Published 2026-06-17
tag(s): #yell-at-cloud #random-thoughts
We were chatting today at work about the expanded World Cup format and how many of the weaker teams that qualified for the first time (or first time in decades) put up a decent fight. This was, of course, after the Portugal-Congo game.
And during that conversation I had a thought: games like Cape Verde-Spain and Portugal-Congo
are interesting mostly because of the novelty.
Who doesn't like a David vs Goliath storyline? I tend to favor underdog teams, if I don't know
anything else about a match up.
There's also a bit of appreciation for the, on paper lesser team, executing their strategy so
perfectly that they overcome the (again, on paper) superior firepower of the bigger opponent.
But let's say in 2034 there's still 48 teams.[1] By then, these kind of matches will not be seen as novel, and the only thing left to judge them for will be, you know, the actual football played.
Are we still going to enjoy a parade of 5-4-1 defenses in half the group stage games? Is that
"good football"? The vox populi is that Simeone and Arteta are boring
managers for using excessively defensive tactics.
How fond will we be of some random smaller country playing against Spain then, after seeing
the same thing so many times before?
Note that I am not excusing the better teams for not scoring (or getting scored on). If your
opponent parks the bus, it is still on you to find a way to unlock the match.
If your rest defense falls apart because someone hoofed a long ball and found a lone player
completely unmarked, you have to own it.
But as a footballing audience, will we still tuning in for these games by then? Once they
become a common occurrence?
I don't think so...