FIFA World Cup 2026 :Canada/Mexico/United States: Discussion Thread

[Synchronice]

There it is UEFA 12 to CONMEBOL 10. There were 11 finals where it was CONMEBOL vs. UEFA and out of those 11, CONMEBOL won 8.

Well.. this is a very interesting statistic. The conclusion I can draw out of this is:

1. There is a higher chance of an UEFA team winning the world cup, simply because far more teams from UEFA participates when compared to any other confederation (13 teams till 2022).
2. For CONMEOL, since 4.5 teams are allowed, the chances are considerably less.
3. But out of the 11 finals between CONMEBOL teams and UEFA teams, the former won on 8 occasions. This means that in one-to-one encounters (where UEFA doesn't have the numerical advantage), CONMEBOL dominates the scene completely.

The reason why South American teams perform well in the world cup is unexplainable. Brazil have won the world cup five times, Argentina three times and Uruguay 2. Comparing the sports facilities and economic conditions of UEFA and CONMEBOL member countries, the former is more advanced and better. I think South American players are more talented and they produce some of the best stars in football history, Pele and Maradona are good examples. But we have seen a lot of improvement by the African sides, their chance of winning the world cup is also high based on Qatar's performance.

Definitely South Americans were always favorite football players, they manage to produce exceptionally talented strikers. I think the reason why they are so successful in football is following:
1. Football is very popular in their culture and people love it very much.
2. Most of the time, it's very warm in South American countries.
3. Parents let children to play most of the time and the relationship between neighbors and kids, people is warm. In Europe, parents push their kids to study and spend most of the time to learn school subjects and don't let their kids play that much outside. Also, relationships between people isn't that warm in Europe, people prefer to be more isolated.
Also, the current state of poverty and possibility of earning a good money gives more boost to South American kids. I mean, when you are poor and have no money but it chase it, you are more likely to succeed in life than a person who was born in a family that always had comfort.

[fzkto]

The reason why South American teams perform well in the world cup is unexplainable. Brazil have won the world cup five times, Argentina three times and Uruguay 2. Comparing the sports facilities and economic conditions of UEFA and CONMEBOL member countries, the former is more advanced and better. I think South American players are more talented and they produce some of the best stars in football history, Pele and Maradona are good examples. But we have seen a lot of improvement by the African sides, their chance of winning the world cup is also high based on Qatar's performance.

I would compare this with Croatia and their lousy football league, while their national team is among the top football teams in the world. If you look at it, Croatian football teams doesn't have shiny sports facilities and training camps. But also very few players in the Croatian national team actually plays in Croatia. It's similar with Brazilian and Argentinian football players. Very few of their national team players actually play in their home football leagues. Most of them play in top European clubs.

But I don't think you can compare the Croatian league with the Brazilian or Argentinian ones. By the way, most of the Croatian national team players also play for European clubs. It's just that South American football has always been top class. That's where we know most of the stars from, including Pele, Maradonna, Ronaldinho. And of course the new star, Messi.

[slackovic]

But I don't think you can compare the Croatian league with the Brazilian or Argentinian ones. By the way, most of the Croatian national team players also play for European clubs. It's just that South American football has always been top class. That's where we know most of the stars from, including Pele, Maradonna, Ronaldinho. And of course the new star, Messi.

The quality of Brazilian and Argentinian football leagues is incomparable to Croatian football league. I was comparing the situation where all the best players are playing in the top European clubs. All the South American stars that you mentioned played in the European clubs in their best years. It's the same with the best Croatian players.

[rendravolt]

The reason why South American teams perform well in the world cup is unexplainable. Brazil have won the world cup five times, Argentina three times and Uruguay 2. Comparing the sports facilities and economic conditions of UEFA and CONMEBOL member countries, the former is more advanced and better. I think South American players are more talented and they produce some of the best stars in football history, Pele and Maradona are good examples. But we have seen a lot of improvement by the African sides, their chance of winning the world cup is also high based on Qatar's performance.

I would compare this with Croatia and their lousy football league, while their national team is among the top football teams in the world. If you look at it, Croatian football teams doesn't have shiny sports facilities and training camps. But also very few players in the Croatian national team actually plays in Croatia. It's similar with Brazilian and Argentinian football players. Very few of their national team players actually play in their home football leagues. Most of them play in top European clubs.

