FIFA president Gianni Infantino has new motive for 64-team World Cup as truth laid bare. Like it or not, the newly-expanded 48-team World Cup was a big hit in the United States, Canada and Mexico over the course of the past five weeks.
Expansion on the Horizon
Only in a World Cup that left you wanting more could Argentina decide that we've all seen enough. That's what transpired as Lionel Scaloni's anti-football left a stain on an otherwise forgettable final that belonged to Spain. That game aside, it's no wonder FIFA fancy more. It's little wonder Gianni Infantino has already loosely floated expanding the World Cup to an astonishing 64-team tournament by 2030.
Optically, it's a painful and greedy pitch. Naturally, you're sceptical and fearful. When does even more football actually become too much football? But dissect it. Remove the geopolitics, ignore that FIFA are merely relishing the chance to line their pockets, and brush over the repercussions of increased player workload amid an already jam-packed schedule; beneath all those variables lies the answer.
A World Cup That Leaves You Wanting More
Truthfully, no World Cup is ever enough because it always leaves you wanting more. Even when all is said and done, you're still left with unanswered questions as you decompress. You're left wondering what might have been, you're left wishing the next four years would already pass.
For the record, in these tough scorching mid-summer conditions, on the back of that exhausting yet historic night in Mexico City, the simmering humidity in Miami and that emotional barnburner with Argentina, it's hard to escape the feeling that England may have struggled to turn the dial chasing shadows against obsessive control freaks Spain. That is of course, besides the point because had the cautious and now heavily-scrutinised Thomas Tuchel not led England into a depressing state of surrender, they would have at least boasted a puncher's chance in a one-off, box-office final.
Success of the 48-Team Format
It's hard but cast aside the frustrations of those soul-destroying final minutes in Atlanta and on the face of it, you have to say the inflated tournament has worked even if this was international football as we've never seen it before. It was proof that even when there is political interference, even when dubious red card bans are surprisingly - or unsurprisingly - upheld and concerns regarding the integrity of the competition are raised, the on-pitch action always trumps all. It will always blitz the half-time showbiz and definitely outshine the razzmatazz of flying nervous La Roja boss Luis de la Fuente to his pre-match press conference via helicopter.
Take the smallest-populated nation at the World Cup, Caribbean Island Curacao (156,000 residents), equalising against heavily-fancied Germany, African minnows Cape Verde pushing the holders Argentina to the wire and their physical limit. Take DR Congo, who only snuck qualification via the inter-continental play-offs, being just 15 minutes away from eliminating England in their first finals appearance since 1974 when they were thrashed 9-0 by Yugoslavia as Zaire and you come to realise that the World Cup script is never truly written.
Messi's Legacy and the Greatest Show on Earth
Even if it slightly underwhelmed, the final - a clash of contrasting styles - typified that more than ever because 1,309 days ago, under the world's largest tensile cable-net roof at Lusail Stadium in Doha, Lionel Messi looked to have signed off in quintessential style after firing La Albiceleste to a prestigious third star. It was the crowning moment for football's king so for him to even make this tournament in the midst of his 39th birthday, let alone score eight goals and record four assists on a long-winding and intense road to the final, is in many respects, indicative of his legacy. Messi belongs to the history books, it was a privilege to once again witness his genius first-hand and a further reminder as to why the World Cup will always remain the greatest show on earth.
Infantino insists this tournament was the best of the lot. Even if you do not happen to agree, unfortunately you can make a case for it and for that reason, it was undeniably, despite all the ridiculous side-stories and distractions, it will ultimately go down as a major success.
