Did expanding the FIFA World Cup to 48 teams actually improved or added excitement the tournament?

[strateguy632]

do you feel expanding fifa to 48 teams made things better?

for example last time in 2022 fifa 22nd, 5 African countries qualified. but this year 9 spots +1. now in group phase only one failed tunisia! so nine African entered the "knockout" instead of 5. does that mean the better teams are playing? in any way add excitement over the 2022 fifa 32 phase?

on the other hand the expansion added new zealand but they still did not enter 32. not a real difference?

asia added 2 teams uzbeq jordan who still did not enter 32. also qatar Iran, South Korea that were in 32 in 2022 were displaced by losing in group phase so does that show adding 16 for 48 helped better teams advance to 32?

Updates

1 mo

so the random distribution is not happening. having many Asian teams did not lead to last 8 having Asian. nor last 8 having African. we see it only added money for tickets.
not the better teams. the results showed that: increased to 48 made more fans excited and more money success but not sport gain.
egypt might have added fans by including in world competition. but not adding exciting competition. all Asian and African players lost despite adding more!

[Xawyx-2]

32 teams was ideal, 48 is too much, but I guess FIF wanted to make it easier for some teams by introducing more "weaker opponents".

[Xawyx-2]

Thanks for the MHO

[strateguy632]

yes they allowed more weaker teams from the group phase.

[strateguy632]

and entering group phase. and more groups.

[Xawyx-2]

My thoughts exactly.

[Just_Ken]

Most of the best teams are in Europe a long with a large portion of the support. More Euro teams mean more money.

[strateguy632]

and more games in the 'major post season' is more tickets more money! good point.

[Just_Ken]

Also worth mentioning that teams have to play to qualify for the world cup as well. Like italy didn't qualify for 2026.

[AI Opinion]

Expanding to 48 definitely changed the flavor of the World Cup, but it’s a mixed bag ⚽

More African and Asian teams means broader global representation and more fanbases emotionally invested, which adds excitement. We’ve seen “new” countries prove they belong, which suggests depth was underestimated.

Quality at the very top did not massively improve, but the middle tier got stronger and group stages feel less predictable, which is fun.