Maybe playing at a top European club makes it easier for players from Croatia to get calls from the national team and it seems that this is also a natural thing for other big national team players at this time. When a player only plays in a local league, of course they will receive less attention from the national team coach and indeed they should be able to prove in the eyes of the world, especially in the top European leagues so that they can get a definite place in the national team.

[YinShuiSiYuan]

There it is UEFA 12 to CONMEBOL 10. There were 11 finals where it was CONMEBOL vs. UEFA and out of those 11, CONMEBOL won 8.

Well.. this is a very interesting statistic. The conclusion I can draw out of this is:

1. There is a higher chance of an UEFA team winning the world cup, simply because far more teams from UEFA participates when compared to any other confederation (13 teams till 2022).
2. For CONMEOL, since 4.5 teams are allowed, the chances are considerably less.
3. But out of the 11 finals between CONMEBOL teams and UEFA teams, the former won on 8 occasions. This means that in one-to-one encounters (where UEFA doesn't have the numerical advantage), CONMEBOL dominates the scene completely.

The reason why South American teams perform well in the world cup is unexplainable. Brazil have won the world cup five times, Argentina three times and Uruguay 2. Comparing the sports facilities and economic conditions of UEFA and CONMEBOL member countries, the former is more advanced and better. I think South American players are more talented and they produce some of the best stars in football history, Pele and Maradona are good examples. But we have seen a lot of improvement by the African sides, their chance of winning the world cup is also high based on Qatar's performance.

Definitely South Americans were always favorite football players, they manage to produce exceptionally talented strikers. I think the reason why they are so successful in football is following:
1. Football is very popular in their culture and people love it very much.
2. Most of the time, it's very warm in South American countries.
3. Parents let children to play most of the time and the relationship between neighbors and kids, people is warm. In Europe, parents push their kids to study and spend most of the time to learn school subjects and don't let their kids play that much outside. Also, relationships between people isn't that warm in Europe, people prefer to be more isolated.
Also, the current state of poverty and possibility of earning a good money gives more boost to South American kids. I mean, when you are poor and have no money but it chase it, you are more likely to succeed in life than a person who was born in a family that always had comfort.

The reason for world's best players from Europe or South America is that they take football as their most favourite and first sport as Asia have cricket. 
Europe train football to kids from their childhood and they play football everywhere its school,  clubs , or college universities they have football everywhere so they become extremely fine and polished with time .
Unfortunately this don't happen in Asia or other countries.

[rahmad2nd]

~snip~

I would compare this with Croatia and their lousy football league, while their national team is among the top football teams in the world. If you look at it, Croatian football teams doesn't have shiny sports facilities and training camps. But also very few players in the Croatian national team actually plays in Croatia. It's similar with Brazilian and Argentinian football players. Very few of their national team players actually play in their home football leagues. Most of them play in top European clubs.

Belgium is no exception. Before the 2022 Qatar World Cup was held, Belgium was previously predicted to be a dark horse team which might become a stumbling block for strong teams who are always more favored. but in fact, they failed to even qualify from the group phase. even though almost as a whole, the core players of the Belgian squad play at the level of Europe's top leagues.

In the 2026 World Cup, I believe there are many teams that are experiencing significant changes that can play at a high level if they are serious about being able to compete in the world championship. especially Canada, they play very much differently. in terms of game, Canada displayed a very solid game. the problem is, Canada doesn't have many players whose quality is above average. only if we look at the system they play, Canada will reform into a team that is quite tough in the world cup championship later.

For Croatia, for now there is not much player regeneration that is quite prominent. but after all, Croatia will always be counted in the championship later. because, they have built a pretty good system. the rest, Croatia must have a way to create new talent starting from its local competition.

[beerlover]

What will be the motivation for Messi to keep playing until 2026? For every player, the ultimate dream is like winning the FIFA World Cup. And in case of Messi, he has already achieved that milestone. So what will keep him playing on until 2026? In normal circumstances, players nearing retirement would rather pounce on opportunities which will give them financial security. And Messi already has an offer from the Saudi club Al Hilal. If he moves to Al Hilal, then in all probability he may not represent Argentina anymore. I am not saying that he will take up the Saudi citizenship (which Ronaldo is rumored to be considering). But he maybe part of the Saudi bidding team for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which may make him ineligible for the selection for Argentine national team.

