World Cup expansion may dilute the tournament, but it gives small nations a moment in the spotlight
FOXBOROUGH — Graham Arnold played and coached soccer for 44 years in Australia, leading the Socceroos to the Round of 16 in the 2022 World Cup. But Arnold, now the manager for Iraq, has never seen anything as emotional or impactful as when his new country qualified for its second World Cup, 40 years after the first.
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“I saw a change of just in the faces and the energy in the Iraqis when we qualified,” Arnold said Tuesday night in Foxborough after Iraq lost its World Cup opener, 4-1, to Norway. “Most of the world wouldn’t know, but in Iraq 46 million people are obsessed with football, and it’s the only major sport, and it’s huge. So to qualify for the first time in 40 years changed the country, it really has.”
The World Cup will likely be settled between the usual powerhouses such as Argentina, France, and Spain. But with this year’s World Cup expanded from 32 to 48 teams, countries such as Iraq are the story of the group stage, which enters its second week on Thursday.
Four countries qualified for the first time — Curacao, Cape Verde, Jordan, and Uzbekistan. Six other small countries are in the tournament for just the second time — Congo (1974), Haiti (1974), Bosnia-Herzegovina (2014), Panama (2018), Qatar (2022), and Iraq (1986).
They finally get a chance to play Messi, Mbappe, and Ronaldo, in front of millions of fans worldwide.
“Of course, when you’re a child sitting in front of the TV, you dream of this,” said midfielder Amir Al-Ammari, who assisted on Iraq’s lone goal Tuesday. “Right now, I can’t believe it. My feelings are all over the place. We’re in a group of big stars who play in strong leagues. For me, that will be another milestone in my career, to go out and compete against the biggest stars in the world.”
In Foxborough, throngs of Haitians and Iraqis packed the stadium and were thrilled to cheer on their country on the world stage, even if their teams ultimately lost.
“They’re passionate about their national team, and as you saw there’s a lot of Iraqis here today,” Arnold said. “I just want to say to all the Iraqi fans back in Iraq, be proud of the players. We’ve gone up a lot of levels with the opponents we’re playing against. Stay happy.”
The expanded field also helped countries end long World Cup droughts, with Austria, Scotland, and Norway each qualifying for the first time since 1998.
“Just how difficult it is for a country like Scotland to go to a World Cup and win games, it doesn’t happen very often,” Scotland manager Steve Clarke said after his team defeated Haiti, 1-0, for its first World Cup win in 36 years. “I said we were going to enjoy it. Obviously if your team wins, you can enjoy it even more.”
The expanded field has brought significant changes to this year’s format. There will be 104 matches, up from 64. The new Round of 32 is now the first knockout stage, as 32 of the 48 teams advance.
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In previous World Cups, only 16 of 32 teams advanced — the two top teams in each group. This year, eight of the 12 third-place teams will also advance.
The offshoot is that the groups appear to be diluted, and the setup creates the potential for some teams to not play full tilt in the third match after their status is set. But it also keeps some of the smaller countries in play for advancement.
“I believe the way the World Cup is, with 48 teams, 3 points should be enough to get you through,” Arnold said.
Apple TV analyst Taylor Twellman said he was initially against tournament expansion, but acknowledged, “I might be missing the boat a little bit.”
“Do I think the group stage is going to be lopsided this year? I absolutely do. I don’t think the Haitis and the Curacaos can really compete at this level,” said Twellman, the Revolution’s all-time leading scorer. “On the other hand, we wouldn’t be talking about them if they didn’t qualify for the World Cup. I think it’s a moment to recognize some of the lesser nations and the trials and tribulations they’ve had in this sport, and how they’ve had to navigate that to get here.”
The small countries have mostly acquitted themselves well.
Curacao, the smallest country ever to qualify (population approximately 158,000), took a predictable 7-1 beating from Germany. But Congo scored a huge emotional win Wednesday with a 1-1 draw with Portugal. Jordan, a first-time qualifier after 40 years of attempting, gave the Austrians all they could handle in a 3-1 defeat on Tuesday night.
“No one was expecting us to be that bold, to be that proactive, and to be that capable of benefiting from the available opportunities,” Jordan manager Jamal Sellami said. “This was exactly the message we wanted to convey.”
And the biggest surprise result of the tournament so far has been the tiny nation of Cape Verde, with a population of approximately 500,000, tying mighty Spain, 0-0. Goaltender Vozinha became a national hero with several big saves and broke down in tears after the match.
“This means everything for our country,” Cape Verde manager Pedro Leitao Brito said. “This is proof of what our country is about – resilience and to try to overcome hardships.”
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