In just a month and a half, the draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026 will take place in Washington, DC. It will be the first major event ahead of the official tournament, which is set to take place next summer in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Despite how close that competition is, speculation is already growing over potential format changes for 2030, with Argentina and Brazil reportedly holding different opinions.
Less than a month ago, a meeting was held in New York between FIFA president Gianni Infantino, CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez, heads of state, and soccer officials from Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. There, they discussed the possibility of changing the World Cup format once again—this time expanding the number of participating teams from 48 to 64—and implementing the change after the 2026 tournament.
That proposal, led by the three national teams and the top authority in South American soccer, does not appear to have reached a consensus within CONMEBOL. According to The Guardian, the other seven national teams in the South American confederation have serious concerns about approving the change.
The report states that Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela are not on board with the proposal. “The other Conmebol members… are concerned about the impact of World Cup expansion on their qualifying competition, the main source of revenue for many of the national associations.”
FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
The main concern, apparently, is that access to the World Cup could become so easy for South American teams due to an indiscriminate expansion of slots, that the qualifiers would lose public interest—hurting the commercial appeal of the competition.
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How South American World Cup qualifying works
The small number of teams in CONMEBOL allows for an unusually long 18-match qualifying format, where every team faces each other twice—home and away. At the end of the competition, based on total points, World Cup berths are awarded.
For decades, this format produced thrilling finishes, with even Argentina and Brazil struggling at times to secure qualification. The expansion to 48 teams for 2026 already eased that challenge, with top sides facing fewer obstacles to qualify. And a further expansion in 2030 could make the path even less competitive.
Why so many South American teams qualify for the World Cup
When comparing the number of countries to the number of available World Cup slots, CONMEBOL is—by far—the most favored confederation. With only 10 national teams in the region, South America has been granted six direct spots for 2026, plus a potential seventh via the intercontinental playoff.
That means between 60% and 70% of South American teams will be part of the World Cup. The disparity becomes clear when compared to other confederations: Europe has 29%, Asia 17%, Africa 16%, CONCACAF 14%, and Oceania just 9%. It’s worth noting those figures may shift depending on the outcome of the March intercontinental playoff.
CONMEBOL’s number of berths is justified by the exceptionally high level of competition across its 10 teams. In fact, nearly half of all World Cup titles in history (10 of 22) belong to just three South American nations: Brazil with 5, Argentina with 3, and Uruguay with 2.
