64 teams sounds even more excessive than 48. I wish they had just done 40 teams with 5 team groups. It would be 1 extra match per team, but just play one less friendly before the tournament and that's fixed.

5 team groups works well enough for the Rugby World Cup, and with there being more competitive teams in football around the world it could have thrown up some interesting groups of death where one or two big teams are guaranteed to go out. I don't think there's any chance of a group of death with the 3 team groups, sure you might get something like Germany and Brazil together but then the third team would be Panama or something

Of course another thread can be started. The all-important question is who will take on the responsibility.

It won't be me, that's for sure. But anyone who is up to the task, should explicitly say so in this thread. If there are multiple people who are willing to do make a new thread, they should lay out what plans they have for the World Cup and beyond, and then we vote on the best combination of idea and reliability of the forum member (we shouldn't pick someone who appears to be prone to abandon the thread on a whim).

I suppose it would be good to say what our expectations are. Personally, I want some kind of prediction league for the World Cup, but I don't have any notable wishes beyond that. If there's not much more than the occasional poll every now and then, then that's fine by me.

Others might want to see a prediction league for the next Champions League season or even the English Premier League. As far as other leagues are concerned, I have not noticed high enough interest in them, so the overall expectations toward the person who sets up a new thread are unlikely to be anything huge. The one thing that is agreed on is that it should be a step up from what we currently have which is essentially nothing.