Former Germany coach Joachim Löw believes that expanding the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams was a mistake.
“I’m not a fan of this World Cup. I’ve always said I thought the 32-team format was good,” Löw told broadcasters RTL in their series “World Cup Fever: Monica Lierhaus and the National Team Coaches.”
The competition was expanded for its edition in the United States, Mexico and Canada, which started on Thursday.
For Löw, that’s too many. With all due respect to smaller nations “that would also like to compete in the World Cup from time to time, but for me it’s a bit too blown up,” said the 66-year-old, who led Germany to the title in Brazil in 2014.
Since eight third-place teams also advance to the knock-out stage, the group stage isn’t as interesting anymore, he added.
“From that perspective, I’m in favour of making it a bit more competitive and maintaining a high level of quality,” Löw said.
