Infantino joked: Even if the World Cup is expanded… Italy will not qualify
FIFA President Gianni Infantino joked that Italy, which is suffering from a decline in its level, might be able to qualify for the World Cup if the tournament is expanded from 48 to 64 teams in 2030.
Italy, a four-time world champion, failed to qualify for the World Cup in Russia 2018, then Qatar 2022, and now in North America 2026, which is the first edition to include 48 teams.
“We discussed the issue of expanding the tournament to 64 teams… and the matter was presented to the FIFA Council,” Infantino told Brazilian digital channel CazeTV on Thursday, before the opening match of the World Cup, in which Mexico beat South Africa 2-0.
He added, laughing, in a brief interview while entering the Asteca Stadium in Mexico City, “Maybe Italy will qualify with 64 teams, or maybe we will reach 208 teams.”
Paraguayan Alejandro Domingues, president of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), is promoting the proposal to expand the 2030 World Cup to include 64 teams, in celebration of the centenary of the first edition of the tournament, in Uruguay in 1930.
Part of the upcoming World Cup finals will be held in Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina, in honor of their ancient history, while Spain, Portugal and Morocco will be the main host countries. Infantino said, “We first have to see how things will go in the first edition of the World Cup with the participation of 48 teams.”
In the same context, Italian Sports Minister Andrea Abudi was widely quoted in the media as saying that he wanted to speak to Infantino because he felt “perplexed” by his statements.
“Given the great distance between Italy and Mexico, I prefer to talk to him on the phone to understand what he meant,” Abudi said, adding, “I would like to hear from him directly.”
