FIFA to Review 64-Team World Cup Proposal for 2030

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the governing body will consider expanding the 2030 World Cup from 48 to 64 teams. cat-cross.com

FIFA will examine a proposal to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams, president Gianni Infantino said, potentially adding another 16 nations to the tournament.

“A 64-team tournament is definitely an issue that will be examined and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup,” Infantino said.

Infantino described the 48-team format as a success and argued that broader participation could encourage football development in smaller countries.

The South American Football Confederation had previously proposed a one-off 64-team tournament in 2025 to mark the World Cup’s centenary.

At the time, CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez said the expansion would allow more countries to participate in the anniversary edition, 100 years after Uruguay hosted the inaugural tournament.

The proposal has faced opposition from senior football officials. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said a 64-team competition would weaken both the World Cup and regional qualifying tournaments.

The 2030 World Cup will be hosted primarily by Morocco, Portugal, and Spain. Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay will each stage one opening match as part of the centenary celebrations.

Under the existing 48-team format, the tournament would feature 104 matches. A 64-team competition would require FIFA to revise the qualification system, tournament structure, and match schedule.

The post FIFA to Review 64-Team World Cup Proposal for 2030 appeared first on KingFut.

DOHA: To book a spot in the FIFA World Cup semi-finals, England pulled off something in Miami that no defence had even come close to achieving: nullifying Erling Haaland. In a 2–1 victory after extra time, the hero was Jude Bellingham, who netted both goals to complete the turnaround.

The striker, who had terrorised four straight opponents – bagging seven goals against Iraq, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, and Brazil – was kept quiet for the first time in the tournament, and the impact was immediate. That was how Norway’s challenge crumbled.

He departed the fray exhausted before the final whistle, at the end of the first period of extra time. For most elite players, after suffering defeat from a winning position, and elimination in the quarter-finals, the natural instinct might be to retreat into silent reflection. Not Haaland. He grabbed a post-match interview microphone and bade farewell to his first World Cup with a smile.

“These things are surreal; I think this has changed me as a person,” he said. “I think my profile has grown a bit, let’s put it that way, and... It’s hard to even process it all right now when I look back at the games, but it’s incredibly special to be part of an event like this – something I used to watch from the sidelines, and now I’m living it first-hand.

“I feel immense pride, and I’m genuinely moved when I think about how well we performed, the sense of unity back in Norway, and the positivity and joy we’ve felt both there and here.”

Dealing with a striker like Haaland is never (or at least shouldn’t be) a one-man job. It’s not just his physical prowess that makes him so difficult to handle, but his lethal knack for deciding matches while barely touching the ball.

It demands the full attention of the backline. You have to anticipate his movement and seal off the pockets of space where he’s so deadly. And that is exactly what the England side managed to achieve. At the heart of that collective effort, the spotlight falls squarely on Marc Guehi and John Stones. Haaland’s Manchester City teammates turned their familiarity with him into a distinct tactical advantage.

Against England, when subbed off during the interval in extra time, Haaland left the pitch drained with the following numbers: two shots on target, nine attempted passes, with seven completed. He had covered 8.9 kilometres.

Contrast that with his stats from the historic last-16 win over Brazil: four shots, 11 passes (all of them completed), and 10.1 kilometres covered.

They look fairly similar on paper, don’t they? But giving Haaland those extra two chances could well have been the difference that saw Brazil knocked out. In the quarter-final, the Norwegian giant only managed two headers. One was saved by Jordan Pickford, and the other went wide.

In addition, it’s clear he had significantly more freedom of movement across the pitch, even though he played 15 minutes less and despite his team abandoning the counter-attacking style they used for much of the first half in Miami. For Stones and Guehi, then, it was mission accomplished.

Does this mean Haaland will now be backing his two club-mates and England to go all the way? He gave a wry smile, but admitted it’s not that straightforward. “I’ve got my City teammates here, that’s true. I grew up in England, and the first shirt I ever owned was an England one. It’s a special country. But I have teammates from France and Spain too,” he pointed out.

Amidst the pleasantries and optimism, Haaland’s focus shifted to the future. Speaking like a man who has had a taste of World Cup glory and is hungry for more. “This has been my goal for a long time, and I think after this tournament, we’ve put Norway on the map, so to speak. Now it’s about maintaining those standards. I’m incredibly proud,” he affirmed.

“We proved that it’s possible to beat one of the biggest teams in the world, Brazil. We lost to England in the end, but we made them fight for it. Perhaps it could have gone differently. We’ve got more World Cups and Euros ahead of us; I think it’s time for us to really establish ourselves. We’ve got a fantastic generation.”

Omar Marmoush is reportedly seeking talks with new Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca over his role as clubs monitor the forward.

Omar Marmoush will seek clarity from new Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca over his role at the club amid reported interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United.

Marmoush and his representatives want to establish whether he will receive regular playing time under Maresca before deciding on his future.

The 27-year-old remains open to staying at Manchester City if the Italian manager considers him an important part of his plans. His representatives could explore a transfer if the new manager cannot offer him a prominent role.

Manchester City appointed Maresca on a three-year contract last month after Pep Guardiola’s departure. The former Chelsea coach is expected to assess the squad during pre-season.

Marmoush joined City from Eintracht Frankfurt in January 2025. His contract runs until June 2029.

He started eight Premier League matches during the 2025-26 season after falling behind other attacking options during the second half of the campaign.

Marmoush recently represented Egypt at the FIFA World Cup, where the national team reached the round of 16 for the first time. He started the group matches against Belgium and New Zealand and the knockout victory over Australia, but did not start the 3-2 defeat by Argentina.

The post Marmoush Seeks Clarity Amid Tottenham, Newcastle Interest appeared first on KingFut.

Los Angeles, United States: Super sub Mikel Merino broke Belgian hearts and sent Spain through to a World Cup semi-final against France with a late goal in a gripping 2-1 win on Friday.

The stunning finish at SoFi Stadium sets up a tantalizing showdown between European champions Spain and the tournament favorites France and the red-hot Kylian Mbappe in Dallas on Tuesday.

But it was heartbreak for Belgium's substitute goalkeeper Senne Lammens, sent on late, who spilled a shot into the path of Merino.

The dramatic finale came after Fabian Ruiz had opened the scoring for Spain, before Charles De Ketelaere grabbed one back for Belgium against the run of play before halftime.

Welcoming Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku back to the starting XI, Belgium were rocked by a hamstring injury during the warm-ups to captain Youri Tielemans that hit them hard.

Having already lost Amadou Onana to a ruptured ACL, the Red Devils would have to play a near second-choice midfield against the Spanish possession masters.

Ruiz, brought in for Pedri, wasted no time combining with Rodri to dominate the ball and Barcelona's teen sensation Lamine Yamal curled an early shot just wide of the far post.

But opposing winger Doku was bright for Belgium, cutting in from the left to feed De Ketelaere, the striker fresh from his brace against the United States on Monday.

Still, it was Spain who struck first. On the half-hour mark, Pedro Porro played a sharp one-two with Lamine Yamal before expertly cutting it back from near the byline to Dani Olmo.

Olmo's shot was parried by Thibaut Courtois, but fell to Ruiz, who fired it home.

Suddenly it was all Spain. They pinged passes around the Belgian half as though this World Cup quarter-final was a training exercise, laid on for an A-list crowd featuring Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz and Noel Gallagher.

But Belgium, having fought back astonishingly late from 2-0 down in the round-of-32 to dispatch Senegal, did not panic.

They grabbed one back in the 41st minute. De Bruyne slid a through ball wide to Timothy Castagne. His cross found De Ketelaere, who perfectly timed his run and outmuscled Barcelona youngster Pau Cubarsi to head home.

It was the first goal Spain had conceded this World Cup.

Improbably, Belgium almost grabbed another before half-time. Breaking from a Spain corner, De Ketelaere's pass to a totally clear Doku was barely intercepted by Olmo.

Yamal grew into the game after the break, nearly finding Mikel Oyarzabal with an incisive cross that was well blocked by a charging Courtois.

Belgian coach Rudi Garcia brought on veteran striker Romelu Lukaku, who had scored from the bench in three straight games.

