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.”
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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.”
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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.”
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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.
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