The 2030 World Cup will have a special structure to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the tournament. In which, three countries Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay will only host three opening group stage matches (one match each). The remaining matches will mainly take place in three countries Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
Vietnam team has a good chance to attend the World Cup if the tournament increases to 64 teams (Photo: Huong Duong).
However, the South American federations are not satisfied with just hosting a symbolic match. Instead, they want to host a full group, thereby ensuring economic , audience and prestige benefits.
Therefore, they have proposed to increase the number of teams participating in the 2030 World Cup from 48 to 64. If FIFA accepts, this will be the most magnificent World Cup in history.
This could help the Vietnamese team have more opportunities to participate in the World Cup. In the 2026 World Cup, when FIFA increased the number of participating teams to 48 (Asia had 8.5 places), the "Golden Star Warriors" regretfully stopped at the second qualifying round.
If the World Cup scenario of increasing to 64 teams becomes true, Asia will have a significant increase in quota, instead of 8.5 as at present. That opens up opportunities for mid-level teams in Asia like the Vietnam team to compete.
In fact, it cannot be said that the Vietnamese team's early elimination in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup is a sign to underestimate the team. In the 2030 World Cup qualifying round, the "Golden Dragons" have a new generation of potential pillars, who have impressed in recent youth tournaments such as Van Khang, Van Truong, Vi Hao, and Quoc Viet.
The current generation of U23 Vietnam players will be the core of the national team heading towards the 2030 World Cup qualifiers (Photo: Minh Quan).
In addition, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) is actively proposing to naturalize quality foreign-born stars to improve the strength of the national team. Two Brazilian-born players, midfielder Hendrio and center-back Gustavo Santos, are on the list of players to be naturalized as Vietnamese players in the near future according to the proposal of the VFF and coach Kim Sang Sik. In addition, the Vietnamese team also has Xuan Son, who made a strong impression at the AFF Cup 2024.
In the future, it is not impossible that the Vietnamese team will welcome other naturalized stars to upgrade the squad.
Having reached the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup shows that the Vietnamese team can absolutely rise to the level of the top teams in Asia. Coach Kim Sang Sik is trying to rebuild the Vietnamese team after a period of crisis. Therefore, in the event that Asia increases its World Cup participation, we can absolutely dream big.
However, the plan to increase the number of teams participating in the World Cup is facing many objections. European federations and CONCACAF are concerned that the World Cup will continue to increase the number of teams, affecting the quality of the tournament, creating a burden on the competition schedule, infrastructure and costs.
The plan to increase the number of teams in the 2030 World Cup to 64 is still only an idea on paper and has not been approved. FIFA will have to consult with the continental confederations before making a final decision.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/tuyen-viet-nam-sang-cua-du-world-cup-tu-y-tuong-moi-cua-fifa-20250926115118429.htm
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