“FIFA President Gianni Infantino intends to give his main demonstration of strength on Tuesday since he took office,” Sheetin January 2017. “A skillful articulator, the Swiss has negotiated an agreement in recent months to put 16 more countries in the competition and raise more.”
The idea of expanding the World Cup had political effects that benefited him – not surprising that he is firm in the presidency, even though he assumed at a time of huge turbulence, in 2016 – as well as sports effects, as the report observed. “By expanding the number of participants, he pleases the periphery of football, which will be more likely to play the tournament.”
The proposal was unanimously approved by the FIFA council that January 2017. Now, the first world with 48 teams approaches, with news such as the leadership of Suriname in one of the keys of the Americas that offer direct vacancy.
The 2026 World Cup, to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada, already has 18 of its known participants. They are the three hosts and 15 teams that secured their vacancies through continental knockout disputes with two rookies.
In Asia, Jordan and Uzbekistan won the right to play the biggest competition in football for the first time. The continent’s association has six classifieds and will still define two more direct vacancies and one in the world recap, which offers real chances to Oman.
Africa, which is entitled to nine direct vacancies and one in the recap, should also have at least one unprecedented participant. The Cape Verde team, the small island country located near the Northwest African coast, leads their key with a good margin – four points, two rounds of the end – about the traditional team of Cameroon.
The advance to the World Cup was very close last Tuesday (9), with a 1-0 win over Cameroon, in Praia, defined in the beautiful individual move by striker Dailon Livramento. To the final whistle at the National Stadium, a crowd broke into the lawn, party for the imminent classification.
The Concacaf, a confederation that footballly brings together countries from North and Central America – with timely reinforcements of South America – also has great potential for newcomers.
Football in the region is historically dominated by Mexico, which, with 17 appearances in the World Cup, has only fewer classifications than the Brazil (22), Germany (20), Italy (18) and Argentina (18) – these four countries concentrate 16 of the 22 titles. But Mexico already has a place in 2026 as headquarters, as are the United States and Canada.
In the last World Cup, in Qatar, were precisely Mexico, the United States and Canada who obtained the direct vacancies of Concacaf – Costa Rica advanced in the recap. Now, there are three more direct vacancies, one for each key, and the top two seconds go to the world recap.
Only two of the six rounds were performed, which still makes it difficult to predict the outcome. The current scenario, however, has Suriname in the leadership of Group A. in Group B, led by Jamaica – which was only in a World Cup in 1998 – Curaçao has a victory and a draw, which leaves him second and in the recap zone.
The worldwide recap will have six teams, with the final two vacancies of the World Cup in dispute. One of the countries that are already secured in the recap is the New Caledonia, from Oceania, another debutant potential. This is the 2026 World Cup, just as I proposed Infantino in 2017.
“The animation of a country that qualifies for the World Cup is what most helps to publicize football. If a team does not qualify, it is often a disaster. But if the national team is a party,” he said eight years ago when he sought the approval of the dispute with 48 teams.
Now he already thinks of 64 participants, a real possibility for 2030.
