Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz has criticised the expanded 48-team FIFA World Cup format, calling it “vulgar and ordinary” and warning that the tournament risks losing the exclusivity that has traditionally made it football’s biggest prize. The former Real Madrid manager questioned whether qualification still carries the same significance when almost a quarter of FIFA’s 211 member associations can reach the finals. “I believe that value comes when things are rare. The number of teams that can qualify for this competition can turn it into something vulgar and ordinary. When so many teams can qualify, is the value still rare? That would seem debatable to me, but it is only my opinion,” Queiroz said after Ghana’s 2-1 defeat to Croatia. The 2026 edition is the first World Cup to feature 48 teams, expanding from the 32-team format that had been in place since France 1998. The enlarged competition has increased the number of matches from 64 to 104 and guarantees more places for every confederation, with FIFA arguing that the move allows greater global representation and …