The International Football Federation (FIFA) announced a new competition method starting with the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America, which will be expanded to 48 countries.
As the existing 8 groups expanded to 12 groups and the number of matches increased, the physical strength management of the national team players became even more important.
Reporter Kim Ki-beom reports.
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The final match between Korea and Portugal in the group stage was chosen as one of the seven great scenes of the Qatar World Cup.
Like a movie, we reached the round of 16 as dramatic as a movie, and FIFA President Infantino became an opportunity to solidify the method of the World Cup in North and Central America.
Starting with the World Cup in North and Central America, FIFA expanded the number of participating countries from 32 to 48, but the original proposal was to organize 16 groups of 3 teams.
However, if 3 teams are played in the group stage, the charm of the final match cannot be enjoyed, and concerns about collusion have been raised, so the previous method was maintained and a wild card system for 3rd place in the group was introduced.
As a result, the number of World Cup matches has increased significantly from 64 to 104, and to win the World Cup trophy, the tournament has to be played from the round of 32, so it has changed to a maximum of 8 matches.
Our country’s preparations for the World Cup are also inevitable.
The expansion to 48 countries made it easier to pass the group stage, but the importance of physical fitness has increased as it takes four games to reach the round of 16. 토토사이트
[Soundbite] Oh Seong-hwan(Korea Football Association) : “The key is how to recover quickly using scientific methods and meet the physical requirements according to the number of matches.”
] Inspection was presented as an important task.
[Soundbite] Jurgen Klinsmann/National Soccer Team Coach : “My role is to help Tottenham Son Heung-min, Napoli Kim Min-jae, Mallorca Lee Kang-in and all the players in the K-League.
” pointed out that it is now possible to obtain commercial benefits such as broadcasting rights.
This is KBS News Kim Ki-beom.