The good news is that Italy could finally return to the World Cup in 2030.
The bad news is everything else, thanks to FIFA President Gianni Infantino once again pushing for more money and more power.
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Lionel Messi might want to avoid a 64-team World Cup in 2030Credit: AFPFIFA in danger of wanting too much football
In the same week that England will face Argentina and Spain will play France in two must-watch World Cup semifinals, Infantino is attempting to turn his super-sized American tournament in 2026 into something even bigger four years later.
“This is certainly an issue that will be looked at and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup,” Infantino told Blue Sport, when discussing the possibility of an expanded 64-team tournament.
“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.”
There is so much wrong with that, it’s hard to know where to start.
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But instant reactions from fans on social media said it all.
“A 64-team World Cup?” one fan wrote. “At some point it stops being about football and starts looking like a business expansion. More matches, more TV revenue, more sponsors, more tickets. The people making these decisions will call it ‘growing the game,’ but many fans will see it as diluting the biggest tournament in football.”
“He forgot to add, it will also make us a lot more money and allow teams like China, India, and Russia to compete – markets we are desperate to exploit,” a second fan posted.
2026 World Cup was big enough
The ongoing 2026 World Cup is, by far, the biggest sports tournament in history.
With absurdly overpriced tickets and 104 matches spread across three huge countries (USA, Mexico, Canada), this World Cup has constantly toed the line between buzzing brilliance and a public relations disaster.
The ‘whole world’ has also already been invited, countering one of Infantino’s main expansion points.
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Gianni Infantino wants the World Cup to expand to 64 teamsCredit: getty
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Infantino keeps courting controversy while expanding the world’s biggest tournamentCredit: Getty
The performances of Panama, Iraq, Qatar, Jordan, New Zealand and Curacao in the 2026 World Cup were instant reminders that bigger isn’t always better for the beautiful game.
Sure, inspirational Cape Verde helped bring our divided world closer together.
But Cape Verde was the anomaly in 2026, not the norm.
Just look at the semifinals pairings for indisputable proof.
Top-four teams made predictable semifinals
France, Argentina, Spain and England are the top-four ranked teams in the world, bolstered by deep rosters filled with international superstars.
They’re also the last teams standing in 2026, which means that the ‘26 World Cup basically ended up with NCAA Tournament chalk in March Madness.
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Cristiano Ronaldo has bowed out of World Cup playCredit: Getty
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Jude Bellingham might have to carry even more weight for England in 2030Credit: Getty
The worst thing that happens in The Dance is when the top-four seeds make the Final Four.
Yet for all of the expansion and incessant push for more in 2026, football fans across the globe have watched a six-week tournament slowly get narrowed down to … the best four teams entering the tournament.
It didn’t take a genius to predict that Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham would make the semifinals — which means that millions of fans spent millions of hard-earned dollars to watch in person as a predictable outcome played out.
“If you want smaller nations to progress, give them their own world tournament,” one fan posted. “Scotland may even get out of the group stages. Go back to 32 teams – even 16 for an elite world cup.”
Stars already complain of overpacked schedule
The annual international schedule is already overpacked, while most World Cup qualifying games lack intensity and full-roster dedication.
The 2030 World Cup already looks like a logistical nightmare, with matches beginning in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, then the rest of the tournament moving to Morocco, Portugal and Spain.
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If Infantino gets his wish, the 2030 World Cup would feature 128 matches, which is double the amount played for a 24-year period (1998 to 2022) in the previous 32-team tournament.
Simple math shows that Infantino will have doubled the amount of participating World Cup teams in less than a decade.
“This proposal was maybe even more surprising for me than you,” UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said in April 2025. “I think it is a bad idea.”
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After spending six weeks watching soccer temporarily take over big-money America, Infantino already wants more, more and more.
The FIFA president who allowed a phone call from US President Donald Trump to help overturn a red-card suspension will keep getting his way until the football world realizes that even the World Cup has boundaries.