November 12 – England manager Gareth Southgate says expanding the World Cup to 48 teams would be a detrimental move and make the tournament less exciting for fans.
FIFA have already approved the expansion to 48 teams for the 2026 tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada, and Gianni Infantino is looking at possibly enlarging the 2022 World Cup in Qatar though that looks increasingly unlikely with a final decision to be taken in March.
“I personally would not be a fan of that,” Southgate said when asked about the plans for a 48-team World Cup. “I think some of the important things around tournaments and qualifying tournaments is the jeopardy around it.”
England face Croatia in the Nations League next weekend and Southgate says the “tension” of these types of competitive, meaningful international fixtures are important.
“One of the things about the Nations League is that we are looking at a game where we could be going to a semi-final or we could be out of the league. That sort of jeopardy adds tension to the games and adds excitement for the fans. We have always got to have a mind of that feeling for the supporters about the importance of each match.
“I understand that the opportunity to play major tournaments for some countries that don’t get there so often is a big one…. but we have got to be careful not to make tournaments too big and then make qualifying for the tournaments too straightforward because I think the games become less interesting if there isn’t any jeopardy involved.”
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