This is the final scheduled men’s World Cup to take place with 32 teams involved. Starting in 2026, the tournament will expand to 48 teams. But what if that change happened this time around? Details from jeffrueter:
For all of the group stage’s advantages, this plan swiftly goes off the rails once we get to the knockout. With the top two sides advancing, we’re facing a knockout with 24 teams — an incomplete bracket. If, as the tweet above alludes to, some third place teams advance… is that really a decision made in the spirit of a fair competitive balance?
Again, we’re certain FIFA has all of this under consideration and has a reasonable sporting method to present next year. Suddenly, this is less of a hypothetical exercise and more of a tangible change in the works. There would undoubtedly be some growing pains as FIFA gets used to treating qualifying for a World Cup like shopping for bulk items at Costco. While we had some massive upsets in 2022 and an expanded field would hypothetically increase that potential, we could be in for even more one-sided clunkers.
In seriousness, growing the field does have some merit beyond throwing more games on FIFA’s calendar. If smaller nations like the Solomon Islands and El Salvador have a greater reason to dream of making the grand tournament, their federations may take the sport more seriously. It could lead to greater investment in team infrastructure, youth development via clubs or independent avenues, and perhaps even aid their domestic leagues.
Of course, we’d be suckers if we didn’t think this would eventually grow again to 64 teams. It’s honestly a clean format, even if it would suffer from bloating. Essentially, you’d have two simultaneous World Cups: 16 groups of four, 16 teams advance per side of the bracket, and then work toward a final. As long as there’s ample lodging and venue availability, it would be easy to envision. Ah well.Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs.
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