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

[*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.

I don’t think it’s going to be a normal phenomenon Everytime a World Cup is hosted, Honestly speaking I don’t really like what FIFA is doing, we should stick with the 48 teams that have been started in the just concluded World Cup, adding more teams would increase the chances of having a non interesting games, most especially low quality games, I believe FIFA is doing everything all because of money, they want to generate more money from the competition, I think all this decisions lead to the other decisions of selling off shares in FIFA, I think Infantino should take everything easy with his position as FIFA President.

And this is one of the major reasons why many people believe that people now have personal interests and political interests have also entered FIFA competitions right now and it's all because of money, Because sometimes we see the bias on the pitch and nothing is done about it and if things continue like this, in the near future, we will have the majority of people not interested in football anymore or just don't have passion for it anymore. Even in Africa, we can see the level of inconsistency and moderation and it's looking like they are trying to make a particular country win the title and if football continues like this that a player or a country has already been on their mind to award the title to, then it will no longer be interesting and will feel very scripted. For the shares, I believe they will want to have a personal say on the games they want to go in their favour. Because powerful and influential people will begin to buy shares and will want to also have a say in who they want to win in a game. But I know and hope we will go back to the football we used to know.

Let's say you're right about almost everything, and if we take the example of the last World Cup that just ended, Everyone thought that Argentina had a big helping hand on and off the pitch.But in the end Spain won the World Cup.
FIFA is and must remain impartial on decisions made on the pitch. They want the event to generate as much profit as possible! And the more people there are, the higher the takings they'll get. This is the only truth

[danadc]

My problem is Infantino is doing all these for his own personal reasons and interest. It shows that he's biased and can be manipulative.

Yes, many see it that way, which is why many football federations have spoken out. At this point in time, with technology like mass media and cameras everywhere, it's difficult for a corrupt official to hide. Infantino was incredibly brazen in manipulating the system to his advantage at the behest of governments.

I think this pressure will keep Infantino up at night. The most rational thing would be for him to resign; that would put an end to everything and these accusations.

[GbitG]

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.

Sad to hear the death announcement of Lionel Messi’s dad Jorge. Although the sickness was not disclosed but it was confirmed he died of health related complications at the age of 68. I also read how he was ever in support of his son including how he went to the Qatar 2022 World Cup championship to see and support his son in achieving his dreams which is winning the World Cup title for the first time in his career and making it the third time for the national team. I guess he could not do much of such this time around. It is also possible during the period when Messi was putting all those efforts we saw outside, he was also dealing with the illness from his dad, which eventually led to his father’s death. My sincere condolences to Messi and his family.

I think Brazil only pick up Neymar Jr for fans pleasure like Brazilians fans just love to watch Neymar Jr and that's why they pick him for just a fan wish because if we look at the World Cup schedule then probably we can clearly see it that Angelotti only give a chance to Neymar on his last match and even in last few minutes. So it's clearly indicates us that Neymar Jr weren't in the team plan. But I think it was Angelotti mistakes like if he put Neymar Jr form the starting of the match then obviously match state will be different.......

Besides that I really sorry of Lionel Messi father. He was the only man to have a massive impact on Lionel Messi upbringing. Messi by himself call him the man behind his greatness. So it's really shocked moment for Lionel Messi. We all are human and we understand his feeling.

[Zlantann]

I think Brazil only pick up Neymar Jr for fans pleasure like Brazilians fans just love to watch Neymar Jr and that's why they pick him for just a fan wish because if we look at the World Cup schedule then probably we can clearly see it that Angelotti only give a chance to Neymar on his last match and even in last few minutes. So it's clearly indicates us that Neymar Jr weren't in the team plan. But I think it was Angelotti mistakes like if he put Neymar Jr form the starting of the match then obviously match state will be different.......

Besides that I really sorry of Lionel Messi father. He was the only man to have a massive impact on Lionel Messi upbringing. Messi by himself call him the man behind his greatness. So it's really shocked moment for Lionel Messi. We all are human and we understand his feeling.

I was disappointed by the decision of Carlo Ancelotti to drop João Pedro for Neymar. The World Cup is a highly competitive event, and there is no place for poster boys. Neymar was injured and was not in good form, but public pressure forced the Italian coach to add him to the list a dropping one of the best strikers in the EPL. I suspect Ancelotti and Brazilian fans would have regretted that mistake.

It's really sad to lose a loved one. Messi was close to his father, unlike some players who don't have a good relationship with their parents. This will be a big loss to Messi because his father is a major character in the Argentina captain's success story. 

[slapper]

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.

I don’t think it’s going to be a normal phenomenon Everytime a World Cup is hosted, Honestly speaking I don’t really like what FIFA is doing, we should stick with the 48 teams that have been started in the just concluded World Cup, adding more teams would increase the chances of having a non interesting games, most especially low quality games, I believe FIFA is doing everything all because of money, they want to generate more money from the competition, I think all this decisions lead to the other decisions of selling off shares in FIFA, I think Infantino should take everything easy with his position as FIFA President.

And this is one of the major reasons why many people believe that people now have personal interests and political interests have also entered FIFA competitions right now and it's all because of money, Because sometimes we see the bias on the pitch and nothing is done about it and if things continue like this, in the near future, we will have the majority of people not interested in football anymore or just don't have passion for it anymore. Even in Africa, we can see the level of inconsistency and moderation and it's looking like they are trying to make a particular country win the title and if football continues like this that a player or a country has already been on their mind to award the title to, then it will no longer be interesting and will feel very scripted. For the shares, I believe they will want to have a personal say on the games they want to go in their favour. Because powerful and influential people will begin to buy shares and will want to also have a say in who they want to win in a game. But I know and hope we will go back to the football we used to know.

Yeah. I want it back too, "the football we used to know". But I think we romanticize some of our past a little, too? Political was always the game. The distinction today is that the amount of cash were too huge to conceal.

They aim to get to 64 teams in 2030.. That is not about inclusion or growing the game or whatever PR language they will use. It all began with CONMEBOL's desire for more host games for the centenary. Infantino also need political favours from African and Asian federations after his big private equity plan fell apart. Cannot buy votes with cash anymore? Fine. Purchasing them with World Cup spots.

And the quality of the football. From 48 to 64 teams, you get a huge pile of group games with teams knowing their fate. Sitting out of the race or out of the country. Those matches look dead because they ARE dead. And then people say "see? It is scripted". It is not scripted it is broken. Which can be worse, really, since at least corruption can be prosecuted.

As for Africa, specifically. It is maddening the inconsistency. However, the grassroots passion in that continent is one of the purest in this game. AFCON still hits different. The problem is CAF leadership getting co-opted into FIFA's voting games.

The soul of the game is not dead. I refuse to believe that. However, the operators of it? They do not mind if it is dead. On the way down they will take every dollar they can and say it is "growing the global game" with a straight face.

[ruykeri]

I think Brazil only pick up Neymar Jr for fans pleasure like Brazilians fans just love to watch Neymar Jr and that's why they pick him for just a fan wish because if we look at the World Cup schedule then probably we can clearly see it that Angelotti only give a chance to Neymar on his last match and even in last few minutes. So it's clearly indicates us that Neymar Jr weren't in the team plan. But I think it was Angelotti mistakes like if he put Neymar Jr form the starting of the match then obviously match state will be different.......

Besides that I really sorry of Lionel Messi father. He was the only man to have a massive impact on Lionel Messi upbringing. Messi by himself call him the man behind his greatness. So it's really shocked moment for Lionel Messi. We all are human and we understand his feeling.

I was disappointed by the decision of Carlo Ancelotti to drop João Pedro for Neymar. The World Cup is a highly competitive event, and there is no place for poster boys. Neymar was injured and was not in good form, but public pressure forced the Italian coach to add him to the list a dropping one of the best strikers in the EPL. I suspect Ancelotti and Brazilian fans would have regretted that mistake.

It's really sad to lose a loved one. Messi was close to his father, unlike some players who don't have a good relationship with their parents. This will be a big loss to Messi because his father is a major character in the Argentina captain's success story. 

They wanted Neymar to be in the Brazil team and that he would join team just for a moment . And there is a huge business behind it. Because you know Neymar is not just a player now. He is known and has fans all over the world. They would definitely want Neymar to be in the team. If he is there, the team will have publicity and even the companies involved in the Brazil team will benefit. He was kept considering that aspect. But in a game like football, it is really shameful to take an unfit and injured player into the team just for marketing. I have never supported such a decision by Brazil. Because to perform well on the field, you have to be fit and top on form. Here, it is actually not possible to get any good output with emotion.

[Charcol]

Let's say you're right about almost everything, and if we take the example of the last World Cup that just ended, Everyone thought that Argentina had a big helping hand on and off the pitch.But in the end Spain won the World Cup.
FIFA is and must remain impartial on decisions made on the pitch.

The way Argentina repeatedly made comebacks at the last minute in the World Cup led to the common perception that Argentina received support from FIFA. But Argentina did not win the title, Spain won the title. But this does not prove that FIFA was completely impartial.

They want the event to generate as much profit as possible! And the more people there are, the higher the takings they'll get. This is the only truth

It is rightly said, more teams mean more matches, more matches mean more tickets, more broadcasting, more advertising and more income. And since according to FIFA's financial accounts, the World Cup is their biggest source of income, we cannot deny that money is a big reason for them.

[Iamgoat]

Let's say you're right about almost everything, and if we take the example of the last World Cup that just ended, Everyone thought that Argentina had a big helping hand on and off the pitch.But in the end Spain won the World Cup.
FIFA is and must remain impartial on decisions made on the pitch. They want the event to generate as much profit as possible! And the more people there are, the higher the takings they'll get. This is the only truth

You said something which made some sense to me now. At the end of it all, FIFA also needs to keep the commercial part of the game alive which can be done by raising the expectations of people and then humbling them with an outcome they least expected. If Argentina had won this world cup it would have sounded interesting and a lot of people will celebrate them especially the Messi FC guys, however it would have made many people lose interest in the competition owing how a lot of fans were against the Argentina campaign and strongly believed FIFA was for Argentina and Messi. The referee however did a wonderful job in protecting the image of FIFA by being so prudent in his officiating, at some point I realized FIFA was ready to take the game seriously to protect their image.

[Marvelockg]

I think Brazil only pick up Neymar Jr for fans pleasure like Brazilians fans just love to watch Neymar Jr and that's why they pick him for just a fan wish because if we look at the World Cup schedule then probably we can clearly see it that Angelotti only give a chance to Neymar on his last match and even in last few minutes. So it's clearly indicates us that Neymar Jr weren't in the team plan. But I think it was Angelotti mistakes like if he put Neymar Jr form the starting of the match then obviously match state will be different.......

Besides that I really sorry of Lionel Messi father. He was the only man to have a massive impact on Lionel Messi upbringing. Messi by himself call him the man behind his greatness. So it's really shocked moment for Lionel Messi. We all are human and we understand his feeling.

I was disappointed by the decision of Carlo Ancelotti to drop João Pedro for Neymar. The World Cup is a highly competitive event, and there is no place for poster boys. Neymar was injured and was not in good form, but public pressure forced the Italian coach to add him to the list a dropping one of the best strikers in the EPL. I suspect Ancelotti and Brazilian fans would have regretted that mistake.

They already knew that they were only going to progress this far and nothing more in this world cup and that is why they make that decision. it was more like giving neymar the last honor of being featured in the last world cup of his footballing career. certainly, in the next edition of the world cup, he is not going to be available and the Brazilian team can play independent of him and let us see how far they can advance. times have changed greatly and even in the next world cup, we might still get this kind of end to the world cup where the top four best teams in the world still find themselves playing from the semi finals to the finals.
 

