FIFA President Gianni Infantino responded to critics of the decision to expand the Women’s World Cup to 32 teams on Friday, stating, “I’m sorry, but FIFA was right.”

England and Spain will face off in the final on Sunday in Sydney, capping off a month-long competition that will feature 32 teams for the first time, up from 24 in 2019.

There were concerns that the increased number of participants might result in some inferior teams and, as a result, lopsided scorelines.

However, some of the higher-ranked teams were eliminated early in the World Cup, as Jamaica, Morocco, and South Africa all advanced to the knockout stage for the first time.

Infantino declared 2017 Women’s World Cup the “biggest and best ever” during a FIFA conference on women’s football in Sydney.

“They were saying: it’s not going to work, the levels are too different, you’ll have 15-0 scores, it will be bad for women’s football and its image,” he said of FIFA’s decision to extend the competition to 32 teams.

“But I’m sorry, FIFA was correct, FIFA was correct. “Many countries around the world believed they now had a chance to participate.

“Everyone now believes there is a chance for them to shine on the global stage.”

Infantino stated that football’s governing body had committed $1 billion in women’s football and claimed that “full equality” with men’s football had been achieved.

“This World Cup generated over $570 million in revenue, and so we broke even,” he explained.

“We didn’t lose any money, and we generated the second-highest income of any sport on a global scale — aside from, of course, the men’s World Cup.”

“This shows our strategy wasn’t too bad,” he added, “but of course, we still have a long way to go. “However, we are on the correct track.”