The World Cup in Qatar is almost half way through, and there are already talks about the next one, which will be organized in four years by the joint forces of the United States of America, Canada and Mexico. It has already been known that for the first time in history, 48 teams will participate in the final tournament of the World Cup, although there is a possibility that the form may change. Or, stay the same. It depends from which angle it is viewed.The original plan, still in force, is for 48 national teams to be divided into 16 groups with three teams each. Two teams each would advance to the round of 16, and the game would still be played according to the established knockout system, however…##NAJAVA_MECA_6857498##FIFA officials are somewhat concerned that such a competition system could have the effect of diluting quality. In any case, the introduction of an additional 12 national teams means a change in relief and a chance for teams that do not really have a real chance to make it to the final tournament, but the way in which Qatar and Costa Rica presented themselves in the current tournament suggests that the real football starts only when the elimination phase matches start. As in the system with three teams in the group it offers big disadvantages. For example, the possibility of calculations by two teams in the last round to affect the elimination of the third; or that if one team loses the first two matches, then the last match in the group essentially does not have too much importance except for the distribution of positions, because both teams would go to the next round.Who would have thought!? The Samurai beat Spain to top group EThat’s why on the sidelines of meetings in Doha, hints are being heard more and more loudly that FIFA could change the decision made five years ago when it decided that there would be three teams in each group. There are rumors that FIFA officials could bring back the four-team system in a group, as it has been in place since France 1998 and has been shown to work better than others.The Guardian assures that nothing has been decided yet; however this topic will be brought up forward in the coming months. And that the decision – if there is one – will follow next year.🚨 FIFA are considering ditching plans to make the 2026 World Cup 16 groups of 3 teams and are now considering changing the format to 12 groups of 4 teams. (Source: Guardian) pic.twitter.com/769qGJKcKP— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) December 1, 2022 If the format with four teams in the group remains, then the number of games would increase to as many as 104. The first two national teams would secure placement in the sixteen finals, they would be joined by the eight best third-placed players – there is no hint of the elimination of that additional elimination round – so the number matches from 64 in this format (as many as are played in Qatar) increased by exactly 40.As the sport has become a business, and FIFA takes care of that more than they do about the players and the competition calendar, it is mentioned that the sponsors would not mind if the format with four teams in the group remains in force, because that way they would generate additional revenue from ticket sales and television rights. The players and coaches of national teams probably have a say about the whole thing, but it seems like no one is listening to them. And that would mean that then the future world champion would have to play eight games instead of the previous seven (the additional one would be in the round of 16).