I guess that there is no need to have a motivation to keep going, if that's just what you want. Doesn't need to be because he wants to win it again, sure it would be lovely if he could win it again of course, but sometimes it's just about doing whatever you want to do and what you like doing.

Like my grandfather who worked until 81 years old and no longer can work, he didn't needed the money, he wasn't getting any promotions because he owned his own business, and his business was barely breaking even, but he had money he lived off anyway, he could have retired at age 70 and never need a penny, he would be well off, but he worked anyway, why? Because that's what he liked to do, and Messi may do it just because of that.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

There it is UEFA 12 to CONMEBOL 10. There were 11 finals where it was CONMEBOL vs. UEFA and out of those 11, CONMEBOL won 8.

Well.. this is a very interesting statistic. The conclusion I can draw out of this is:

1. There is a higher chance of an UEFA team winning the world cup, simply because far more teams from UEFA participates when compared to any other confederation (13 teams till 2022).
2. For CONMEOL, since 4.5 teams are allowed, the chances are considerably less.
3. But out of the 11 finals between CONMEBOL teams and UEFA teams, the former won on 8 occasions. This means that in one-to-one encounters (where UEFA doesn't have the numerical advantage), CONMEBOL dominates the scene completely.

The reason why South American teams perform well in the world cup is unexplainable. Brazil have won the world cup five times, Argentina three times and Uruguay 2. Comparing the sports facilities and economic conditions of UEFA and CONMEBOL member countries, the former is more advanced and better. I think South American players are more talented and they produce some of the best stars in football history, Pele and Maradona are good examples. But we have seen a lot of improvement by the African sides, their chance of winning the world cup is also high based on Qatar's performance.

In my opinion, African teams have a ton of untapped potential and have what it takes to become a major global power. But it's tough for African teams to compete on the same level as South American teams because of their economic and structural limitations. There are not enough resources in many African countries for their national football teams to receive appropriate training and play in suitable stadiums. It's because of this that they have a hard time competing with groups from more developed areas.

However, advancement to the elite levels of play is not out of the question for African nations. Maintaining the current level of effort to enhance the teams' infrastructure and resources is required. It would be an incredible feat if an African team were to win the International Cup, but with the proper funding, African teams might become a powerful force on the world stage.

I can't help but agree with you here, Africa is actually blessed with a lot of really good players, but like you said, the real problem is lack of proper and adequate funding from the government respectively..
As an African myself, I have come across really good players on the street who if given the chance, would contribute greatly to taking African football to Great height, but unfortunately, there are no provisions set by the football federation to capture this category of people at their tender ages for proper training..

[alegotardo]

I can't help but agree with you here, Africa is actually blessed with a lot of really good players, but like you said, the real problem is lack of proper and adequate funding from the government respectively..
As an African myself, I have come across really good players on the street who if given the chance, would contribute greatly to taking African football to Great height, but unfortunately, there are no provisions set by the football federation to capture this category of people at their tender ages for proper training..

It is this type of recognition that FIFA is trying to highlight with the entry of more players in the next world cup.

Today there are many more very good teams, with great players, who need space to show their talent. Very different from a few decades ago when this was a sport only for favorite teams and "best in the world" players.

In the last Olympics we already had a lot of "surprises" with several "favorites" and I don't doubt at all that the next competition will happen the same.

[Sithara007]

I can't help but agree with you here, Africa is actually blessed with a lot of really good players, but like you said, the real problem is lack of proper and adequate funding from the government respectively..
As an African myself, I have come across really good players on the street who if given the chance, would contribute greatly to taking African football to Great height, but unfortunately, there are no provisions set by the football federation to capture this category of people at their tender ages for proper training..

Actually lack of proper infrastructure is no longer a stumbling block. Talented players, even from little known countries will be contracted by European or Arab clubs sooner or later. Look at the Moroccan national team that reached semi-finals of Qatar 2022. A majority of the players are representing UEFA leagues. For example, Achraf Hakimi is representing Paris Saint-Germain F.C. Yassine Bounou plays for Sevilla and Noussair Mazraoui is contracted by Bayern Munich. When players are representing these clubs, the lack of quality facilities back home doesn't matter much.

