Italy demands answers after FIFA chief Infantino quips that 228-team World Cup would secure qualification

The joke that sparked outrage

In an interview with Brazilian broadcaster CazéTV after the 2026 World Cup opening match, FIFA president Gianni Infantino discussed potential further expansion of the tournament. Currently making its debut as a 48-team event held in Mexico, Canada and the United States, the World Cup could grow again. Infantino said the FIFA Council had already discussed a 64-team format but added that the priority was to analyse how the 48-team edition performs. Then, with a grin, he turned to Italy's absence: "Maybe Italy will qualify with 64 teams. Who knows, maybe with 208," or according to other sources, "maybe we should go to 228 teams." The crack, made as Italy endures its third straight World Cup on the sidelines, quickly went viral.

Instant political and institutional backlash

Italy's sports minister Andrea Abodi was among the first to react, telling ANSA that given the distance between Italy and Mexico, a phone call was best. "I am interested in hearing his direct thought," Abodi said. The Five Star Movement deputy Gaetano Amato issued a harsh attack on the FIFA president. Within the Italian Football Federation, the response was equally sharp. FIGC sources told ANSA:

“It was an unfortunate gaffe, a lapse in style that hurt the feelings of the entire Italian sporting community.”

The federation added that football, in victory and defeat, teaches values "starting with respect."

The three missed tournaments

Italy's absence from the 2026 finals follows failures to qualify for the 2018 and 2022 editions. The national side, a four-time world champion, has now been a spectator for three consecutive World Cups while the competition expands from 32 to 48 teams. The FIGC's outgoing president Gabriele Gravina remains in post only for urgent matters, leaving the federation in transition as the tournament unfolds.

Infantino's Instagram olive branch

Hours after the controversy erupted, Infantino posted a photo on Instagram with Italian football legend Gianni Rivera, taken at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City — the venue of the 1970 "Match of the Century" semi-final between Italy and West Germany.

“The 1970 tournament was extraordinary, just as this one in 2026 will be, even without the four-time world champions Italy. But the Azzurri will return soon, and I can't wait to see them again as protagonists in the centenary qualification in 2030.”

A divided reaction in Italian media

Italian commentary ranged from indignation to self-deprecation. Il Giornale lambasted Infantino as a "servant of many masters" and said the joke rubbed salt into the wound of a "battered" football nation. Corriere della Sera took a lighter tone, noting the joke resembled the bar-room and social-media humour already circulating among Italians who find themselves "the only ones fasting" during the global football feast. The affair underlines the depth of frustration within Italian football and the precarious relationship between FIFA and one of its historic powerhouses.