Ghana may have benefited from the expanded FIFA World Cup, but its head coach is not convinced the new format is good for football.
Black Stars manager Carlos Queiroz has criticised the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams, warning that increasing the number of participating countries could diminish the prestige of the tournament.
The Portuguese coach spoke after Ghana’s 2-1 defeat to Croatia on Saturday, a result that still saw the Black Stars qualify for the Round of 32 as one of the tournament’s eight best third-placed teams.
Despite his team’s progression under the expanded format, Queiroz argued that the value of the World Cup lies in its exclusivity.
“I do believe that what really has huge value, huge and significant value, is that which is rare,” he 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.”
The former Portugal and Real Madrid manager also suggested that financial considerations influenced FIFA’s decision to expand the tournament.
“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.”
Queiroz further expressed concerns over player welfare, saying the additional matches could place greater physical demands on footballers.
He also argued that the expansion had reduced the significance of the qualification process.
“You see in Europe… who is out of Europe in the qualification? Even the qualification matches in Europe, in Africa, they start to lose significance and meaning because everybody’s qualified.”
The 2026 World Cup has, however, produced historic results under the new format, with nine of Africa’s 10 representatives reaching the Round of 32. It has also allowed seven countries—including South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Cape Verde, DR Congo and co-hosts Canada—to qualify for the knockout stage for the first time.
Ghana will face Colombia in the Round of 32 on July 4, with a place in the last 16 at stake.
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