The World Cup¡¯s expanded 48-team format was widely criticized as a recipe for mismatches and meaningless group-stage games, but the opening round of matches has instead offered a compelling counterargument: the ?gap between soccer¡¯s aristocracy and its aspiring challengers appears smaller than ever.
European champion?Spain were held to a scoreless ?draw by ?World Cup debutant?Cape Verde, Cristiano Ronaldo¡¯s Portugal was?forced to settle for a point ?against?Congo, while Belgium was frustrated by Egypt, and France labored for more than an hour against Senegal before Kylian Mbappe came to the rescue.
Far from diluting the competition, the tournament¡¯s expansion has given emerging soccer nations a ?larger stage on which to demonstrate how much the global game has evolved.
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