Twelve stadiums in 11 cities have been earmarked to host matches during the tournament.

But Blatter's remarks, as the curtain closed on the World Cup in Brazil, have put those plans up in the air.

"It's a footballing country but we will have meetings there in September to see if 12 is the right number and even if they could be reduced to 10," said Blatter during his final media briefing following Germany's win over Argentina in the World Cup final.

"It is obvious the World Cup has taken such a dimension that the organisation is a hard work for the organising country and also for FIFA.

"FIFA is looking at 2018 now and we are in discussions on what is the ideal number for the organisation and to keep it in such a manner that it is feasible, reasonable and controllable.

"We are not going to be in a situation as is the case of one, two or even three stadiums in South Africa where it is a problem of what you do with these stadium."

The Luzhniki Stadium is set to host the World Cup final in 2018, but other venues chosen by organisers may not be so sure of their place on the schedule ©Getty Images



His comments have come as a surprise to Alexei Sorokin, chief executive of Russia 2018. 

He said: "This is the first I have heard about it, we know nothing about this."

Under current plans, two stadiums in Moscow will host matches - the Otkrytie Arena and the Luzhniki Stadium, which will also host the final.

The 10 other cities selected by organisers to stage some of the 64 Games are Kaliningrad, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Saint Petersburg, Samara, Saransk, Sochi, Volgograd and Yekaterinburg.

Russia's selection as the host of the 21st World Cup has been the subject of a FIFA Ethics Committee investigation, with claims of corruption in the process that saw it awarded the tournament, and Qatar the 2022 edition during a dual vote in December 2010.

A report into the claims is due to be handed to FIFA's Adjudicatory Chamber later this month.