A 48-team World Cup was made for countries like Ca...

According to ESPN's Bill Connelly, Cape Verde has reached the knockout rounds of this year's World Cup—a milestone that speaks volumes about the expanded forty-eight team tournament format. The island nation, with a population of half a million and without the soccer infrastructure of traditional powerhouses, qualified for the elimination stage. Historically, smaller nations were locked out of deep tournament runs; a thirty-two team group stage created nearly insurmountable odds. But an expanded format designed to give more countries a genuine shot at glory allowed Cape Verde to prove that ambition and skill can compete with tradition and resources. The big nations will still win the Cup, but in this format, the smaller ones finally get to make it too.

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton