FIFA president Gianni Infantino has rated the expanded 48-team World Cup format a "total success" and confirmed that further expansion to 64 teams will be considered after the tournament.
"It was a huge success with 48 teams," Infantino said, highlighting that every national team played at a high level and that sides from all continents scored goals and secured at least a point.
As his strongest argument, he pointed to the performance of African nations: nine out of ten reached the knockout stage of the tournament being held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. At the previous World Cup, Africa had only five representatives.
Expansion to 64 teams, Infantino said, will be examined after the championship concludes. He believes the World Cup should be organised "for the whole world", not just for Europe and South America, and that every nation should have the right to dream of participation.
In the final, Infantino plans to jointly present the trophy with the president of the host nation.
