Wenger says 48-team World Cup is a ‘natural evolution’ and that they have learnt the lesson of a long hot US summer

December 5 – Former Arsenal manager and FIFA global development officer Arsene Wenger has said that a 48-team World Cup won’t affect the tournament’s quality. He added that FIFA will protect players from the heat.

Speaking on the eve of the World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, the Frenchman defended the 48-team expansion – up from 32 – calling it “a natural evolution.”

He said: “I believe 48 teams is the right number. It’s less than 25% (of the full FIFA membership) – there’s a chance to participate. That means one team out of four has a chance to participate. That means still 75% of the teams are not there,” said Wenger.

He referred to both China and India, representing three billion people, missing out on the tournament. “The teams are not there by coincidence because they’ve been invited,” said Wenger. “[They’re] here because they’ve beaten some teams in their confederation, but have a quality, and you look at the playoffs now, the quality of the players and the quality of the teams that played there.”

“We had the same question to answer at the U17 World Cup and we were positively surprised [at the quality].”

Last summer, FIFA faced criticism over its staging of its maiden 32-team Club World Cup, overloading the international fixtures calendar and exposing players to the gruelling heat of American summer. Wenger promised that FIFA “will do the maximum to protect the players” next year. The world federation will reveal the match schedule on Saturday, a day after the draw.

Wenger said: “We consider a lot the best possibilities for the teams to be protected from heat and as well for the players where we have hydrating moments during the game but could be decided before the game.”

The Frenchman also said that England are one of the favourites to win the World Cup, but called his native France “super favorites”. England reached the last four of the World Cup in 2018 and finished runners-up at the last two Euros while France featured in the final of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, winning the tournament in Russia.

“England are one of the favourites for the World Cup – they are always nearly there. They have the quality to do it,” said Wenger.

“I try to be as objective as possible but France is the super-favourite for one reason: it has more world-class strikers than any other country.

“That will make a massive difference.”

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