I – as close to the group of death as the 48-team structure would be with France, Norway and Senegal, all progressing in predictable fashion. The pedestrian category has at least given star names like Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi a chance to gain real momentum in an unforgettable race for the Golden Boot.
Faulty third party system
After the 2022 group stage, in which only two teams (about 6%) qualified before the final round of matches, FIFA changed its three-team system to an expanded 48-team format and stuck to four teams, with the eight third-placed teams advancing to the last 32. they needed to improve.
Knockout representatives can also change on the fly. When Riyad Mahrez put Algeria 3-2 against Austria in the 93rd minute in the last match in Group J, it meant that Algeria would go through to the second place when they will play Spain in the last 32. When he conceded the equalizing goal in the 96th minute, it meant that they would face Switzerland on the other side. Players and fans of third-placed players like Scotland were also forced to stay for a few days before finding out they were actually going home.
With goal difference changing to one as a draw, there were five teams (about 10%) already eliminated before their final group game, the third-place system giving the impression that everything is still to play for.
What about 64 teams?
Infantino also emphasized the importance of organizing the World Cup “not only for Europe and South America” when he rejected the idea of an increase of 64 teams. Adding another 16 countries – but only for 24 matches – appears to be the logical next step for Fifa if it wants to end the third-place playoff system and return to the group stage. There may be at least some risk, although differences between groups may be greater.
Nations such as New Caledonia (ranked 151) and Indonesia (118) were involved in the final stages of qualifying for the 2026 program and managed to enter with high quotas. How would they fare against Spain or Argentina? And with 16 of the world’s best teams in one pot, flashy team encounters – which were already rare at this point – would almost certainly be a thing of the past. England 4-2 Croatia would not have happened with 64 teams.
Then there is the problem of playing four games a day for the three-week group stage – with many games taking place during the summer heat in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Of the 23 proposed venues, only the renovated Bernabéu and Camp Nou will have a roof. Further expansion will be a hot topic in the coming months, for sure.