[*Ace*]

Let's say you're right about almost everything, and if we take the example of the last World Cup that just ended, Everyone thought that Argentina had a big helping hand on and off the pitch.But in the end Spain won the World Cup.
FIFA is and must remain impartial on decisions made on the pitch.

The way Argentina repeatedly made comebacks at the last minute in the World Cup led to the common perception that Argentina received support from FIFA. But Argentina did not win the title, Spain won the title. But this does not prove that FIFA was completely impartial.

They want the event to generate as much profit as possible! And the more people there are, the higher the takings they'll get. This is the only truth

It is rightly said, more teams mean more matches, more matches mean more tickets, more broadcasting, more advertising and more income. And since according to FIFA's financial accounts, the World Cup is their biggest source of income, we cannot deny that money is a big reason for them.

We have to consider some factors though!
1- Throughout the World Cup, Argentina only faced teams that were much weaker than them; if we consider the entire campaign, they only faced England and Spain as strong teams.
2-Argentina is a strong national team full of champions and they were the reigning champions, so the fact that they repeatedly overturned the result in the final moments is dictated by these factors which are very consistent.

In my opinion, FIFA proved to be impartial throughout the tournament, but I would have something to say about the refereeing decisions. Many referees were really bad at managing such an important event.

[cocadalcan]

They wanted Neymar to be in the Brazil team and that he would join team just for a moment . And there is a huge business behind it. Because you know Neymar is not just a player now. He is known and has fans all over the world. They would definitely want Neymar to be in the team. If he is there, the team will have publicity and even the companies involved in the Brazil team will benefit. He was kept considering that aspect. But in a game like football, it is really shameful to take an unfit and injured player into the team just for marketing. I have never supported such a decision by Brazil. Because to perform well on the field, you have to be fit and top on form. Here, it is actually not possible to get any good output with emotion.

There was a bit of drama surrounding the announcement of Brazil's final squad before the World Cup and manager Carlo Ancelotti did not want Neymar to be in the final squad for the World Cup. Neymar, who was physically unfit, should have been on the sidelines because he was no longer as fit as he once was. However, for business reasons, he had to be included in the team but he was limited to playing only a few minutes, not the full match time. Ancelotti only played him in two matches, and in total, this time was only 38 minutes. He was a talented player for the Brazilian team, but he has not been found for the past few years because he is not physically fit. These business issues are hurting the Brazilian team in the long run. The Brazilian team did not perform well in this World Cup.

[Rhow]

Let's say you're right about almost everything, and if we take the example of the last World Cup that just ended, Everyone thought that Argentina had a big helping hand on and off the pitch.But in the end Spain won the World Cup.
FIFA is and must remain impartial on decisions made on the pitch.

The way Argentina repeatedly made comebacks at the last minute in the World Cup led to the common perception that Argentina received support from FIFA. But Argentina did not win the title, Spain won the title. But this does not prove that FIFA was completely impartial.

They want the event to generate as much profit as possible! And the more people there are, the higher the takings they'll get. This is the only truth

It is rightly said, more teams mean more matches, more matches mean more tickets, more broadcasting, more advertising and more income. And since according to FIFA's financial accounts, the World Cup is their biggest source of income, we cannot deny that money is a big reason for them.

We have to consider some factors though!
1- Throughout the World Cup, Argentina only faced teams that were much weaker than them; if we consider the entire campaign, they only faced England and Spain as strong teams.
2-Argentina is a strong national team full of champions and they were the reigning champions, so the fact that they repeatedly overturned the result in the final moments is dictated by these factors which are very consistent.

In my opinion, FIFA proved to be impartial throughout the tournament, but I would have something to say about the refereeing decisions. Many referees were really bad at managing such an important event.

