Gianni Infantino talks up the prospect of an expanded World Cup

FIFA, and Infantino, are now thought to prefer a competition with 16 groups of three.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino says world football's federations are "overwhelmingly in favour" of expanding the World Cup to a potential 48 teams.

Infantino is a strong advocate of opening the doors of the game's premier competition to more countries and FIFA has been investigating a number of formats which would allow greater participation than the current 32-team model.