A group of 13 World Cup teams on Sunday hit out at UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin over reported remarks in which he said this year’s expanded tournament would lead to many “completely uninteresting” matches.
In a joint statement, the 13 football associations, including World Cup debutants Cape Verde, Curacao and Uzbekistan, said they “respectfully but firmly reject” Ceferin’s comments quoted in the Slovenian newspaper Delo.
“For our countries, there is no such thing as an unimportant World Cup match,” the joint statement read.
“To suggest that these matches are somehow less important is deeply disappointing and fails to recognise the efforts, sacrifices and aspirations of players, coaches, clubs, football leaders and supporters across the world.”
In remarks by Ceferin reportedly made before the tournament, the UEFA chief said the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams this year — up from 32 in 2022 — would dilute the quality
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