The next World Cup will be expanded to 64 teams, the president of CONMEBOL has claimed.In a post on X, Alejandro Domínguez of the South American football confederation appeared to confirm Gianni Infantino’s grand plans for a bigger tournament that has angered football purists seemingly fighting a losing battle.The next World Cup will be expanded to 64 teams, CONMEBOL’s president has claimedGettyDomínguez wrote: “In 2030, the World Cup comes to Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, a great opportunity for football, to celebrate the World Cup Centenary with a 64-team tournament.”While there has been no official word from FIFA on the matter of expansion, Infantino said earlier this month that soccer’s global governing body will discuss a 64-team field once the 2026 tournament is done.Spain beat Argentina in the World Cup final in New York on Sunday.This was the first edition to feature 48 teams, and that number appears likely to grow again in 2030.FIFA is expecting record breaking revenue from the tournament that has just passed in the United States, Canada and Mexico — and with further expansion, is targeting another massive market.World Cup expansion plans target ‘missing team’Despite the 48-team field in 2026, China’s national team still failed to qualify.Politico reports that if 64 teams compete at the next edition, there is ‘implicit hope’ from FIFA of pulling in the Chinese team and its huge market of soccer-obsessed fans.Hong Kong University Professor Xu Gouqi told the outlet that a ‘running joke’ in online soccer forums in the country is that China still might not qualify despite an expanded field.“Chinese are not allowed to discuss many things in social media,” Xu said in an interview.“But you can criticize the Chinese men’s football team with no consequences. It’s still a safe place.”China were beaten 7-0 by Japan in qualifying for the 2026 World CupGettyChinese soccer fans have had little to get excited aboutGettyChina has a population of approximately 1.4 billion people, but their soccer team hasn’t given fans much hope of a World Cup run.They have appeared just once, at the 2002 tournament hosted in South Korea and Japan.Despite a respectable performance against Costa Rica 24 years ago, China lost all of their group games without scoring a goal, and finished with a goal difference of 0-9.In the qualifying stage for the 2026 World Cup, the team was beaten 7-0 in one particularly tough game against regional power Japan.China also lost to Indonesia and drew with Singapore, two other teams that didn’t qualify.There are currently no Chinese players in the top tiers of any of Europe’s professional leagues, which suggests the nation would struggle on the big stage.No players from China play in any of Europe’s top leaguesGettyFans across the nation still tuned into the World Cup finalGettyDespite far from encouraging signs, Xu told Politico that a ‘world class football fan base’ remains in China.He remains optimistic that China can qualify, and even win, the World Cup in the coming decades.Should that happen, the country would be swept by a whole new level of soccer obsession which, according to Politico, would be a FIFA marketer’s dream.Even Donald Trump, who became one of the biggest stories of this summer’s tournament, has joked the US and China could co-host a future edition.Trump has joked the US and China could co-host an expanded World CupGetty“Gianni also had another idea. He said we could do it — China and the United States the next time,” the president said. “So you have a nice short flight in between games… the players would love that.”What has Gianni Infantino said about expanding the World Cup to 64 teams?While it appears FIFA’s expanded World Cup would target a forgotten soccer nation like China, Infantino has insisted the change would allow many smaller countries to participate on the global stage.The 2030 tournament will be hosted by newly-crowned champions Spain, Morocco and Portugal, as well as in the three South American nations noted by CONMEBOL president Domínguez.FIFA believes an expanded World Cup would give smaller nations a better chance of qualifyingAFP“This is certainly an issue that will be looked at and discussed in the relevant committees,” Infantino told Swiss broadcaster Blue Sport on July 12, while speaking on expansion.“When you organize a World Cup, it’s important that you organize it for the whole world.“It’s not just Europe and South America, but the entire world, effectively. Every nation should be able to dream of taking part in the World Cup.“We can see that the quality of the teams is extremely high, and it’s getting higher and higher everywhere in the world.“If you don’t give smaller countries the chance to participate in the World Cup, they also lose the incentive to keep improving.”Stay up to date on all things World Cup across our talkSPORT platforms – subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest news, opinion, exclusive interviews and our daily unfiltered, unscripted show ‘The S* Word, from 8am ET.