2026 World Cup: “The next tournament will feature 64 teams”—how many spots will Europe have?
With the 2026 World Cup now behind us, thoughts are already turning to the 2030 edition, which will mark the 100th anniversary of the tournament’s inception. The event will be hosted by three countries—Spain, Portugal, and Morocco—while the first three opening matches will be held in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay to commemorate the tournament’s centennial.
“The next one is on home turf! In 2030, the World Cup comes to Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay. A great opportunity for soccer to celebrate the World Cup’s centennial with 64 teams,” reads the sensational post by CONMEBOL (South American Confederation), Alejandro Dominguez, who thus revealed a preview of FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s intentions—which had already been leaked some time ago—regarding a 64-team World Cup, representing a further increase from the current 48.
The tournament would be divided into 16 groups instead of the current 12, and only the top two teams from each group would qualify, with no play-offs for the best third-place finishers. However, this would extend the tournament to about 6–7 weeks, with a total of 128 matches. If the same proportions were maintained, Europe’s allocation would rise from 16 to 20 national teams, while South America would receive nine of the ten available slots, rendering the qualifiers nearly obsolete.
Many industry insiders have expressed doubts about further expanding the tournament, which would overload a schedule already stretched to its limits. Infantino himself had explained his vision with these words: “Every nation should be able to dream of participating in the World Cup. It’s clear that the quality of the teams is extremely high, and it continues to grow everywhere.” On the European front, however, the position is quite different. UEFA and the European national associations are ready to do whatever it takes to secure an increase in the number of spots reserved for European national teams, buoyed by the results of the 2026 World Cup, where three of the four semifinalists—France, Spain, and England—came from Europe.
