World Cup 2030: six countries, three continents - and 64 teams?

DPASun, July 19, 2026 at 9:03 AM UTC·3 min read

The biggest World Cup in history is coming to a conclusion later on Sunday and there is already speculation that the next edition in 2030 could see yet another expansion.

This tournament was the first in three countries, the United States, Mexico and Canada, and featured 48 instead of previously 32 teams which saw the number of matches rise from 64 to 104.

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In four years time there will be six host countries and FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said they will look into possibly increasing the number of teams to 64.

Here is what you need to know now about the global tournament in four years:

How will the 2030 World Cup work?

Most of the tournament will be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. However, because the World Cup will celebrate its centenary since the inaugural tournament in Uruguay in 1930, one match each has been awarded to Argentina (Buenos Aires), Paraguay (Asunción), and Uruguay (Montevideo).

These three matches are scheduled to take place at the start of the tournament so that the participating teams will have time to acclimatize after travelling to Europe and Africa. Their second match is expected to take place 11 to 12 days after their opener. The tournament is currently scheduled to run from June 8 to July 21, making it, at 44 days, the longest World Cup in history.

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How realistic is a 64-team World Cup?

Until now, expanding by another 16 teams was considered logistically almost impossible. A 64-team tournament would require 128 matches, 24 more than this year and double the 64 from 2022.

More matches would have to be played in South America, leading to even greater travel demands. During the current tournament in North and Central America, Infantino has however said this was definitely a topic to consider after the World Cup because the whole world should be able to dream of the World Cup, not just Europe and South America.

An expansion to 64 teams has repeatedly been demanded, mainly by representatives from South America. Infantino’s latest remarks may also signal that he wants to show he has left no stone unturned on the issue. The FIFA president had already tried to increase the number of participants from 32 to 48 teams for the 2022 tournament in Qatar, but that effort failed.

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Where will matches be played?

Current plans include six stadiums in Morocco, three in Portugal, and eleven in Spain. The largest venues are Camp Nou in Barcelona, with a capacity of 103,000 once renovations are complete, and the newly built Hassan II Stadium near Casablanca, which, with a capacity of 115,000, would be the largest football stadium in the world.

How will qualification work?

In Europe, qualification for the 2030 World Cup will be reformed and aligned with the league system used in European club competitions. Until now, teams competed in groups of four or five in home-and-away ties. Group winners qualified directly, while runners-up still had a chance through play-offs.

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Under the new format, the best 36 teams from the Nations League will be divided into three groups of twelve teams each. Every team will play six matches against six different opponents, with the results forming a league table for each group. The top teams will qualify directly, while additional places will still be decided through play-offs. The exact allocation has yet to be determined by UEFA. Teams outside the top 36 will also compete in a league system.

The six host nations qualify automatically, and qualifying in other confederations may also require an overhaul if the tournament is expanded.

What happens after the 2030 World Cup?

The tournament spanning three continents has an important political consequence for world football: Under the rotation principle, host candidates from North and Central America, Europe, Africa, and South America were ineligible to bid for the following World Cup in 2034. This cleared the way for Saudi Arabia, representing Asia, whose football federation maintains close ties with Infantino.