⚽ FIFA World Cup 2030: Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay ⚽

[*Ace*]

Personally however I am not entirely in favor of increasing the number of participants. I believe it could make the World Cup less compelling, especially during the group stage which would feature more weaker teams that are not particularly exciting to watch.

The increment of the number from  32 to 48 is not bad because they are trying to include those countries which have good football skill but because of the limited spots in the tournament, they have not been able to participate in the world cup but with the increase of the number they will be included. And the way I see at the tournament before, it was too short. Therefore with the 48 teams, the days will be increase too and those countries hosting the World Cup will make more money because of the long stay of rh fans in the country.

There's obviously a need for FIFA to adjust things based on the number of countries that would have slots for the World Cup come 2030 and hence increase the number of countries from what it normally is to now 48 teams that will participate in the World Cup competition come 2030, since it's a competition that happens once every 4 years, so it will be a wise thing to do. It also would boost revenue for countries that will be hosting this tournament going forward.

All this was done to let Italy play too 
The main reason, however, is simply this: more matches mean more people and more tickets, and more tickets mean higher box-office takings.
Having more nationalities present during the tournament brings a huge economic boost to the host nations as well, so I’m sure this is the main reason that prompted FIFA to take these decisions

[jakdanyel]

All this was done to let Italy play too 
The main reason, however, is simply this: more matches mean more people and more tickets, and more tickets mean higher box-office takings.
Having more nationalities present during the tournament brings a huge economic boost to the host nations as well, so I’m sure this is the main reason that prompted FIFA to take these decisions

But there should be a point to stop right? Just because there will be more money to be made they can't make it consist of hundreds of teams in the future. FIFA should consider the potential quality drop in the World Cup too!

64 teams is a really risky choice after just making it 48. What's the rush? Is it going to be like this all the time from now on? I guess we will see changes very often in the format of this tournament.

[Saltysugar99]

Personally however I am not entirely in favor of increasing the number of participants. I believe it could make the World Cup less compelling, especially during the group stage which would feature more weaker teams that are not particularly exciting to watch.

The increment of the number from  32 to 48 is not bad because they are trying to include those countries which have good football skill but because of the limited spots in the tournament, they have not been able to participate in the world cup but with the increase of the number they will be included. And the way I see at the tournament before, it was too short. Therefore with the 48 teams, the days will be increase too and those countries hosting the World Cup will make more money because of the long stay of rh fans in the country.

If there are more teams, the number of matches is also more. In that case, the FIFA World Cup takes a little longer to start and end. As a result, people are entertained and excited for many days. Apart from this, as you said, other teams get the opportunity to play. we have seen some new teams play very well. Like we never imagined before. And if there is such a competitive game, people's acceptance will also increase. The more countries can play, the more people in the country can watch football. As a result, good players can be seen from new teams. They can be given the opportunity to play at the club level. But if those good players did not get the opportunity to play the World Cup, then no one would even know who they are.

[Joeboy]

Personally however I am not entirely in favor of increasing the number of participants. I believe it could make the World Cup less compelling, especially during the group stage which would feature more weaker teams that are not particularly exciting to watch.

The increment of the number from  32 to 48 is not bad because they are trying to include those countries which have good football skill but because of the limited spots in the tournament, they have not been able to participate in the world cup but with the increase of the number they will be included. And the way I see at the tournament before, it was too short. Therefore with the 48 teams, the days will be increase too and those countries hosting the World Cup will make more money because of the long stay of rh fans in the country.

There's obviously a need for FIFA to adjust things based on the number of countries that would have slots for the World Cup come 2030 and hence increase the number of countries from what it normally is to now 48 teams that will participate in the World Cup competition come 2030, since it's a competition that happens once every 4 years, so it will be a wise thing to do. It also would boost revenue for countries that will be hosting this tournament going forward.

I know FIFA recently increased it to 48.. But even that 48 allocated slots is still even looking small for me...
World cup is the biggest football competition in the world, and so it truly supposed to accommodate a lot of well deserving countries from around the world, not just a few... This just concluded world cup felt so short even though it lasted for about a month and one week... That's where the need for creating more slot comes in... Since it is once in every four years it is played, the competition itself is supposed to last for 2 months and more, and to make this happen FIFA will need to allow more countries the opportunity to participate... If possible the slot should be increased from 48 to maybe 60 or so, I think this will make the competition much more competitive and unpredictable and more lovely to watch... Making this increment wouldn't take away the quality, as I know that is what most fans may be concerned about, infact it will even benefit everyone such as the fans, host nations, tourist, the participating countries and so on in their own different ways...
Though I know that making such an increment may affect players effectiveness as they will be start feeling exhausted from the matches, by that's is why there are substitutions... So if a player start feeling weak, he can easily be substituted from another who can easily pick up from where his teammate left...

