64-Team World Cup? Infantino Opens the Door — and England Would Face a Longer Road

A 64-team World Cup is officially on the table. Fifa president Gianni Infantino has told Swiss broadcaster Blue Sport that plans to expand the men’s tournament will be “examined” in detail once the 2026 finals are over, arguing that a World Cup must be organised “for the whole world”. The proposal, first tabled last year by South America, was never killed off — and Infantino now says the success of the 48-team format is reason enough to look at going further. For England, chasing a first World Cup since 1966, the implications are less about qualifying and more about surviving a longer, heavier tournament.

What Infantino actually said

Asked directly whether the World Cup could grow to 64 teams, Infantino replied: “These are all issues that we will be examining after the World Cup.” He added that when organising a World Cup it is important to organise it for the whole world — a line that has become the philosophical spine of his expansion agenda since he became Fifa president in 2016.

The 64-team proposal was formally put forward last year and has been driven largely by South American federations, who want the 2030 centenary edition opened up to as many nations as possible. Nothing has been voted on. Any change would require Fifa Council approval, and the review will not begin until the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico is complete.

What 64 teams would mean for England

Qualification would effectively stop being a contest. Europe already holds 16 places in the 48-team format, and a 64-team World Cup would push that well beyond 20 — meaning a nation of England’s standing could not realistically miss out. The competitive pressure would shift entirely to the finals themselves.

The cost would be physical. Winning an expanded World Cup would likely require eight or nine matches rather than seven, tacked onto the end of a Premier League season that is already the most congested in Europe. Squad depth and rotation would matter more than any tactical plan — a point England’s coaching staff have repeatedly made about tournament football in North American heat.

There is a competitive downside too. More teams means more mismatches in the group stage, and favourites can arrive at the knockout rounds undercooked precisely because their early games were too easy.

Why Uefa is fighting the idea

Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin has called the 64-team plan a “bad idea”, warning it would dilute the value of the World Cup itself and hollow out the qualifying campaigns that generate revenue and interest across Europe. His concern is that the tournament’s scarcity — the thing that makes it matter — is being traded away.

The practical objections are just as sharp. Sixty-four teams would demand more host cities, more stadiums and more room in an international calendar already crowded by the Nations League, the expanded Club World Cup and continental championships. Player unions have spent the past year warning about workload and injury risk.

When a decision could come

Nothing will be settled until after the 2026 final. The edition most often floated for a 64-team debut is 2030, the tournament’s centenary, which will be staged across Spain, Portugal and Morocco with opening matches in South America to honour the first World Cup in Uruguay.

That centenary symbolism is exactly the argument expansionists lean on: throw the doors open for football’s 100th birthday. Opponents see an unmanageable tournament. The verdict rests with the Fifa Council, most likely in 2027 — and England, through the FA and Uefa, will be firmly on the sceptical side of the table.

FAQ