The final week of the World Cup is upon us, and for a few days at least, the football is doing its talking. We are hurtling towards the semi finals wi...
The final week of the World Cup is upon us, and for a few days at least, the football is doing its talking. We are hurtling towards the semi finals with a familiar mix of tactical intrigue and raw, unguarded emotion. Power rankings have been updated, the Football Daily inbox is swelling with impassioned pleas, and the great man himself is striding across the training pitches like a colossus. Just look at him. That is the kind of presence that can either settle a dressing room or shatter an opponent's nerve. This, right here, is squeaky bum time.Yet, amid the cut and thrust of transitional play and the low blocks that have frustrated so many, a thunderbolt has been thrown from the executive box. Gianni Infantino, the man who pulled the strings on the last expansion to 48 teams, is now floating the idea of a 64 team tournament. Let that sink in for a moment. The spectacle we are now enjoying is a product of tension. It thrives on the knife edge of elimination. A 64 team format would not just dilute the quality; it would fundamentally alter the psychology of the competition. Where is the romance in a group stage that feels like a preliminary round Where is the grit of clinical finishing when you can drop points and still waltz throughDo not get me wrong. Football is a global game, and the football family deserves its seat at the table. But there is a difference between inclusion and inflation. The current model, even with its 48 team future, still retains a brutal efficiency. You have to earn your spot. A 64 team free for all would inevitably produce more one sided romps, more dead rubbers, and less of the high stakes drama that makes a semi final week in an international tournament feel like a national holiday.It feels like the custodians of the game are once again tinkering with a formula that is not broken. They see a revenue stream where we see a sacred run of knockout football. The emotional heft of this World Cup has already been immense. The great man is in his element, the tactical battles are fierce, and the narratives are writing themselves. Let us enjoy this final week without the background noise of expansion nonsense. Let the football stay on the pitch. If Infantino wants to change the world, he can start by leaving the competition structure alone.For now, the only thing that matters is who bottles it and who rises. Who shows tactical flexibility and who gets found out. The semi finals are coming. That is all the expansion we need.