[WatChe]

I know FIFA recently increased it to 48.. But even that 48 allocated slots is still even looking small for me...

There is a study in progress by FIFA to see impact of increasing number of participating teams to 64 in next world cup. If that happens then we will be able to see more countries from Asia and Africa in next world cup. Football is one of the most played game in the world and there are many people around the world who want to see their countries playing the mega event. If FIFA increased teams to 64 then biggest challenge for them is to select teams that have good standard of football otherwise initial stages of world cup will have one sided game.   

[sergiorus]

I know FIFA recently increased it to 48.. But even that 48 allocated slots is still even looking small for me...

There is a study in progress by FIFA to see impact of increasing number of participating teams to 64 in next world cup. If that happens then we will be able to see more countries from Asia and Africa in next world cup. Football is one of the most played game in the world and there are many people around the world who want to see their countries playing the mega event. If FIFA increased teams to 64 then biggest challenge for them is to select teams that have good standard of football otherwise initial stages of world cup will have one sided game.   

We don't need more teams from Africa and Asia, we need more from Europe as it is the continent with by far the strongest teams.

Teams like Italy and Poland cannot get qualified because there are not enough spots for all the strong teams whilst even relatively weak teams still qualify from Africa and especially from Asia - like why would Uzbekistan make it to the WC whilst Italy or Lewandowski's Poland not?

[*Ace*]

All this was done to let Italy play too 
The main reason, however, is simply this: more matches mean more people and more tickets, and more tickets mean higher box-office takings.
Having more nationalities present during the tournament brings a huge economic boost to the host nations as well, so I’m sure this is the main reason that prompted FIFA to take these decisions

But there should be a point to stop right? Just because there will be more money to be made they can't make it consist of hundreds of teams in the future. FIFA should consider the potential quality drop in the World Cup too!

64 teams is a really risky choice after just making it 48. What's the rush? Is it going to be like this all the time from now on? I guess we will see changes very often in the format of this tournament.

We may never see hundreds of teams, but I honestly feel a little differently about this aspect.
The competition is called the FIFA World Cup, but not all the teams in the world participate, and many nations will never have the chance to participate.
So why not increase the chances of having more or less all teams participate? That would be the right format for this competition.

[Cgrexp]

Personally however I am not entirely in favor of increasing the number of participants. I believe it could make the World Cup less compelling, especially during the group stage which would feature more weaker teams that are not particularly exciting to watch.

The increment of the number from  32 to 48 is not bad because they are trying to include those countries which have good football skill but because of the limited spots in the tournament, they have not been able to participate in the world cup but with the increase of the number they will be included. And the way I see at the tournament before, it was too short. Therefore with the 48 teams, the days will be increase too and those countries hosting the World Cup will make more money because of the long stay of rh fans in the country.

If there are more teams, the number of matches is also more. In that case, the FIFA World Cup takes a little longer to start and end. As a result, people are entertained and excited for many days. Apart from this, as you said, other teams get the opportunity to play. we have seen some new teams play very well. Like we never imagined before. And if there is such a competitive game, people's acceptance will also increase. The more countries can play, the more people in the country can watch football. As a result, good players can be seen from new teams. They can be given the opportunity to play at the club level. But if those good players did not get the opportunity to play the World Cup, then no one would even know who they are.

Yes, we can see Vozinha as a vivid example of this. If the Cape Verde national team had not played in the World Cup this year . the people of the country would never have found such an extraordinary goalkeeper. He played for the Chaves club in Portugal. And because of the end of his contract .  he was a free agent for about six months before the World Cup started. If he had not performed well in football or had not played in the World Cup .  it would have been difficult for him to find a new club now. He is currently officially signed by the best club in Chile, Colo-Colo. The World Cup is a huge stage for showcasing new and hidden talents to the whole world.

[ZAINmalik75]

Football is one of the most played game in the world and there are many people around the world who want to see their countries playing the mega event. If FIFA increased teams to 64 then biggest challenge for them is to select teams that have good standard of football otherwise initial stages of world cup will have one sided game.   

Well originally that's the idea proposed by uruguayan football president alonso at fifa meeting in order to wider the approach and set opportunity for more nation at world cup, no doubt that's a tough decision as it will have definitely compromise the tournament quality as well as excitement level early on, morever such decision can bring Logistics issues too as per 64 team it will exceed game number to around 128 which is twice per number matches compared to back in 2018 world cup Russia, while some major stakeholders like UEFA has really oppose such idea as well as European fans base, but Infantino seems to have some different plan  

[Zaguru12]

Yes, we can see Vozinha as a vivid example of this. If the Cape Verde national team had not played in the World Cup this year . the people of the country would never have found such an extraordinary goalkeeper. He played for the Chaves club in Portugal. And because of the end of his contract .  he was a free agent for about six months before the World Cup started. If he had not performed well in football or had not played in the World Cup .  it would have been difficult for him to find a new club now. He is currently officially signed by the best club in Chile, Colo-Colo. The World Cup is a huge stage for showcasing new and hidden talents to the whole world.

