Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz blasts FIFA's 48-team World Cup format

Ghana head coach Carlos Queiroz has criticised FIFA's decision to expand the World Cup to 48 teams, insisting that the new format has reduced the exclusivity and prestige of football's biggest tournament.

The 2026 edition is the first World Cup to feature 48 nations, replacing the 32-team format that had been used since France hosted the competition in 1998.

Although Ghana benefited from the expanded format by progressing to the knockout stage as one of the best third-placed teams, Queiroz believes the increase in participating nations has weakened the importance of qualification.

Speaking after Ghana's 2-1 defeat to Croatia, the experienced Portuguese coach argued that the value of the World Cup comes from how difficult it is to reach.

"I believe that value comes when things are rare. The number of teams that can qualify for this competition can turn it into something vulgar and ordinary. When so many teams can qualify, is the value still rare? That would seem debatable to me," Queiroz said.

Queiroz believes qualification campaigns are gradually losing their significance as more places become available across different confederations.

Using South America's qualification system as an example, he pointed out that six of the continent's 10 nations now qualify automatically, while a seventh still has a chance through the intercontinental playoffs.

"The real success now in South America would be in not qualifying. The qualification tournaments start to lose their significance if everyone qualifies. Qualification should be serious, it should be very tough, very competitive," he added.

The veteran tactician suggested commercial interests have become the driving force behind major changes to the global game.

"The World Cup should be something with meaning and significance. It should be rare. But, as you know, today money talks in the game. Where we used to talk about football, it is now moneyball," Queiroz continued.

Despite his criticism of the competition's new structure, Queiroz has enjoyed another landmark tournament with Ghana.

The 73-year-old recently became the oldest coach to win a World Cup match after guiding the Black Stars to victory over Panama. Ghana also earned a valuable draw against England before reaching the Round of 32 as one of the tournament's best third-placed teams.

Appointed Ghana head coach in April, Queiroz has now managed at five consecutive FIFA World Cups, having previously led Portugal and Iran across multiple editions of the tournament.