Why Curaçao's goal against Germany makes expanding the World Cup worthwhile
Curaçao's historic goal in the 7-1 loss to Germany at the World Cup emphasized the value of expanding the tournament to 48 teams, according to expert Alexi Lalas.
The final result of Curaçao's World Cup debut was not pretty, as they lost 7-1 to Germany on Sunday. However, their lone goal was enough to bring joy to the smallest nation participating in the tournament — and showed that FIFA's decision to expand the World Cup to 48 teams was well deserved. Following Curaçao's defeat on Sunday, FOX Sports soccer expert Alexi Lalas argued that the goal Livano Comenencia scored to equalize in the match against Spain confirmed the expansion of the World Cup. "Germany beat Curaçao, which is no surprise. We went on air and talked about whether anyone in the studio would bet on Curaçao — and no one did," Lalas said on his "State of the Union" podcast. “But some of the sarcasm, skepticism and criticism ahead of this tournament is that because it has been expanded, that there will be more lopsided matches — we have had lopsided matches in the past, but there will be more lopsided matches and the competitiveness will be affected. "I understand what everyone is saying, but at this moment you have given a piece of history to the players, the team and the country of Curaçao that will last forever. "Pretty much everything you wanted out of this game happened. You had goals, and in my professional opinion, goals are a good thing and we wanted goals. We had very good goals. But you also had a goal that will forever be remembered for its historical significance. Why would you want to deny someone that ability?" While it is uncertain whether Curaçao would have qualified had the World Cup retained its 32-team format, the expansion to 48 teams has certainly created an easier path for them to participate in the tournament. With Canada, Mexico and the United States automatically qualifying for the World Cup as host nations, Curaçao will have to fight to become CONCACAF's representative for the playoffs in the old format. But with the expansion, CONCACAF was granted six automatic berths to the 2026 World Cup, including three host nations. So the expansion is clearly a good thing for Curaçao, which has the smallest population of the World Cup nations. The nation has a population of 158,000, and its land area is seven times smaller than the state of Rhode Island. With such small countries having the opportunity to participate in the World Cup, Lalas admitted that he cannot help but feel happy for the people of Curaçao. "Maybe I've become softer over time. Maybe I've become more romantic about the notion of playing in a World Cup tournament," Lalas said. "It doesn't mean I'm any less competitive. It doesn't mean I want everyone to have trophies and participation trophies in any way. "But I want people to experience what it's like to play in a World Cup tournament. I have told you many times about the meaning of a national anthem and what it represents. Not just for the players on the field, not just for the coaches, but for everyone together. We have seen many instances over the past few days of solidarity and people using this World Cup to celebrate. "Lalas admitted that there may still be some shortcomings with the 48-team format. However, in his view, there were still many heavy losses in the group stages of other World Cups. In fact, Germany fondly remembered the 7-1 win over Brazil in the semi-finals of the 2014 World Cup. “If you want to find something to complain about, you can,” Lalas said. "But complaining about Curaçao being in the World Cup, when you look at the size of that country, and in that moment, seeing the Curaçao fans in the stadium screaming and crying and being so grateful and excited to celebrate their team, even when defeated, is okay [for] that moment. I'm glad the fans got to have that moment."
Related Articles
- Japan's Coach Moriyasu Overcome with Emotion at World Cup Anthem
- Kevin De Bruyne Eyes World Cup Success with Belgium's New Star Doku
Related Articles
Teams
Players