[nullama]

~snip~
Well.. this is a very interesting statistic. The conclusion I can draw out of this is:

1. There is a higher chance of an UEFA team winning the world cup, simply because far more teams from UEFA participates when compared to any other confederation (13 teams till 2022).
2. For CONMEOL, since 4.5 teams are allowed, the chances are considerably less.
3. But out of the 11 finals between CONMEBOL teams and UEFA teams, the former won on 8 occasions. This means that in one-to-one encounters (where UEFA doesn't have the numerical advantage), CONMEBOL dominates the scene completely.

In almost 100 years of history, only 8 countries in the world have won the world cup:



Of those, 3 are from South America(CONMEBOL) and 5 are from Europe(UEFA).

It looks to me that it's not a matter of having more teams, but rather, those are just extremely talented countries.

Every single one of those countries usually performs excellent. Winning a world cup is a major thing, it's not only about the number of countries participating.

[shogun47]

There it is UEFA 12 to CONMEBOL 10. There were 11 finals where it was CONMEBOL vs. UEFA and out of those 11, CONMEBOL won 8.

Well.. this is a very interesting statistic. The conclusion I can draw out of this is:

1. There is a higher chance of an UEFA team winning the world cup, simply because far more teams from UEFA participates when compared to any other confederation (13 teams till 2022).
2. For CONMEOL, since 4.5 teams are allowed, the chances are considerably less.
3. But out of the 11 finals between CONMEBOL teams and UEFA teams, the former won on 8 occasions. This means that in one-to-one encounters (where UEFA doesn't have the numerical advantage), CONMEBOL dominates the scene completely.

Yes your conclusions are right more or less, but keep in mind that these statistics refer to the entire history of World Cups. If you have a closer eye at certain periods of time, you can clearly see that the last 20 years (before Argentina's FIFA World Cup win now) were strongly dominated by UEFA teams. 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 all finals were won by a UEFA team and even only a single time the runner up was a CONMEBOL team (Argentina in 2014 against Germany).

Whether I would say that CONMEBOL dominates the scene completely is, even statistically spoken, probably wrong (given that it is 11:8 for CONMEBOL).

Though the statistics are still interesting when you take into account all the other facts like number of participants per association and so on. I didn't know all of that before in deeper detail, so it was fun to dig a bit around and understand it better.

[Sithara007]

Yes your conclusions are right more or less, but keep in mind that these statistics refer to the entire history of World Cups. If you have a closer eye at certain periods of time, you can clearly see that the last 20 years (before Argentina's FIFA World Cup win now) were strongly dominated by UEFA teams. 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 all finals were won by a UEFA team and even only a single time the runner up was a CONMEBOL team (Argentina in 2014 against Germany).

Whether I would say that CONMEBOL dominates the scene completely is, even statistically spoken, probably wrong (given that it is 11:8 for CONMEBOL).

Though the statistics are still interesting when you take into account all the other facts like number of participants per association and so on. I didn't know all of that before in deeper detail, so it was fun to dig a bit around and understand it better.

Hmm.. yes. 2006-2018 period was completely dominated by UEFA. Both Argentina and Brazil suffered setbacks during this period, and were unable to perform well in the FIFA tournaments (barring the 2014 edition, when Argentina managed to finish as the runners up). But now the scenario is changing once more. European teams are getting weaker, as many of their top players are close to retirement (Ronaldo, Benzema, Müller.etc). Younger players are not performing at the same level as the senior players. But for Brazil and Argentina, the advantage is that their younger players are already performing well at international level - Lautaro Martínez, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernández and Lisandro Martínez for Argentina and Richarlison, Raphinha, Gabriel Jesus, Antony, Vinícius Júnior and Gabriel Martinelli for Brazil.

[slackovic]

Hmm.. yes. 2006-2018 period was completely dominated by UEFA. Both Argentina and Brazil suffered setbacks during this period, and were unable to perform well in the FIFA tournaments (barring the 2014 edition, when Argentina managed to finish as the runners up). But now the scenario is changing once more. European teams are getting weaker, as many of their top players are close to retirement (Ronaldo, Benzema, Müller.etc). Younger players are not performing at the same level as the senior players. But for Brazil and Argentina, the advantage is that their younger players are already performing well at international level - Lautaro Martínez, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernández and Lisandro Martínez for Argentina and Richarlison, Raphinha, Gabriel Jesus, Antony, Vinícius Júnior and Gabriel Martinelli for Brazil.

