A simulation projected what the 2030 World Cup would look like if the national teams affiliated with UEFA chose not to participate in the competitions organized by FIFA. This hypothetical scenario would consider a possible boycott by the 55 European federations.
The projection, developed by the platform CasinoHawks, is based on the premise that UEFA federations would distance themselves from FIFA tournaments. Such a move would be a response to the entity's plan to create a company to manage the commercial rights of the events and sell part of it to private investors.
Brazil would have a winning streak until the final
In this simulated campaign, Brazil would face South Korea, Colombia, Japan, and Nigeria before reaching the final. Simultaneously, Argentina would also advance without suffering any defeats, overcoming Ivory Coast, Mexico, Morocco, and Uruguay. The projection details only the winners of each match, without providing the scores.
The path of the Brazilian team would be as follows: victory over South Korea in the Round of 16; qualification after defeating Colombia in the Round of 16; elimination of Japan in the quarterfinals; triumph over Nigeria in the semi-final; and, finally, defeat to Argentina in the final.
Nigeria would appear as the main surprise
One of the most notable outcomes of the simulation is the trajectory of Nigeria. Led by Victor Osimhen, the team would eliminate Saudi Arabia, Canada, and Algeria before being overcome by Brazil in the semi-final. If this scenario materialized, it would be the first time an African team reached the top four in a World Cup, as only Morocco did so in 2022.
In the same scenario, the Moroccans would go through Democratic Republic of Congo and the United States before being eliminated by Argentina in the quarterfinals.
The absence of European teams would open doors for the debut of several national teams. Among them are Guatemala, Vietnam, Zambia, Bahrain, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Benin, Thailand, Oman, Palestine, Guinea, Tajikistan, Syria, Mozambique, Gabon, Madagascar, and Equatorial Guinea. Furthermore, Venezuela and Mali would also make their first appearances and advance to the knockout stage.
Despite the great interest generated by the projection, it is essential to emphasize that this scenario remains purely hypothetical. The boycott by European federations has not been implemented and depends on the evolution of the FIFA proposal. UEFA, along with the Asian Confederation and CONCACAF, has expressed opposition to the project of commercializing tournament rights.



