Swiss Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, said he can imagine further expanding the number of teams in the men's World Cup to 64, and that the idea should be considered 'definitely' after the current edition of the tournament.

The 2026 edition increased the number of teams from 32 to 48, but the numerical calculations of that system resulted in eight third-place finishers from the group stage advancing to the new round of 32.

Moving to a 64-team system would not mean more matches per team but would restore the concept of only the top two teams from each group advancing to the knockout stage.

Swiss site Blue Sport reported on Saturday that the FIFA president said: 'The whole world must be allowed to dream of the World Cup, not just Europe and South America.'

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The FIFA president described the current expansion as a 'big success'... The 56-year-old Infantino added: 'You can see that the quality of the teams in general is very high and is getting higher and higher and higher all over the world.'

It is noted that the current expansion resulted in a record 104 matches over five weeks, while a 64-team system would require 128 matches in the tournament.

The 2030 edition is scheduled to take place in Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, where South American officials have already raised the idea of a 64-team tournament.

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