That has been one of the main purpose of the World Cup and it’s the reason why many players when they miss out from the squad selection it usually comes with Pains for them. Been selected for the World Cup means that you have the opportunity to either write your countries name in history or you get to write your own name into history. Also while it’s a competition that presents an opportunity for some players to reach certain heights, it also comes is a tournament that any single mistake can cost a player is career.

Same way we have seen players who took their chances move to top clubs it’s same way we have seen top players who are currently at the verge or falling down picking orders because of the World Cup poor performances. One player that comes to my mind is the Brentford forward Igor Thiago who went to the World Cup with a big potential and right now isn’t talked about enough because of his poor world performance. If he had a stellar performance at the World Cup he would have been on the move for a huge amount now.

[Charcol]

I know FIFA recently increased it to 48.. But even that 48 allocated slots is still even looking small for me...

There is a study in progress by FIFA to see impact of increasing number of participating teams to 64 in next world cup. If that happens then we will be able to see more countries from Asia and Africa in next world cup. Football is one of the most played game in the world and there are many people around the world who want to see their countries playing the mega event. If FIFA increased teams to 64 then biggest challenge for them is to select teams that have good standard of football otherwise initial stages of world cup will have one sided game.   

We don't need more teams from Africa and Asia, we need more from Europe as it is the continent with by far the strongest teams.

Teams like Italy and Poland cannot get qualified because there are not enough spots for all the strong teams whilst even relatively weak teams still qualify from Africa and especially from Asia - like why would Uzbekistan make it to the WC whilst Italy or Lewandowski's Poland not?

Uzbekistan did not get a chance to play in the World Cup due to any special advantages. Rather, they passed the regular AFC qualifiers and probably secured a place in the World Cup for the first time in history around June 2025. And the Italy and Poland you mentioned actually got a chance in the UFFA, but despite that, they could not complete their qualifiers. Probably because Italy lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the play-offs on a tiebreaker and were eliminated, they failed to go to the third consecutive World Cup. Poland was actually defeated by Sweden in the play-off final.

[Muba20]

I know FIFA recently increased it to 48.. But even that 48 allocated slots is still even looking small for me...

There is a study in progress by FIFA to see impact of increasing number of participating teams to 64 in next world cup. If that happens then we will be able to see more countries from Asia and Africa in next world cup. Football is one of the most played game in the world and there are many people around the world who want to see their countries playing the mega event. If FIFA increased teams to 64 then biggest challenge for them is to select teams that have good standard of football otherwise initial stages of world cup will have one sided game.   

Where participating in the World Cup will create the same joy as winning the World Cup for some countries. Because they are so far behind in the rankings that they dream of playing in the World Cup once. If FIFA allows 64 teams to participate, then the dream of playing the World Cup for some countries will come true, but the quality of the game will decrease a lot. The teams that have played in this World Cup so far are quite good teams. They have maintained the quality of their World Cup games. They have given the audience enough joy. And there was no chance to call them weak teams. Because many weak teams that got the opportunity to play the World Cup for the first time also played well. Now if the team increases further, they will not be able to maintain this quality. Some matches will become completely chaotic. Because the matches of the World Cup are of a very standard quality. And it would not be right to make participating in the World Cup so accessible. If FIFA makes such a decision for commercial gain, then that is a different matter. Because if the number of teams increases, there will be enough excitement in that country and the audience will increase, which will definitely increase their profits.

[sergiorus]

I know FIFA recently increased it to 48.. But even that 48 allocated slots is still even looking small for me...

There is a study in progress by FIFA to see impact of increasing number of participating teams to 64 in next world cup. If that happens then we will be able to see more countries from Asia and Africa in next world cup. Football is one of the most played game in the world and there are many people around the world who want to see their countries playing the mega event. If FIFA increased teams to 64 then biggest challenge for them is to select teams that have good standard of football otherwise initial stages of world cup will have one sided game.   

We don't need more teams from Africa and Asia, we need more from Europe as it is the continent with by far the strongest teams.

Teams like Italy and Poland cannot get qualified because there are not enough spots for all the strong teams whilst even relatively weak teams still qualify from Africa and especially from Asia - like why would Uzbekistan make it to the WC whilst Italy or Lewandowski's Poland not?

