2030 World Cup Bracket Expansion Revealed by CONMEBOL President in Trending Post

CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez provided the strongest evidence yet that the World Cup is set to expand again already.

In a series of posts on social media on Monday, Domínguez suggested the field will be expanded to 64 teams in 2030.

"In 2030, the World Cup comes to Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, a great opportunity for football, to celebrate the World Cup Centenary with a 64-team tournament," he wrote (via Hannah Ryan of ESPN).

In an interview with Swiss outlet Bluewin, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the organization could waste little time in growing the World Cup after the 2026 edition was the first to include 48 teams.

"That's definitely an issue that will be examined and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup," he said. "When organizing a World Cup, it's important to organize it for the whole world — not just Europe and South America, but effectively the entire world. Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup.

"You can see that the quality of the teams is extremely high — and it's getting higher and higher, all over the world. If you don't give smaller countries a chance to participate in the World Cup, they'll lack the incentive to keep improving."

FIFA can take a victory lap after many questioned whether a 48-team World Cup would create a lesser spectacle. The concern was that the event might become a bit watered down and that there could be more blowouts with smaller countries such as Cabo Verde and Curaçao qualifying this year.

Instead, Cabo Verde advanced to the knockout stage and pushed Argentina to the brink. The same was true for DR Congo, while Iran, Saudi Arabia, Curaçao and Qatar all managed to earn at least a point.

But going to 64 teams in 2030 might be too much too soon. Doubling the size of the World Cup across just eight years is a seismic change.

There would also be less drama surrounding the qualifying phase because the larger, more established countries would have an even easier road to the World Cup. What are the odds that four-time champion Italy misses a fourth straight tournament when there are 16 more spots collectively up for grabs?

Domínguez was declarative in his desire for a bigger World Cup in four years' time. Nothing is official until FIFA formally weighs in.