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 1974, when the latter competed as Zaire.
The statement was also supported by Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast and South Africa.
It comes as a response to comments by Ceferin in a recent press conference in Ljubljana, in which the UEFA boss said the World Cup's expansion to 48 teams is not necessarily good for football.
While he did also say that the larger tournament "allows smaller teams to participate and feel the atmosphere of the World Cup, which is very important," the remarks have caused frustration outside Europe.
"We respectfully but firmly reject these comments," the joint statement read.
"We believe that every nation that qualifies deserves respect. Every team has earned its place on merit. Every supporter has the right to dream. Every match carries meaning for millions of people around the world."
"Every match matters," the statement concluded.
Haiti impressed in their World Cup opener with their attacking style, but were unable to break down a solid Scottish defence in their 1-0 defeat in Group C.
Curaçao, which is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, also gave their opponents Germany a scare when Livano Comenencia equalized with the nation's first-ever World Cup goal, before they were ultimately outclassed 7-1.
Debutants Cape Verde and Uzbekistan begin their campaigns with matches against Spain and Colombia, while Congo face Portugal.