The game opened up. A Belgian cross hit Rodri's arm but the impact was deemed accidental. Oyarzabal had a shot saved from a close, tight angle.

A tearful Courtois was forced off by injury after 70 minutes. He was replaced by Lammens, the 24-year-old Manchester United 'keeper making his World Cup debut in daunting circumstances.

It turned out to be a nightmare.

In the 88th minute, Cubarsi shot low from range, and Lammens should have held onto the ball. Instead substitute Mikel Merino was first to the rebound, smashing it home.

It was the Arsenal midfielder's second straight late winner from the bench, after he scored the crucial goal against Portugal in stoppage time on Monday.

Late on Alexis Saelemaekers rounded Unai, but was unable to find Lukaku in front of an open goal.

As the whistle blow, Courtois came out to embrace a distraught Lammens, while other members of Belgium's ageing "Golden Generation" stood immobile and disbelieving.

For Spain there were embraces and fist pumps, before attention quickly turns to their blockbuster clash with France.

Foxborough: Kylian Mbappe recovered from having a first-half penalty saved to score a magnificent opener that set France on their way to a 2-0 win over Morocco in their World Cup quarter-final showdown on Thursday.

Mbappe's weak spot-kick was easily saved by Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, but he made up for that by producing a brilliant curling finish to make it 1-0 on the hour mark.

That was Mbappe's eighth goal at the tournament, moving him level again with Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot, before he came off late on and watched the final minutes with an ice pack around his right ankle.

Before exiting, he set up Ousmane Dembele to run through and settle the contest watched by 63,811 at the Gillette Stadium, as France knocked Morocco out, just as they did in 2022.

Their 2-0 win four years ago in Qatar came in the semi-finals, and this time the victory for Les Bleus takes them through to the last four. They will face Spain or Belgium in Dallas next Tuesday.

France are looking to reach a third consecutive World Cup final in their last tournament before long-serving coach Didier Deschamps stands down.

Winners in 2018 and runners-up in 2022, it has felt like they have eased through to another semi-final and they were too strong for a Moroccan team lacking firepower in the absence of the injured Ismael Saibari.

Mbappe is one of the greatest goal-scorers of his generation, and the World Cup continues to bring the very best out of him.

After netting braces in the group-stage wins over Senegal and Iraq, as well as the last-32 defeat of Sweden, he got the only goal from the penalty spot against Paraguay in the last round.

He has now scored 20 goals in 20 World Cup appearances, within one goal of Messi's overall tournament record of 21.

More could have been expected from Morocco, who had more of the crowd behind them but lacked a cutting edge in attack as France kept a third clean sheet in as many knockout games.

Nevertheless, they have plenty of exciting young talents -- including former France Under-21 captain Ayyoub Bouaddi in their midfield -- and will surely be a force to be reckoned with again when they co-host the next World Cup in 2030 alongside Spain and Portugal.

On Thursday they were just the latest team to find containing Mbappe at a World Cup to be an impossible task.

The Real Madrid star provoked the penalty as he was scythed down in the area by Noussair Mazraoui after a quick breakaway in the 25th minute.

Argentinian referee Facundo Tello immediately pointed to the spot, although a review was needed to rule out a foul on Moroccan captain Achraf Hakimi in the build-up.

Maybe the wait got to Mbappe, whose kick was uncharacteristically weak and easily stopped. It was a reminder that he remains human, just like Messi who has squandered two penalties at this World Cup.

The excellent Bounou frequently kept France at bay in the first half, notably tipping a Desire Doue shot around the post after Bouaddi was robbed of the ball.

Lucas Digne crashed a shot onto the top of the bar from distance as the opening half ended goalless, but France got the reward for their pressure 15 minutes after the restart.

Doue slipped the ball to Mbappe just outside the area, and he controlled before using Issa Diop as a screen to direct a superb strike into the net.

France's all-time leading marksman now has 64 international goals from 104 appearances.

His lay-off in the 66th minute allowed Dembele to advance on goal and curl a shot low into the same corner, a hand from Bounou proving unable to make it 2-0.

Dembele is the reigning Ballon d'Or and now has five goals at this World Cup, but Mbappe continues to hog the limelight.