Every match matters' as World Cup debutants respond to UEFA's Ceferin
Yahoo Sports • 1 min read • Latest: Jun 15, 2026, 8:11 AM
Last updated Jun 15, 2026
World Cup debutants from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean have expressed their "profound disappointment" over UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin's comments suggesting that some matches in the expanded 48-team tournament may be "uninteresting." The statement from teams like Cape Verde, Curaçao, and Uzbekistan emphasized that every qualified nation deserves respect. Ceferin acknowledged the value of larger tournaments for smaller teams but his remarks have frustrated non-European nations. Haiti recently played in their World Cup opener, losing 1-0 to Scotland, while Curaçao scored their first-ever World Cup goal but fell to Germany 7-1. Cape Verde and Uzbekistan are set to begin their campaigns against Spain and Colombia, respectively, while Congo will face Portugal.
- •Debutants express disappointment over Ceferin's comments.
- •Teams emphasize importance of every World Cup match.
- •Haiti lost 1-0 to Scotland in their opener.
- •Curaçao scored their first World Cup goal in 7-1 loss to Germany.
- •Upcoming matches for Cape Verde and Uzbekistan against Spain and Colombia.
- 8:11 AMYahoo Sports — 'Every match matters:' World Cup debutants slam UEFA boss Čeferin
"World Cup debutants from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean have expressed their "profound disappointment" following UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin's warnings of "uninteresting games" at the expanded 48-team tournament. "For our countries, there is no such thing as an unimportant World Cup match," said a joint statement on Sunday signed by debutants Cape Verde, Curaçao and Uzbekistan, as well as Haiti and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, both of which are appearing for the first time since 1
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