There’s nothing quite like the World Cup is there? This edition, bigger than ever, saw 104 matches played in the space of just 39 days, culminating in the final between European champions Spain and South American champions Argentina.
Matches in the U.S. enjoyed record-breaking viewing figures, with many more members of the public becoming soccer fans. If that’s you… welcome! Soccer is the best, isn’t it? So, you might be wondering, what next? Well, it will be another four more years until the next men’s World Cup, so here is everything we know about the tournament so far.
When will the 2030 World Cup take place?
The 2030 World Cup will kick off on Saturday, June 8 with the centenary matches, more on those just below. The remainder of the group phase will begin on Thursday, June 13, with the final on Sunday, July 21.
Who is hosting the 2030 World Cup?
The 2030 World Cup will, primarily, be hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco. It will be the first time Spain have hosted since ’82, with Portugal and Morocco doing so for the very first time. It will be just the second time any World Cup matches have been played in Africa, after South Africa in 2010.
However, that is not all. 2030 will be the 100 year anniversary of the first-ever World Cup in Uruguay. To commemorate the centenary, CONMEBOL wanted to hold the entire tournament in South America, but were unsuccessful. As a sort of peace offering, as well as to ensure Saudi Arabia was the sole bidder for 2034, FIFA have awarded three South American nations an opening match each.
Commemerative South American 2023 World Cup hosts
- Uruguay: Estadio Centenario, Montevideo.
- Argentina: Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires.
- Paraguay: Estadio Osvaldo DomÃnguez Dibb, Asunción.
Aside from that complete nonsense, the majority of the tournament will take place in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with these the proposed host venues and cities.
What are the proposed venues for the 2030 World Cup?
Morocco
| City | Stadium | Capacity | Renovated/new? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casablanca | Hassan II Stadium | 115,000 | New in 2028 |
| Tangier | Ibn Batouta Stadium | 75,500 | Renovated in 2025 |
| Rabat | Stade Prince Moulay Abdellah | 69,500 | Opened in 2025 |
| Fez | Fez Stadium | 55,800 (proposed) | To re-open in 2028 |
| Agadir | Grand Stade d’Agadir | 46,000 (proposed) | To re-open in 2028 |
| Marrakesh | Stade de Marrakech | 45,860 (proposed) | Opened in 2011 |
These six cities and stadia are Morocco’s confirmed venues for the tournament.
Portugal
| City | Stadium | Capacity | Year opened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Porto | Estádio do Dragão | 50,033 | 2003 |
| Lisbon | Estádio da Luz | 68,100 | 2003 |
| Lisbon | Estádio José Alvalade | 51,470 | 2003 |
One of the Lisbon venues, likely Estádio José Alvalade, home of Sporting CP, is expected to be cut.
Spain
| City | Stadium | Capacity | Year opened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madrid | Santiago Bernabéu | 83,186 | Re-opened in 2021 |
| Madrid | Metropolitano | 70,629 | 2017 |
| Barcelona | Camp Nou | 105,000 (soon to be) | Re-opened in 2025 |
| Barcelona | RCDE Stadium | 40,500 | 2009 |
| Bilbao | San Mamés | 53,331 | 2013 |
| Valencia | Nou Mestalla | 70,044 (proposed) | Planned 2028 |
| Seville | Cartuja | 70,000 | Renovated 2025 |
| San Sebastián | Anoeta | 42,300 | Renovated 2019 |
| Vigo | BalaÃdos | 44,000 (proposed) | Planned renovation |
| Zaragoza | La Romareda | 43,110 (proposed) | Planned renovation |
| Las Palmas | Estadio de Gran Canaria | 44,500 (proposed) | Planned renovation |
Málaga and A Coruña were initially part of Spain’s bid, but have both withdrawn, replaced by Valencia and Vigo. It is expected that Spain will provide at least eight hosts venues, so some of the above may still be cut, the bottom four most-likely to do so.
Where is the 2030 World Cup Final likely to be played?
There is currently a tussle between Spain and Morocco over who will host the 2030 World Cup Final. The Spanish federation believes the final should take place at the Bernabéu, home of Real Madrid, one of the most iconic stadiums in the world. The Bernabéu hosted the 1982 World Cup Final between Italy and West Germany, having also staged the 1964 Euros final, four Champions League finals and the 2018 Copa Libertadores final.
However, the next World Cup Final could instead be heading to Casablanca. The brand-new Hassan II Stadium, which is expected to cost in excess of $500 million, being built right now, will be able to house 115,000 spectators and is currently the favorite to be awarded the final.
Will the World Cup expand to 64 teams in 2030?
Speaking last week, FIFA President Gianni Infantino strongly suggested that the next World Cup could be expanded again, this time up to 64 teams:
“Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup. You can see that the quality of the teams is extremely high… If you don’t give smaller countries a chance to participate in the World Cup, they’ll lack the incentive to keep improving.”
This summer was already the biggest World Cup ever, featuring 48 teams for the first time, increasing the number of matches from 64 to 104. Well, a 64 team World Cup would see more than 30% of FIFA members participate, increasing the number of games again, this time all the way up to 128. For comparison, excluding qualifiers, 125 games were played in the Champions League before UEFA ditched the group stages.
If this comes to pass, there would be 16 groups of 4, we would go all the way to Group P, which just looks like a typo, with the top two progressing through to the round of 32, at which point it would be a straight knockout. If we remain at 48, this summer’s format would be repeated.
How many spots will each confederation have?
| Confederation | 32-team spots | 48-team spots | Speculated 64-team spots |
|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA | 13 | 16 | 21 |
| CONMEBOL | 4 + 1 play-off | 6 + 1 play-off | 8 + 1 play-off |
| CAF | 5 | 9 + 1 play-off | 11 + 2 play-off |
| CONCACAF | 3 + 1 play-off | 6 + 2 play-off | 8 + 2 play-off |
| AFC | 4 + 1 play-off | 8 + 1 play-off | 10 + 2 play-off |
| OFC | 0 + 1 play-off | 1 + 1 play-off | 2 + 1 play-off |
Nothing has been confirmed yet. This is pure speculation, but however FIFA chose to split up the slots, it would become even more near-impossible than it is now for heavyweights to miss out. Well, apart from maybe Italy. CONMEBOL, for example, has only ten members, but nine of them could be heading to the 2030 World Cup; imagine being the one to miss out.
Meantime, USMNT fans, if you remember Couva and hope that’ll never happen, well, it almost certainly won’t. Plenty is still unknown about the 2030 World Cup, but one thing is certain: the 2034 edition is heading to Saudi Arabia, and everyone is ecstatic about that, if by “everyone” you mean Gianni Infantino and his legion of sycophants.
