sports
Drink in the jeopardy of the World Cup playoffs, it's the last we'll get for a while
The expansion of this summer’s 48-team tournament mean Tuesday’s games will be the best we see until the round of 16
TL;DR
- World Cup qualifying matches and playoffs are often more exciting than the early stages of the tournament.
- The 2026 World Cup's expansion to 48 teams with a 12-group format is expected to reduce the meaningfulness of early games.
- The new format might allow weaker teams to progress with minimal wins and then rely on penalty shootouts in the knockout stages.
- Fifa's decision to change from 16 groups of three to 12 groups of four for the 2026 World Cup was reportedly made on a whim by Gianni Infantino.
- The expansion leads to more games, a longer tournament, and jeopardy concentrated at the wrong moments.