international
World Cup nations slam UEFA chief for ‘disappointing’ 48-team criticism
Key takeaways
- Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan qualified for their first World Cup this year, while DR Congo and Haiti reached football’s top event for the first time since 1974.
- The 2026 tournament is the largest ever, featuring 48 nations, up from 32 in previous iterations.
- “For our countries, there is no such thing as an unimportant World Cup match,” the statement said. “Football does not belong to a select group of nations.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
The football associations of Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Curacao, Haiti, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia said in a statement on Sunday that they “respectfully but firmly reject” Ceferin’s comments.
Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan qualified for their first World Cup this year, while DR Congo and Haiti reached football’s top event for the first time since 1974. Curacao lost to Germany 7-1 on Sunday in their tournament opener.
The 2026 tournament is the largest ever, featuring 48 nations, up from 32 in previous iterations.
Article preview — originally published by Al Jazeera. Full story at the source.
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