World Cup
‘We have to dream’, former Super Eagles Troussier says, backing World Cup expansion
Philippe Troussier, the well-travelled French coach who qualified the Super Eagles to France ‘98 and has been in charge of eight mostly minor national teams over his long career, has thrown his weight behind the expansion of the World Cup finals to 48 sides from 2026.
The 68-year-old Parisian, who earned the nickname the ‘White Witch Doctor’ while working with teams in Africa before leading Japan at the 2002 World Cup finals, believes the move will bring positive benefits far beyond the confines of the game.
“It will create a big impact, not only for the countries that are able to go to the World Cup, but it will develop the country,” Troussier, who was recently appointed as Vietnam coach, told Reuters.
“When you know your country has no hope, even less than 1% to go to the World Cup, why develop the pitches? Why pay a foreign coach? Why start a technical programme for the youth?
“You have no dream. And we have to dream. We have to hope.”
Plenty of traditionalists are unhappy at the increase in the size of the tournament from the 32 teams that have contested every World Cup since 1998, arguing the quality of the competition will be diluted as a result.
For the likes of Troussier, who has coached mainly in Africa and Asia over the last 35 years, the prospect of more nations from outside Europe and South America qualifying for the finals is a major positive.
“With 48 teams, eight in Asia and especially in Southeast Asia, then teams can dream,” he said.
“Personally I support this project.”
Despite the huge popularity of football in the region, no Southeast Asian nation has qualified for the World Cup since Indonesia – then the Dutch East Indies – made an appearance at the finals in 1938.
Troussier has been tasked with changing that as he looks to build on the work done by Korean Park Hang-seo, who took Vietnam through to the final phase of Asian qualifying for the first time in 2021.
“That’s why the Vietnam Football Federation have created a special budget and frankly I have all the facilities to complete my job and they believe in me,” he said.
“They provide to the national team all my requests. I really have enjoyed my moment here and I feel like I did when I was in Japan.”
POWERFUL NATIONS
Troussier believes the enlarged format, which begins with the 2026 World Cup in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, could also work to the advantage of traditionally powerful nations, many of whom have stumbled during the group phase at the tournament.
“I understand when people ask why you would want the World Cup to go to 48 teams,” he said
“But in this case we have to consider the real World Cup will not start at the first stage, because how many big teams will go out like they did in the old format?”
Troussier points out that defending champions France were eliminated in the group phase in 2002 while Spain and Germany were knocked out early in 2014 and 2018 respectively having won the trophy four years earlier.
“At the beginning of the process the high-level teams need time,” he added.
“In this format they can make it a warm-up and that’s why we can consider the real World Cup will start after two weeks.
“Every four years it is a big festival and if you’re a small country you can work a lot and have a lot of hope. For me this process is important to develop youth, to develop football infrastructure, coaches. I think it is important.”
-Reuters
With just a year to go until the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off in the United States, concerns are mounting over the impact of extreme summer heat on players and fans.
According to experts interviewed by the BBC, FIFA may be forced to adjust match schedules drastically—possibly even staging the World Cup final as early as 9 a.m.—to mitigate the risks posed by soaring temperatures.
The warnings follow sweltering conditions witnessed during recent international and Club World Cup matches held in the U.S., where athletes and spectators alike were exposed to intense heat and humidity.
One of the leading voices raising the alarm is Professor Mike Tipton, an expert in thermal physiology at the University of Portsmouth. Speaking to BBC Sport, he emphasised the potential health risks of playing in extreme conditions and recommended that matches begin as early in the day as possible.
“From a thermo-physiological point of view, for health and performance reasons, I would look to start matches as early as possible,” Tipton stated, suggesting that even the final—traditionally held in the afternoon or evening—could be moved to a morning kickoff.
Tipton went further, noting that the ideal solution would be to host the tournament during a cooler time of year, as was done with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which was shifted to November and December due to extreme heat.
However, with the 2026 tournament already locked in for June 11 to July 19, FIFA’s only remaining flexibility lies in scheduling match times.
The 2026 edition will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico across multiple cities, some of which are known for intense summer heat.
Health experts are urging organisers to prioritise player safety and fan well-being, warning that failing to act could lead to performance issues, heat-related illnesses, or worse.
FIFA has yet to publicly comment on any proposed changes to match schedules, but as temperatures continue to rise, pressure is mounting for the governing body to take decisive action ahead of football’s biggest tournament.
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FIFA’s Global Football Development chief Arsene Wenger acknowledged that the quality of pitches hosting Club World Cup matches in the U.S. was not good enough, but insisted it would be better when the country co-hosts the 2026 World Cup.
The pitches, often very dry and sprinkled with water during cooling breaks or at halftime, have been widely criticised, mainly by coaches and players of the European teams taking part.
“I’ve been personally on the pitch at Orlando,” former Arsenal manager Wenger said on Saturday. “It’s not at the level that the European clubs are used to because it’s not perfect, but that will be rectified for the World Cup next year.”
Paris St Germain coach Luis Enrique raised the issue early in the expanded Club World Cup tournament.
“The ball bounces like a rabbit,” Luis Enrique said after his team’s opening 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid.
“Today, for example, the field used to be artificial turf, and now it’s natural grass laid over it, which means it has to be watered manually. It’s a big problem for the way we play.”
“FIFA really needs to take this seriously. Not just the stadium fields but also the training pitches. If we’re calling this the best club tournament in the world, it should have world‑class facilities. I can’t imagine an NBA game played on a court full of holes.”
-Reuters
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Congo will be allowed to continue participating in the World Cup qualifiers despite missing two fixtures in March when they were banned, world football’s governing body FIFA said on Wednesday.
Congo were suspended from February to May because of government interference in the running of their football association (FECOFOOT) but the ban was lifted when officials returned to their positions and were handed back access to their headquarters and technical training centre.
Sports minister Hugues Ngouelondele had appointed an ad-hoc committee last year to run the association, claiming it needed to sort out disputes among association office bearers, but FIFA suspended FECOFOOT due to third-party interference, which violates its statutes.
During the ban, Congo were not allowed to participate in any international competition, which meant they did not honour 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Tanzania and Niger in March.
A FIFA spokesman told Reuters the points from those fixtures were forfeited and a 3-0 victory awarded to their opponents.
But they will continue in the qualifiers when they resume in September, even if they have no chance of qualifying.
Congo are scheduled to play Tanzania at home in September and conclude their fixtures in October with matches at Niger and Morocco.
Congo have no points in the group, which Morocco lead with 15 points, six more than Tanzania in second place.
The group winner qualifies for next year’s World Cup in North America while the runner-up has a possibility to participate in playoffs if they are among the four best second-placed teams in the nine African qualifying groups.
FIFA has taken a hard line on government interference in football matters with the likes of Chad, Kenya, Pakistan and Zimbabwe among those banned in recent years.
Congo were African champions in 1972 but have never been to a World Cup.
-Reuters
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