Like the NHL playoffs are watered down by letting more than half the teams into the post season.
you can't compare that because the NHL, like all big NA leagues, has parity (draft, salary cap etc). The difference between the best and 16th best Euro NT is a lot bigger than in the NHL.
it's the same stupid idea as the new 24 team Euros ... of course the quality of the product will be affected if you include more teams. Not that FIFA will care.
Yeah, it isnt more inclusive, its just watered down and way too long.
Last Euros were the worst I've seen, it used to be a short, intense tournament but now the best of the best have to slog through the rest.
In tournaments you normally dont see teams going all-out from game 1, its more of a bell curve where they want to hit their peak as close to the Final as they can, but add more filler in there and all you get is more games at the lower end of the curve.
But money.
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The bigger problem for me with the 48 team tournament is that there will be 16 groups of 3 to eliminate just one team from each group. There'll also be all kinds of messiness with Team A having an advantage by knowing what they have to do in their second game while Team C is only playing their first game.
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AFC (Asia) – eight places (up from 4.5)
Caf (Africa) – nine places (up from 5)
Concacaf (North and Central America) – six places, of which three go to hosts (up from 3.5)
Conmebol (South America) – six places (up from 4.5)
OFC (Oceania) – one place (up from 0.5)
Uefa (Europe) – 16 places (up from 13)
In addition there will be two final spots available from a new World Cup play-off mini-tournament.
There will be some really crap teams from Asia and Concacaf regions added to a 48 team WC. As people have mentioned, total money grab from FIFA. Group stages are already watered down given this opening match. Sure they will be the big game here and there, but they will be few and far between.
you can't compare that because the NHL, like all big NA leagues, has parity (draft, salary cap etc). The difference between the best and 16th best Euro NT is a lot bigger than in the NHL.
Which doesn't matter if you are interested
A. Profit
B. Fan interest from participating teams.
Lets not bring up 7-1....there was some atrocious defending there...
Relax. Have some fun. Its not like either of these teams are going to be real threats so at least enjoy some goals.
Lol, nice backhanded insult. I was talking about the game, am I not allowed to talk about awful defending cuz Brazil played bad defence in the last World Cup?
Sorry this game is wonderful, a terrific way to start the tournament. Cannot wait to watch Qatar vs Tibet in the next world cup
I mean sure letting in more lower quality teams may water the tournament down. However if it gives more opportunity to teams like Canada to grow the sport in their nation that's a win in the long run.
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I mean sure letting in more lower quality teams may water the tournament down. However if it gives more opportunity to teams like Canada to grow the sport in their nation that's a win in the long run.
Iceland didn't make tournaments to grow their program, they invested money to build the program, then had success in a tournament. I mean no disrespect to Panama, but Canada if it invested the resources should be qualifying for a World Cup instead of Panama.
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I mean sure letting in more lower quality teams may water the tournament down. However if it gives more opportunity to teams like Canada to grow the sport in their nation that's a win in the long run.
Is it truly beneficial to growing the sport with additional minnow countries? Quality over quantity always wins at the end of the day. That being said, it would be awesome seeing Canada in a meaningful tournament.
Chicken/egg.
Canada's inclusion for 2026 guarantees money will be invested in Canada.
And there are now thousands of Canadian soccer plays who have have 8 years to work toward something tangible.
I can't see how it isn't anything but positive for the sport worldwide.
Lol, nice backhanded insult. I was talking about the game, am I not allowed to talk about awful defending cuz Brazil played bad defence in the last World Cup?
Sorry this game is wonderful, a terrific way to start the tournament. Cannot wait to watch Qatar vs Tibet in the next world cup
It wasnt backhanded, it was fairly straightforward. But it was not meant as an insult.
We're on the same page here, only difference really is that Russia are the hosts and sometimes the hosts are no good. Your example of 'Qatar vs. Tibet' being a perfect example.
Yes, that game would suck.
But hey, so far for two bad teams its been good attacking play. Take what you can get.
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It wasnt backhanded, it was fairly straightforward. But it was not meant as an insult.
We're on the same page here, only difference really is that Russia are the hosts and sometimes the hosts are no good. Your example of 'Qatar vs. Tibet' being a perfect example.
Yes, that game would suck.
But hey, so far for two bad teams its been good attacking play. Take what you can get.
Lol I it’s all good, just annoying to have to hear about that game when it’s competlely irrelevant to the conversation being had.
