world cup<\/span>criticism began pouring in about how the quality of the tournament could deteriorate.<\/p>\nCritics argued that allowing smaller teams to participate on the expanded field would increase the number of weak games and increase the likelihood of skewed results. <\/p>\n
But as the biggest World Cup in history gets underway, those fears haven’t fully materialized. <\/p>\n
Through the first 24 games, the goal difference remained unchanged compared to the 2022 edition in Qatar, suggesting that the wider field did not increase one-sided competition.<\/p>\n
Germany Defeated newcomer Curacao 7-1.<\/span>Qatar was defeated 6-0 Canada<\/span>and Haiti was defeated<\/span> After 2 games. However, some non-traditional countries were able to hold their ground early on.<\/p>\nCape Verde, the fifth-worst team to qualify for the World Cup and one of the smallest countries to have ever competed in the tournament, won the tournament. one of the biggest surprises<\/span> They left their mark on World Cup history by holding European champions Spain to a 0-0 draw.<\/p>\nCongo only participated in the World Cup in 1974 as part of Zaire, but they were unfazed by Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, which kept them from being favorites to win the tournament to first place. 1-1 draw<\/span>.<\/p>\nWhat is the reason for the overall competitiveness?<\/p>\n
Coaches, players and analysts say global soccer is becoming more competitive, with more players joining the top leagues and more top coaches being hired by small countries. Tactical knowledge and physical conditioning methods have also become more widely available, allowing non-traditional teams to better compete with traditional powerhouses.<\/p>\n
Mexico coach Javier Aguirre said: “It’s very difficult to win. I was surprised that the situation was even. We were talking about having 48 teams together, but apart from Germany, who scored a lot of goals and had a big difference, all the other games were very complicated.” “It’s not easy to win. Believe me, the team is growing. Until recently we didn’t know much about Cape Verde, but it happened. Morocco played a great game against Brazil.”<\/p>\n
The number of points scored after the first 24 games has increased from 57 points in Qatar four years ago to 75 points now, but this year’s goal difference was 35, exactly the same after the same number of games in Qatar. <\/p>\n
Cape Verde was ranked 67th at the time. I came up with an upset<\/span> They played against 2nd place Spain and drew.<\/p>\nSpain coach Luis de la Fuente said: “This match showed that the World Cup is a very even competition. It’s very complex.” “These teams have their limitations, but they do what they do well. The team we played was clearly worse than us, but they did what they had to do very well and defended very well. You have to be completely focused and very precise in every game to beat your rivals.”<\/p>\n
Cura\u00e7ao, ranked 82nd and third from the bottom at the start of the tournament, held Germany to a 1-1 draw until the end of the first half, but then Europe’s powerhouse team completely took over.<\/p>\n
Haiti, ranked 83rd in the rankings and returning to the World Cup for the first time in 50 years, lost 1-0 to Scotland, who showed a decent performance in their first match, but after that they were no match for five-time champions Brazil, conceding three goals in the first half, but they improved and held on in the second half after losing 3-0. <\/p>\n
Qatar, ranked 56th in the world, conceded six goals against co-hosts Canada, but ended in a 1-1 draw against 19th-placed Switzerland.<\/p>\n
New Zealand were the bottom team at 85th place at the start of the tournament, but drew 1-1 with 20th place Iran.<\/p>\n
UEFA President Alexander Ceferin was criticized<\/span> Last Sunday, soccer’s governing body for Asia, Africa and the Caribbean reportedly claimed that the expanded tournament had led to uninteresting matches.<\/p>\n“There are a huge number of matches that are not interesting at all,” he said, according to Zurnar 24 newspaper, adding that the expansion would also allow smaller countries to participate and experience the excitement of the tournament.<\/p>\n
The federations of Cape Verde, Congo, Curacao, Haiti, Jordan and Uzbekistan issued a joint statement in solidarity with the federations of Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia.<\/p>\n
“Football does not belong to any particular nation. Its strength comes from its universality,” the statement said. “For many countries, participating in the FIFA World Cup is not only a sporting achievement; it is a moment that inspires generations, accelerates the development of football and creates memories that will last a lifetime.”<\/p>\n
Of course, the excitement for underdog teams may be short-lived, as we’ve seen after previous dark horses made surprising debuts at the World Cup. But some of them have hope, and that could be enough to get the team going.<\/p>\n
“If we are organized and united, we can compete,” Arata said. Tunisian coach Herv\u00e9 Renard<\/span>He admitted that Cape Verde had expected a good result from his team in Saturday’s match against Japan. \u201cWe must follow this example and not be afraid of defeat.\u201d<\/p>\n___<\/p>\n
AP World Cup: https:\/\/apnews.com\/fifa-world-cup<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
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