The Rondo: Should FIFA expand World Cup to 64 teams, who would benefit the most, what is the likelihood of it actually happening?

And so there is more World Cup speculation. FIFA has already taken plenty of heat for expanding the 2026 World Cup to 48 teams. That seems like a lot, double what it was the last time the U.S. hosted a World Cup, in 1994.

But what if it were 64?

CONMEBOL, the South American football federation, lobbied FIFA President Gianni Infantino to further increase the field for the 2030 event. The logistics here are complicated. Infantino would have to take that initiative to a FIFA congress that would likely shut it down with little hesitation.

A source told the Guardian that “Gianni would not get that vote through Council even if he wanted to. The overwhelming feeling around the table - and not just in Europe - is that 64 teams would damage the World Cup."

Still, the seeds of an idea are here. It aligns with the revenue expansion FIFA has been flirting with for years. The Club World Cup was rather lax in its qualification criteria - and there is already talk of expanding that field. FIFA wants more teams to play more soccer more often.

UEFA, of course, will have its own voice. President Alexander Ceferin has, historically, been reluctant to change things. But by 2030, things could look different. A new generation of footballers will be in the mix. Messi and Ronaldo will have been replaced by Lamine Yamal and Estevao. You'd imagine, too, that some nations might get their first taste of World Cup football.

What would a 64-team World Cup even look like? What are the positives? And what would it mean for nations such as the USMNT, who would presumably coast through qualifying?

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