Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz criticizes World Cup expansion despite African teams' success

His remarks followed Ghana's 2-1 defeat to Croatia, which still saw the Black Stars qualify for the knockout stage as one of the best third-placed teams. Queiroz, a former Portugal and Real Madrid manager, suggested that financial motivations were behind the expansion, stating, "Today, money talks. In the game, money talks.

This is called not football but Moneyball." He also expressed concerns about player welfare due to extra games and the devaluation of World Cup qualifiers, as many teams now easily qualify. Despite his concerns, African teams have shown unprecedented progress in the expanded tournament, with nine out of ten countries, including Ghana, advancing to the next round.

The new format has allowed seven countries, such as South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Cape Verde, Congo DR, and co-hosts Canada, to make their knockout stage debuts. Cape Verde, with a population smaller than all 50 US states, notably finished second in their group and will face defending champions Argentina.