Despite leading Ghana to the Round of 32 in the 2026 World Cup, Portuguese manager Carlos Queiroz hasn’t hidden his frustration with this year’s tournament. He has voiced sharp criticism of the new 48-team format, arguing that the World Cup is losing its historical prestige and competitive edge.
Speaking after Ghana’s 2-1 defeat to Croatia in their final group stage match, Queiroz contended that expanding the field has diluted the exclusivity of qualifying — an achievement he says once required years of intense effort and fierce competition.
The Portuguese coach questioned whether the tournament has actually gained value by adding more teams or if it has simply lost its aura. He emphasized that qualifying for the World Cup should remain an extraordinary feat, not something easily attained.
Queiroz’s critique didn’t stop at the finals; he also took aim at continental qualifying. He noted that the abundance of slots now available—particularly for Europe and Africa—has stripped the qualifiers of their drama and significance, as the path to the tournament has become far easier.
Ghana coach: ‘money is doing all the talking now’
In his most provocative comments, Queiroz remarked that “money is doing all the talking now.” He argued that footballing decisions are increasingly driven by economic interests rather than sporting merit, sarcastically describing the current state of the game as a shift from “football” to “money-ball.”
His remarks come as FIFA continues to defend the new system, which expanded the field to 48 teams for the first time, increased the total number of matches to 104, and introduced a Round of 32 for the tournament hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The manager’s comments have reignited the debate over the World Cup’s future: some see the expansion as a vital opportunity for more nations to chase their dreams, while others, like Queiroz, believe the increased numbers have come at the expense of quality and the prestige of the world’s greatest sporting event.
Featured image via the Canary
By Alaa Shamali
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Sounds like the real problem is that soccer’s low-scoring means we can’t ever be sure who is the better team after a single game.
Maybe make the goal wider?
Sounds like you’re USian.
The guy from Ghana is not from the US and his complaint is ultimately that a worse team can win any single game and that a grueling qualification regime at least means teams will be closely matched.
Am I reading him wrong?