CONMEBOL advance
© Imago
Former national coach Joachim Löw has sharply criticized plans to increase the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams. “I see it completely critically from the point of view of a trainer because the health of the players is always the most important,” said the 65-year-old on the sidelines of the Europa League game between SC Freiburg and FC Basel near “Nitro”.
“I think that’s completely overwhelmed,” added the 2014 world champion coach. Most recently, South America’s Football Association Conmebol had promoted efforts for the 2030 World Cup at a meeting with FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The tournament in almost five years will take place in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Spain, Portugal and Morocco. The World Cup participant field had only been increased from 32 to 48 teams in the coming year.
Löw fears a further weakening of the playful level. “Overall, 48 teams are a loss of quality without wanting to step down the smaller one, but a World Cup, an EM also lives from high -class games. People want to see that.” If the 2030 World Cup started with 64 teams, a total of 128 games would be up. For Löw, the field of participants would be exaggerated, “because it also takes five or six weeks. That absolutely doesn’t make sense.”