Expanded World Cup; same old story as Europe dominates quarter finals
The expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams has offered more of a chance to continents that were previously underrepresented at the tournament, but a glance at the quarter-final line-up tells a familiar tale. Six of the countries in the last eight are European, with the exceptions being Lionel Messi’s Argentina, the reigning champions, […] The post Expanded World Cup; same old story as Europe dominates quarter finals appeared first on The Namibian .
The expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams has offered more of a chance to continents that were previously underrepresented at the tournament, but a glance at the quarter-final line-up tells a familiar tale.
Six of the countries in the last eight are European, with the exceptions being Lionel Messi’s Argentina, the reigning champions, and Morocco.
With France, Spain, Belgium, England, Norway and Switzerland still in contention, there could be an all-European semi-final line-up, like in 2018.
Europe’s share of the spots at a World Cup has decreased dramatically in recent decades, from boasting 14 of 24 berths in Italy in 1990, to 16 out of 48 now.
The rest of the world has therefore seen its share of the places shoot up, with Africa having 10 teams this year compared to just five in Qatar in 2022.
But now that we are down to the business end, Europe is dominating — in fact, six teams in the quarter-finals is an increase on four years ago, when five European sides remained at this stage.
