Ghana boss fears 48-team WC 'vulgar,' 'ordinary'

Ghana manager Carlos Queiroz has criticized the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams, expressing his fear that the move risks turning it into a "vulgar, ordinary competition." The Portuguese coach spoke at a news conference after Ghana's 2-1 defeat to Croatia on Saturday, a result which meant the Black Stars qualified for the knockout stage as one of the group stage's eight best third-placed teams. "I do believe that what really has huge value, huge and significant value, is [that which] is rare," Quieroz said. "I've never seen in my life common things, ordinary things that come with huge value. "So, the number of teams that qualify for the World Cup, I am afraid that [it] can turn this competition [into a] vulgar, ordinary competition ... With so many teams qualifying for the World Cup, I think the value of the competition [comes from it] being rare to be in the World Cup. It's, in my opinion, still debatable. I need to see. It's one opinion that is based on my personal feeling." The former Portugal and Real Madrid manager -- whose comments came despite the fact that Ghana would have been eliminated for finishing third in their group in previous years -- went on to say that he felt the decision to expand the competition had financial motivations. "Today, money talks," he said. "In the game, money talks. This is called not football but moneyball. When money starts to talk, the decisions inside the pitch start to change. Let's see in the future what will happen." - Why are there hydration breaks at the 2026 World Cup, and why has FIFA been criticised? - Who is playing at the 2026 World Cup today? Kick-off times and how to watch in the UK - Thomas Tuchel admits England World Cup worry amid 'tight race' for injured stars Queiroz, who also expressed his concern about what the extra games might mean for player welfare, added that he felt the World Cup qualifiers had also been devalued. "You see in Europe... Who is out of Europe in the qualification?" he asked. "So, even the qualification matches in Europe, in Africa, they start to lose significance and meaning, because everybody's qualified -- in South America, most of the European teams." Ghana will face Colombia in the round of 32 on July 4 (July 3 local time), with the chance to play either Switzerland or Algeria in the round of 16. The expanded format, in which 32 teams qualify for the knockout stage instead of the previous 16, has seen seven countries make it out of their respective groups for the first time. South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Ivory Coast, Egypt, Cape Verde, Congo DR and co-hosts Canada are all set to make their knockout stage debuts. The new format has also given smaller teams such as Cape Verde, who finished second in their group above Saudi Arabia and two-time winners Uruguay, the chance to compete on the biggest stage. Cape Verde's population of 525,000 inhabitants is smaller than all 50 U.S. states, but they have progressed to the round of 32 and a meeting with defending champions Argentina.