Which nations could debut in 2030 if the World Cup had 64 teams?

Not a single qualifier has been played yet, and the 2030 World Cup is already making noise. Conmebol president Alejandro Domínguez claimed on social media that the centenary tournament "will have 64 teams" — but FIFA hasn't confirmed it. President Gianni Infantino did say the organization will formally evaluate the proposal once the 2026 World Cup ends, so for now it remains exactly that: a proposal on the table, not a decision made.

What is confirmed are the hosts: Spain, Portugal, and Morocco will organize most of the tournament, while Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay will host their teams' opening matches, honoring the fact that 100 years ago the first World Cup was played — and won — in Uruguay 1930.

With confederation slot rules still undefined, it's too early to know exactly who'd get in for a 64-team tournament. But looking at who's on a streak, who's been left just short, and who's never made it at all, the map is already starting to take shape.

The ones who'd keep extending their streak

A bigger World Cup is, almost by definition, an easier World Cup to qualify for. For teams already on active streaks of consecutive appearances, more slots mean better odds of continuing to add to them. Brazil arrives with the only perfect streak in history — it's never missed a World Cup — and right behind it, Germany, Argentina, Spain, and South Korea lead the list of longest active streaks still standing.

The ones who could come back

A bigger tournament is also a second chance for historic teams that have recently missed out. The most striking case is Italy: despite sitting 12th in the FIFA rankings, it missed out for a third straight time after losing the European playoff to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nigeria has missed 2 editions, Chile 3, and Hungary — absent since 1986 — has now gone 10 World Cups without setting foot on the pitch, the longest absence streak among teams that have ever played the tournament.

The ones who could debut for the first time

This is where a 64-team tournament would really change the map — and there are more candidates than it might seem at first glance.

In South America, Venezuela remains the only Conmebol team that has never played a World Cup — on the road to 2026 it came close to the playoff, finishing even above Peru and Chile.

In Asian qualifying, Oman reached the fourth round on the road to 2026, the furthest it has ever advanced toward a World Cup.

Africa left behind several striking cases: Gabon advanced to the second round, while Burkina Faso, Niger, Madagascar, Uganda, and Namibia all finished second in their qualifying group — Burkina Faso, in particular, closing with a +6 goal difference.

And in Europe, three teams reached the playoff without securing a spot: Kosovo and Albania finished second in their group, and North Macedonia got there through the Nations League route. Kosovo's case was the tightest of the three — it fell 1-0 to Turkey in the match that decided direct qualification, finishing just one goal away from its first World Cup.

New Caledonia and Suriname had already shown that these kinds of cases exist: both reached the Intercontinental Playoff on the road to 2026 without securing a spot — the most recent proof that "coming close" isn't exclusive to this qualifying cycle. With 16 additional slots in play, several of the cases mentioned above would be the first to benefit from the expansion.

None of this is decided yet — not the number of teams, not the confederation slot rules. But the question is already in the air, and you can get ahead of it by making your own prediction.