(06-14-2018 05:05 PM)Nevadanatural Wrote:  If they’re going to 48 will they have byes? How many spots for CONCACAF? At the current 3.5 qualifying would only be for a playoff spot with CONMEBOL.

Nah...I think they decided on 16 groups of 3 and taking the top two in every group. Effectively, every even remotely decent team will make the knockouts.

You'll also note, that with an odd number of teams in each group, there will be a lot of "byes" for teams, and the argument has already been made that the team who does not play first is at a marked disadvantage due to their opponents knowing exactly what they need to get the requisite 4 points to make the second round.