Gianni Infantino: World Cup expansion to 64 teams ‘to be examined and debated’ | OneFootball

"It is certainly a question that will be examined and debated by the relevant committees after this World Cup," said FIFA president Gianni Infantino. He told Swiss outlet Bluewin.

"When you stage a World Cup, it is important to design it for the whole world, not only Europe and South America. Every nation should be able to dream of taking part."

This year, the World Cup featured 48 teams for the first time. The expansion allowed Curaçao, Cape Verde, Jordan and Uzbekistan to make their debuts.

"We see that the level of teams is extremely high and keeps improving worldwide. If we do not give smaller countries the chance to play at the World Cup, they will lose the motivation to keep improving."

With 48 teams, the group phase ultimately fed back to 32 for the knockouts. A 64-team format would add four groups of four and remove best third-placed qualification for the round of 32, but it would also make the tournament longer.

Source: L'Équipe