MANCHESTER, England (AP) — A supersized World Cup with more teams, more games and even more host nations than ever before leaves a big question hanging over the biggest sporting show on earth: How much is too much?
The latest edition of the World Cup — co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico — will push the boundaries of how far the most popular sport on the planet can go before it reaches breaking point.
Be it the limits of physical endurance as top players threaten strike action over an ever-congested calendar, the attention span of fans in an age of seemingly wall-to-wall televised soccer, or the exorbitant prices people are prepared to pay for tickets, the pressure points are numerous going into the June-July tournament.
Concerns About Quality and Excitement Dilution
With an expanded 48-team format — up from 32 — played out over nearly six weeks, some say this year's tournament risks a dilution of FIFA's most prized product.
"I personally think it's kind of taken a little bit of the excitement and quality away from the tournament and it's almost like it doesn't start until the round of 32," former U.S. forward Clint Dempsey told The Associated Press.
The expanded format has effectively removed the chance of several top teams being drawn in the same group — known as a "group of death" in soccer vernacular. Much of the jeopardy traditionally seen in the early stages has been removed until the round of 16 because the eight best third-place teams also advance.
"I think the biggest danger is dilution of spectacle," said Jonathan Wilson, author of The Power and the Glory: A New History of the World Cup.
"Maybe FIFA gets away with it this time because it's the first expanded tournament and because ticket prices are enormous. But eventually broadcasters and fans may stop caring if the tournament doesn't become interesting until the last 16."
"A World Cup game should feel almost must-watch… Nobody is watching 90 out of 104 games. It's just too much."
FIFA President Gianni Infantino says the expansion of the tournament will make the game "truly global" and create opportunities for countries that "would never have dreamed to participate" in a World Cup.
The theory is that given a greater chance to qualify, more nations would increase grassroots funding and therefore improve the standard of soccer around the globe.
Four nations will be making their debut at this year's tournament, including tiny Curacao, the smallest by population ever to qualify.
"It's a big achievement for us to make it, but we also want to show that we can play and that we deserve to be there," Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room said.
Jordan, Cape Verde and Uzbekistan are the other debutants. Haiti has qualified for the first time since 1974.
"As children, we all watched the World Cup. We all dreamed of playing in the World Cup. But it was just a dream, a fantasy when you're a child. Qualifying and being able to participate is unimaginable," Haiti midfielder Yassin Fortune said.
There are certainly feel-good stories. Like Haiti goalkeeper Josué Duverger, who will swap regional soccer in Germany to rub shoulders with Brazil superstars like Vinícius Júnior and Neymar. New Zealand has called up defender Tommy Smith from Braintree Town, which was relegated from the fifth tier of English soccer this season.
Critics Say Sometimes Less Is More
Maheta Molango, chief executive of England's Professional Footballers' Association, has been one of the leading voices warning about the impact on top players being asked to play more and more soccer.
He says the quality of the product is being diminished and soccer should follow the lead set by the NFL and appreciate the "value of scarcity."