I wouldn't say that European teams are getting weaker. I think they are stagnating while the teams from other parts of the world (especially South America) are getting stronger. All of those European top players that you mentioned who are close to retirement will eventually get replaced by new stars. Maybe there are not many star players like Ronaldo, Benzema and Muller but there are great young players from Europe.

[Synchronice]

Hmm.. yes. 2006-2018 period was completely dominated by UEFA. Both Argentina and Brazil suffered setbacks during this period, and were unable to perform well in the FIFA tournaments (barring the 2014 edition, when Argentina managed to finish as the runners up). But now the scenario is changing once more. European teams are getting weaker, as many of their top players are close to retirement (Ronaldo, Benzema, Müller.etc). Younger players are not performing at the same level as the senior players. But for Brazil and Argentina, the advantage is that their younger players are already performing well at international level - Lautaro Martínez, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernández and Lisandro Martínez for Argentina and Richarlison, Raphinha, Gabriel Jesus, Antony, Vinícius Júnior and Gabriel Martinelli for Brazil.

Well, it's hard to say for European players because there are some great players who were born in Europe and are considered Europeans but in reality they aren't. For example, William Saliba, Kylian Mbappé and Bukayo Saka are great players from Europe but actually their origin is different and it again proves that European forwarders aren't that great again. But at the same time, while South American players are consider as best players, we have to admit that it's probably because of their colocation in Europe that gave them possibility to access good training equipments, practices, good doctors, good coaches, etc.

But there are great truly European young players: Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, Florian Wirtz, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Goncalo Ramos, Gavi.
I especially like Haaland. I don't think anyone has a chance against him.
P.S. I hope people will realize that in truly European I meant a person whose ancestors were born and raised in European continents. I don't intend to offend anyone.

[Sithara007]

~~~
Maybe there are not many star players like Ronaldo, Benzema and Muller but there are great young players from Europe.

For example, William Saliba, Kylian Mbappé and Bukayo Saka are great players from Europe but actually their origin is different and it again proves that European forwarders aren't that great again.

But there are great truly European young players: Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, Florian Wirtz, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Goncalo Ramos, Gavi.
I especially like Haaland. I don't think anyone has a chance against him.
~~~~~

Among all the players mentioned here, I would rate just two - Kylian Mbappé and Erling Håland as players capable of replacing someone like Ronaldo or Müller. Or in other words, I would say that only these two have the capability of winning matches on their own. And Håland plays for Norway, who almost never qualifies for the FIFA World Cup.

Players like Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden are talented. But I haven't seen them performing consistently. And Bukayo Saka is the same guy who sank England in Euro 2020, when he missed the penalty kick. Anyway, all I am saying is that these players don't have the capability of winning matches on their own. They can play a supplementary role, and that is it.

[eaLiTy]

~
Anyway, all I am saying is that these players don't have the capability of winning matches on their own. They can play a supplementary role, and that is it.

If you are talking about solo goals, those are rare and you really need a team effort to win matches and big tournaments and it is evident from the recent World Cup where Messi motivated the entire team and the team members trusted his vision and everyone wanted to win the cup for Messi and the player needs to be in the right position at the right time and only a team whose members are willing to play a supplementary role for the ultimate purpose can win the entire tournament .

I have seen matches where Kylian Mbappé was not able to score goals nor get any chance to score one for PSG when Neymar and Messi were not available. You need a good midfield play to get the ball to the strikers, Ronaldo was facing the fate in Manchester United and now with Al-Nassr as he is not getting the ball and even if you are a goal scoring machine elsewhere, if the midfielders are not good enough to pass the ball along, you wont be scoring goals.

[mm2543363580]

~
Anyway, all I am saying is that these players don't have the capability of winning matches on their own. They can play a supplementary role, and that is it.

If you are talking about solo goals, those are rare and you really need a team effort to win matches and big tournaments and it is evident from the recent World Cup where Messi motivated the entire team and the team members trusted his vision and everyone wanted to win the cup for Messi and the player needs to be in the right position at the right time and only a team whose members are willing to play a supplementary role for the ultimate purpose can win the entire tournament .

