The expansion to 48 teams could produce World Cup magic

WASHINGTON — Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, FIFA’s Chief of Global Development, said that expanding the World Cup tournament field from 32 to 48 teams was the right decision and that it won’t dilute the quality of the group-stage matches. It is the first expansion since 1998.

Wenger pointed out that 48 is still fewer than 25% of the FIFA’s 211 recognized national teams. He said it also gives teams from confederations other than UEFA (Europe) and CONMEBOL (South America) a chance to win. Only eight countries, all from one of those two continents, have won the tournament.

This year’s tournament will feature four debuts from Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan.

“Teams aren’t there by coincidence or because they’ve been invited,” he said. “They have quality.”

Former U.S. women’s coach Jill Ellis, FIFA’s chief football officer, compared the possible excitement of the expanded tournament with the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, when upsets are remembered for years.

“Magical things happen,” she said.

Technology. For next summer’s World Cup, FIFA is considering a continuation of some of the technological advancements used to engage viewers and help referees that were tested during the Club World Cup. It may also implement some of the new rules it tried during the tournament.

Among the implementations were the body camera on the referee, which was also sometimes used during broadcasts, and semi-automated offside technology, whose purpose was to assist assistant referees with immediately flagging offside.

There may be two new technological implementations. One is 3D player-motion data, which can be used by broadcast partners to generate virtual re-creations of the match, as well as provide alternative broadcast options. Lastly, Johannes Holzmüller, FIFA’s director of innovation, said that FIFA is working on an artificial intelligence component with LENOVO that will be announced Jan. 6.

Rules tested during the Club World Cup were maximizing the time (eight seconds) that a goalkeeper can use to put a live ball back into play. If the referee judges that the goalkeeper used too much time, the opponent receives a corner kick. The other rule was the two-minute mandatory sit-out should a player need medical treatment while they are on the field. MLS used both during its season.

By time of the World Cup this summer, there could be a new rule that allows the video assistant referee to help the referee with decisions related to second yellow cards issued to the same player. Second yellow cards aren’t reviewable under current rules. There may also be a trial rule that will allow the VAR to assist the referee to decide if a corner kick should be awarded.

IFAB, which codifies the rules, is scheduled to meet in March.