Thirteen World Cup-participating nations have issued a collective statement defending the expanded 48-team tournament format. They're responding to criticism from UEFA's chief, who called the format disappointing. In their statement, the nations argued that there's no such thing as an unimportant World Cup match. According to Al Jazeera, this coordinated pushback highlights strong support among competing teams for the new structure, even as Europe's soccer governing body continues to express reservations.

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