Uzbekistan did not get a chance to play in the World Cup due to any special advantages. Rather, they passed the regular AFC qualifiers and probably secured a place in the World Cup for the first time in history around June 2025. And the Italy and Poland you mentioned actually got a chance in the UFFA, but despite that, they could not complete their qualifiers. Probably because Italy lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the play-offs on a tiebreaker and were eliminated, they failed to go to the third consecutive World Cup. Poland was actually defeated by Sweden in the play-off final.

That was exactly my point. We need more slots for strong continents and less spots for weak continents. Right now it's incredibly unbalanced just because they at FIFA are obsessed with "diversity".

Italy would never miss a WC if it was qualifying from Asia and Uzbekistan would never participate in one if it was qualifying from Europe.

Not even to mention teams like Curaçao....what were they even doing there?

[giorgione]

To me i feel FIFA wants a wider spread awareness and participation, if the number of teams playing in the World Cup is very low there are chances that some countries might never get the opportunity to play till the end of time because other bigger countries in their continent will always surprise them and they can't qualify through the group stages but if a wider slot of teams will be given chance to participate this smaller countries might have hope of participating, there are certain countries that played in this just concluded FIFA World Cup that i am not so familiar with and am sure most people too ain't familiar with but thanks to the increased slot of 48 this countries got the opportunity to play in the World Cup, same way if the number is moved to 64 teams more countries we ain't so familiar with would get the chance to play and it will be a plus to the country and FIFA.

I personally can't say why FIFA still wants to widen the circle of teams that can participate in the World Cup. What i can imagine is, in addition to being a question of money, it is a question of power. Then leave those who have chosen to accept the program in power, so that they can carry it forward.

[Adbitco]

All this was done to let Italy play too 
The main reason, however, is simply this: more matches mean more people and more tickets, and more tickets mean higher box-office takings.
Having more nationalities present during the tournament brings a huge economic boost to the host nations as well, so I’m sure this is the main reason that prompted FIFA to take these decisions

I see what you did hear, you just threw a jab at Italy, lol. Since they have failed to qualify for some couple of years, FIFA now, FIFA increased it from 32 to 48 teams, still they couldn't make it, now they are to increase it further, let's see if they will qualify this time around. Yeah, you're right, the only reason why FIFA is further increasing it is just for more and more $$ and nothing else. They have seen how much the 2026 WC generated with the increased numbers, to get more, they have to increase the numbers further, they have done their homework on this.

[r_victory]

I hope Brazil doesn't embarrass itself at the next World Cup. They really wanted Neymar to be called up, and even though he was, he hardly played. When he played against Norway, he made a fool of himself, causing a commotion, a totally childish attitude (and I like him, but I thought it was unnecessary).

Sad news I just saw: Lionel Messi's father, Jorge, has died at the age of 68 following a long illness.

[cande86]

Yes, the World Cup should be a prestigious competition, in which only the best national teams in the world will participate, but that is actually no longer the case.
With a format of 48 national teams, and soon 64 national teams, we will see increasingly weaker competitions, with many bad and boring matches and low-quality national teams.
On the other hand, FIFA's strategy has clearly become to make as much profit as possible at each subsequent World Cup and to commercialize this competition to the maximum, while the sporting aspect of the competition becomes less and less important.

It is no longer a crisis, it has literally fallen into the abyss. A crisis may concern the two world cup qualifiers, not three. So don't give an entire generation the chance to see your national team play in the World Cup, that's when you hit rock bottom. So when you absolutely have to make changes to give young talents the chance to emerge, not like up until now.

[banana33]

You're right, positions have to be earned because that's what makes them more valuable. Besides, when things are achieved through one's own effort, it's much more dignified and deserved. Everything achieved through hard work will always have its reward, and in the end, that's the best thing. If a team goes with little preparation, they'll just make a fool of themselves, because a thrashing wouldn't look good at all. Sometimes the selection system is good, so it's best to keep it.

It is absolutely necessary to maintain selection tests, precisely to understand who is more suitable than others. And it's not a question of sporting laziness, it's just a question of meritocracy and sporting fairness, which cannot be changed for me in any way, it wouldn't be fair towards the current players.

[retreat]

I hope Brazil doesn't embarrass itself at the next World Cup. They really wanted Neymar to be called up, and even though he was, he hardly played. When he played against Norway, he made a fool of himself, causing a commotion, a totally childish attitude (and I like him, but I thought it was unnecessary).

It was already expected that he would underperform; after all, his performance can't be compared to when he was younger. These days, he's more prone to injuries and isn't in top shape anymore. So, his selection for the last World Cup was simply to meet the fans' expectations. I see Ancelotti simply trying to play it safe by including him in the squad to avoid being criticized by the Brazilian public. And it was evident that Neymar couldn't do much at the last World Cup. For the next World Cup, he shouldn't play again, and Ancelotti still has enough time to prepare his best squad.