The president of the South American body backed the six spots and the play-off for the World Cup and asked that Europe 'worry about winning.'
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Alejandro Domínguez replied to European criticism over the number of spots that South America has in the 2026 World Cup and firmly defended the qualification format granted to CONMEBOL. At an event organized by the Paraguayan Football Association in the city of Ypané, the official asserted that this is a matter of sporting justice and vindicated the historical and current weight of South American football.
"That is justice because the best football in the world is played and born, or in any case, is born, played, and exported in South America," Domínguez stated, as he justified the six direct spots and the play-off berth.
Without mentioning specific countries, the CONMEBOL president spoke of "friends from Europe" who follow closely what happens in South America and who, according to him, complain about the possibility that up to seven national teams from the region could qualify.
In that regard, he was blunt and recommended that "they worry more about themselves and about winning their matches," as he emphasized that those who achieve results qualify for the World Cup, as happened with Paraguay in its return to the competition after 16 years.
Domínguez le recomendó a Europa de que se preocupen de sus propios asuntos
Domínguez also considered that it would be fair for all ten South American national teams to take part in the World Cup, since he believes that their presence raises the level of the competition. "It's nice to hear them criticize us, it's nice to hear that in the other place in the world, as it used to be the other way around before, they complain about our qualifying system," he added, reversing the focus of a debate that for years had Europe as the main reference point.
These statements came weeks after remarks by Gennaro Gattuso, coach of Italy, who had questioned the distribution of spots after an insufficient victory by the Azzurra against Moldova. At that time, the coach described as "regrettable" the fact that South America has six direct qualifiers and a play-off, and he called for the system to be reviewed.
