National teams participating in the 2026 men’s World Cup reject UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin’s reported criticism that expanding the tournament to 48 teams will produce “uninteresting” matches. Ceferin has said the wider format would make the games “completely uninteresting,” drawing backlash from teams involved in the competition. BBC Sport reports that teams dispute the assessment and criticize the characterization of the expanded World Cup as less engaging. The Athletic similarly describes Ceferin’s comments about the impact of the expansion on match quality and notes the rejection from World Cup nations. While the reports focus on the disagreement over Ceferin’s comments rather than specific proposals or alternative formats, they agree on the central point: teams do not accept that adding teams will necessarily reduce interest or competitiveness. The controversy centers on Ceferin’s statements following the decision to increase the number of participants for the 2026 finals and the response from participating sides.