I have seen matches where Kylian Mbappé was not able to score goals nor get any chance to score one for PSG when Neymar and Messi were not available. You need a good midfield play to get the ball to the strikers, Ronaldo was facing the fate in Manchester United and now with Al-Nassr as he is not getting the ball and even if you are a goal scoring machine elsewhere, if the midfielders are not good enough to pass the ball along, you wont be scoring goals.

 A team can only be victorious by a good team effort, if all the players are doing their role efficiently and good then a team can win . You cannot win a game by one man show and you cannot expect that from football players too , they need a good team who pass ball according to their position and helps the striker to score a goal .
Ronaldo's criticism from Al Nassr is same as they arenot admiting this fact that just Ronaldo cannot play whole game , other players have to play good to win match.

[Juggy777]

~~~
Maybe there are not many star players like Ronaldo, Benzema and Muller but there are great young players from Europe.

For example, William Saliba, Kylian Mbappé and Bukayo Saka are great players from Europe but actually their origin is different and it again proves that European forwarders aren't that great again.

But there are great truly European young players: Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, Florian Wirtz, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Goncalo Ramos, Gavi.
I especially like Haaland. I don't think anyone has a chance against him.
~~~~~

Among all the players mentioned here, I would rate just two - Kylian Mbappé and Erling Håland as players capable of replacing someone like Ronaldo or Müller. Or in other words, I would say that only these two have the capability of winning matches on their own. And Håland plays for Norway, who almost never qualifies for the FIFA World Cup.

Players like Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden are talented. But I haven't seen them performing consistently. And Bukayo Saka is the same guy who sank England in Euro 2020, when he missed the penalty kick. Anyway, all I am saying is that these players don't have the capability of winning matches on their own. They can play a supplementary role, and that is it.

@Sithara007 I agree on your assessment about Mbappe and Haaland, but I disagree that Foden and Saka can’t win matches on their own because these two have developed really well and in coming year’s they’ll definitely win matches for their team. Furthermore Saka has moved on from that penalty miss, and see how well he’s playing this season which further convinces me that he’s has all the attributes of winning matches for his team.

[Daniel91]

Hmm.. yes. 2006-2018 period was completely dominated by UEFA. Both Argentina and Brazil suffered setbacks during this period, and were unable to perform well in the FIFA tournaments (barring the 2014 edition, when Argentina managed to finish as the runners up). But now the scenario is changing once more. European teams are getting weaker, as many of their top players are close to retirement (Ronaldo, Benzema, Müller.etc). Younger players are not performing at the same level as the senior players. But for Brazil and Argentina, the advantage is that their younger players are already performing well at international level - Lautaro Martínez, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernández and Lisandro Martínez for Argentina and Richarlison, Raphinha, Gabriel Jesus, Antony, Vinícius Júnior and Gabriel Martinelli for Brazil.

Well, it's hard to say for European players because there are some great players who were born in Europe and are considered Europeans but in reality they aren't. For example, William Saliba, Kylian Mbappé and Bukayo Saka are great players from Europe but actually their origin is different and it again proves that European forwarders aren't that great again. But at the same time, while South American players are consider as best players, we have to admit that it's probably because of their colocation in Europe that gave them possibility to access good training equipments, practices, good doctors, good coaches, etc.

But there are great truly European young players: Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, Florian Wirtz, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Goncalo Ramos, Gavi.
I especially like Haaland. I don't think anyone has a chance against him.
P.S. I hope people will realize that in truly European I meant a person whose ancestors were born and raised in European continents. I don't intend to offend anyone.

All those players you mention were born, raised and educated in Europe, and if it weren't for that, they probably would never have reached the top level of football.
Yes, their origin is not European, but if you were to research all Europeans going back 3-4 generations, probably at least half of the people would have origins outside of Europe 
I believe that all these players consider themselves Europeans and feel that way.
In fact, I don't think it makes sense to talk about European players or strikers not being as good as African or South American ones, because in the last 20 years only one South American national team has been world champion in soccer, and all other world championships have been won by European national teams. It is the best indicator on which continent the best football is played. Should we even mention the difference in the quality of European and South American club football?