Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, clarified that any further expansion of the World Cup, increasing the number of participating teams in the finals to 64, will be discussed after the end of this year's edition, but he did not provide any further details. The 2026 finals in Canada, Mexico, and the United States featured 48 teams for the first time, a decision that faced harsh criticism but has not sparked widespread debate since the tournament began on June 11. Infantino, who succeeded in his campaign to expand the finals after they had only 32 teams, told Swiss television station Blue Sport: "These are all things we will study after the World Cup." He did not provide further details, and only said: "I think it is important, when you want to organize the World Cup, to do it for the entire world, not just for Europe and South America, but actually for the whole world." He added: "Every country should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup. You can see that the level of the teams is very high, and it is continuously rising all over the world." He continued: "If you do not give small countries the chance to participate in the World Cup, they will lack the motivation to continue improving." Infantino praised the tournament that included 48 teams and described it as successful, saying: "Every team played at a high level. Teams from every continent scored goals and earned at least one point." He added: "Nine out of 10 African teams reached the knockout stages. In the last World Cup, there were only five teams from Africa; this shows how important it is to include all teams and give them this opportunity to participate." The number of teams participating in the World Cup increased to 32 in 1998, and Portugal, Spain, and Morocco are set to co-host the 2030 World Cup, while the 2034 tournament will be organized in Saudi Arabia.