having 3-team groups is awful. Imagine being from Malawi, Thailand, or somewhere that doesn't traditionally qualify, then saving money, getting a visa, reserving hotels and flights, getting gouged for tickets, and then being out of the World Cup by being beaten 10-0 over two games in four days.
12 groups of four would have been great to get rid of some of the fluke results and give visiting fans more time at the WC, more cities to see, and more games. Top 2 of each group + the top half of the third-place teams to the knockout stage would have been the same rules as 94 and before and it would add a max of one extra game for the semifinalists.