Arsenal legend Silva defends World Cup expansion, fears Brazil aren’t good enough to win
Gilberto Silva, who has worked as a technical adviser for game’s governing body, ‘wants to be positive’ about 48-team tournament
Brazil and Arsenal legend Gilberto Silva believes Fifa is moving with the times by expanding the World Cup and introducing a quadrennial 32-team club equivalent.
A sprawling World Cup finals next year in the United States, Canada and Mexico will feature 48 teams, up from the 32 that contested the past seven editions.
Silva, a former defensive midfielder, was ever-present for Brazil when they won the most recent of their five World Cups in 2002.
Speaking at an event in Hong Kong organised by CSTS Enterprises and supported by Connexus Travel, which is the official sales agent for 2026 World Cup hospitality packages across China, Silva said he was not worried about the absence of jeopardy in a two-week group phase that will eliminate only 16 nations.
It will take nearly a month to whittle those 48 teams down to 16, and the tournament itself will need almost six weeks to complete.
“Whenever anything changes, especially at such a major tournament, we question the potential quality of the games and the length of the competition, and fear it might not be as interesting,” Silva said.