​The 2026 FIFA World Cup broke new ground by featuring the largest field in the tournament’s history, expanding to 48 teams from the 32-team format that had been used for decades. With this notable increase, talk has already begun about the potential next steps, including the possibility of a further expansion down the road. In a recent interview, FIFA President Gianni Infantino indicated that after the current World Cup—set to wrap up next week—the organization will consider whether to widen the field even more.
During a sit-down with Swiss broadcaster Blue Sport, Infantino was asked about the prospect of increasing participation to 64 teams following the recent jump from 32 to 48. He did not dismiss the idea. “This is certainly an issue that will be looked at and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup,” Infantino told ESPN. “When you organize a World Cup, it’s important that you organize it for the whole world. It’s not just Europe and South America, but the entire world, effectively. Every nation should be able to dream of taking part in the World Cup. We can see that the quality of the teams is extremely high, and it’s getting higher and higher everywhere in the world. If you don’t give smaller countries the chance to participate in the World Cup, they also lose the incentive to keep improving.”
The idea of expanding to 64 teams isn’t new. In March 2025, CONMEBOL, the South American football confederation, publicly proposed increasing the field to 64 teams for the 2030 edition, which would mark the World Cup’s 100th anniversary. CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez at the time urged unity, creativity, and ambitious thinking, emphasizing that football’s appeal should be global. “We believe in a historic 2030 World Cup. We want to call for unity, creativity and believing big. Because when football is shared by everyone, the celebration is truly global,” Domínguez said.
Should the 64-team format receive approval, it would substantially alter the tournament’s structure. The expanded field would nearly double the number of matches compared with the 32-team format that was used from 1998 through 2022. A 64-team World Cup would involve about 128 matches, in contrast to the 64 matches that characterized the 32-team era. The 2026 edition, by comparison, is scheduled to feature 104 matches, reflecting the intermediate step of the ongoing expansion process.
One notable strategic advantage of an enlarged field would be the simplification of the knockout-stage qualification. In the current 48-team format, the tournament’s group stage allowed eight third-placed teams to advance to the knockout rounds, each relying on a variety of tiebreakers to determine who progressed. Under a 64-team model, the aim would be to eliminate the ambiguity that sometimes accompanies a third-place finish, potentially ensuring a more straightforward progression to the knockout rounds.
As FIFA and its member associations assess the feasibility and desirability of broadening the field further, several factors will come under scrutiny. These include the logistical and financial implications for hosting nations, the distribution of slots among confederations, the impact on competition quality, and the overall experience for players and fans. The evolving landscape of global football, including emerging programs that have demonstrated rapid growth, will also weigh into the decision.
While Infantino refrained from promising an immediate move toward a 64-team World Cup, his remarks underscore a willingness to explore expansion beyond the current 48-team structure. The conversation reflects a broader vision to ensure that as many nations as possible have a realistic opportunity to participate on football’s biggest stage, reinforcing the sport’s claim to universal appeal and aspiration. Whether the next step will be a 64-team field or a different approach remains to be determined, but the discussion is clearly underway within FIFA and the broader global football community.