I don't know if FIFA actually gave Argentina an advantage, but it's true that Argentina played against weaker teams most of the time. But Argentina were the world champions at the time and you can't deny the experienced players they had. Maybe because they had experienced players, they were able to come back from a difficult situation. But some of the referee's decisions were very bad, I agree with you here. Especially in the Egypt vs Argentina match, the referee was supporting Argentina like crazy. After watching the match, I felt like Argentina had bought the referee. But since there is no evidence of this, it may be unreasonable to say this now.

However, believe it or not, Argentina played very badly in the 2026 World Cup compared to other World Cups.

[Daniel91]

Let's say you're right about almost everything, and if we take the example of the last World Cup that just ended, Everyone thought that Argentina had a big helping hand on and off the pitch.But in the end Spain won the World Cup.
FIFA is and must remain impartial on decisions made on the pitch.

The way Argentina repeatedly made comebacks at the last minute in the World Cup led to the common perception that Argentina received support from FIFA. But Argentina did not win the title, Spain won the title. But this does not prove that FIFA was completely impartial.

They want the event to generate as much profit as possible! And the more people there are, the higher the takings they'll get. This is the only truth

It is rightly said, more teams mean more matches, more matches mean more tickets, more broadcasting, more advertising and more income. And since according to FIFA's financial accounts, the World Cup is their biggest source of income, we cannot deny that money is a big reason for them.

We have to consider some factors though!
1- Throughout the World Cup, Argentina only faced teams that were much weaker than them; if we consider the entire campaign, they only faced England and Spain as strong teams.
2-Argentina is a strong national team full of champions and they were the reigning champions, so the fact that they repeatedly overturned the result in the final moments is dictated by these factors which are very consistent.

In my opinion, FIFA proved to be impartial throughout the tournament, but I would have something to say about the refereeing decisions. Many referees were really bad at managing such an important event.

I don't know if FIFA actually gave Argentina an advantage, but it's true that Argentina played against weaker teams most of the time. But Argentina were the world champions at the time and you can't deny the experienced players they had. Maybe because they had experienced players, they were able to come back from a difficult situation. But some of the referee's decisions were very bad, I agree with you here. Especially in the Egypt vs Argentina match, the referee was supporting Argentina like crazy. After watching the match, I felt like Argentina had bought the referee. But since there is no evidence of this, it may be unreasonable to say this now.

However, believe it or not, Argentina played very badly in the 2026 World Cup compared to other World Cups.

The fact that Argentina played mostly against weaker teams in this World Cup is the result of a rigged draw by FIFA, which placed the 4 best teams in the FIFA rankings on 4 different sides of the draw (France, Spain, England and Argentina) so that they could not meet before the semi-finals.
What was the result? All 4 teams made it to the semi-finals, some with more, some with less difficulty, and the most satisfied are FIFA officials and sponsors, of course.
Argentina is a good, warrior team that never gives up and fights to the end, but which would never have made it this far, to a new final, if they did not have one true magician in the team, Messi.
Argentina has played in the final 3 times in the last 4 World Cups and was world champion once, and for these great results they should be respected.
However, realistically, without Messi at the upcoming World Cup, I think it will be very difficult for them to repeat those successes in 2030.
Considering the strength and quality of the Spanish national team, and the fact that the next World Cup is being played in Spain, I think that Spain will once again be the main favorite to win the World Cup title.
Their main competitor will probably be France again.

[bombastic89]

In my opinion he should need to took a retirement from international flights like for next World Cup because the fact is that leaves the football before football leave you. Besides that Cristiano Ronaldo already express his opinion that World Cup is not his dream like he didn't need a World to be called GOAT. So tell me why he is still dreaming about it....

Cristiano Ronaldo himself knows that he will not be able to compete in the next World Cup. At 41, it's true that he struggled, but he still found a way to score three times. Let's remember, at the age of 41, three goals, something that not even young attackers who play in more relevant leagues than the Saudi Pro League have done. However, we must show the right respect for a football legend and i believe that that cry was precisely due to the fact that the awareness of putting one's feet on a World Cup pitch ended there