FIFA president Gianni Infantino has confirmed that football's governing body will explore the possibility of expanding the men's World Cup to 64 teams following this year's tournament. The 2026 competition has been the largest in history following an expansion from 32 teams to 48, with debutants including Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan. However, a further increase could already be on the cards, with Infantino insisting every nation should have the chance to play at the biggest tournament in world football.
Infantino's Vision for Global Inclusion
Asked about the possibility of expanding to 64 teams, Infantino told Swiss broadcaster Blue Sport: "This is certainly an issue that will be looked at and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup." He added: "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," Infantino said. "If you don't give smaller countries the chance to participate in the World Cup, they also lose the incentive to keep improving."
Success of Smaller Nations in 2026
The inclusion of smaller nations at this year's tournament has proved largely successful. Cape Verde qualified for the knockout rounds after finishing second in their group courtesy of draws against Spain, Uruguay, and Saudi Arabia. In the Round of 32, they took reigning world champions Argentina to extra-time, only for a late goal to break their hearts after drawing level with Lionel Messi's side twice in a pulsating encounter. Another notable result saw Curacao—the smallest nation by population to qualify for a World Cup—hold Ecuador to a goalless draw.
Controversy Over Seeded Pathways
Talk of a potential expansion comes amid intensifying debate over another change introduced by FIFA for this year's tournament, with the semi-finals now confirmed. All four of the highest-placed teams in the FIFA rankings coming into the competition—Spain, France, England, and Argentina—have made it through to the semi-finals. However, this is no coincidence: ahead of the tournament draw, the four teams were separated and randomly drawn into opposite pathways to ensure they could not meet prior to the semi-finals, as long as they won their groups.
The 'two pathway' system is used at the Club World Cup and, outside of football, at tournaments like Wimbledon. It is designed to ensure what FIFA says is "competitive balance," with the biggest match-ups saved for later in the competition. However, while FIFA has been transparent in making the move, the decision to offer bigger teams an easier route has led some fans of other nations to question the governing body's integrity.
Criticism from Egypt Manager
Egypt manager Hossam Hassan suggested the tournament was unfairly weighted in favour of Argentina after their controversial defeat to the South American side in the Round of 32. "It could be a matter of marketing," he said. "They could want to make a World Cup with the champions of the last World Cup, they want Messi to exist [in the tournament]."
Announcing the move in a statement last year, FIFA said: "To ensure competitive balance, two separate pathways to the semi-finals have been established when developing the match schedule. In order to have a balanced distribution of the teams, the four highest-ranked teams in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking, when drawn, will have the following constraints: the highest-ranked team (Spain) and the second highest-ranked team (Argentina) will be randomly drawn into opposite pathways, and the same principle will apply to the third (France) and fourth (England) highest-ranked teams. This will ensure that, should they win their groups, the two highest-ranked teams will not meet before the final."
