The football world was almost always divided between Europe and South America, two major continents giving out the most drama.
But recently the debate caught fire as Kylian Mbappe made some comments “undermining” the quality of football of his South American counterparts.
What Mbappe said
Earlier this year the PSG striker made claims that European football is the better kind than South America.
“The advantage we have in Europe is that we play among ourselves with high-level matches all the time, such as the Nations League”, said the forward.
“When we arrive at the World Cup, we are ready, whereas Brazil and Argentina do not have this level in South America.
“Football is not as advanced as in Europe. That’s why at the last World Cups, it’s always the Europeans who win.”
Reactions from the South Americans
His comments did not sit well with the South Americans as ex-Brazil coach Tite snapped back by saying they “don’t have Azerbaijan to play. We don’t have anyone that gives you a break.”
Voicing similar concerns, Donatello’s PSG teammate Lionel Messi stated, “Many times we talked about that in Spain.
“When we returned from a qualifier, we told them, ‘You don’t know how difficult it would be for you to qualify for the World Cup if you had to go there, at altitude, in the heat, in Venezuela’.”
Argentina striker Lautaro Martinez also stated Mbappe’s comments as “unfair”.
While the other, Emiliano Martinez guarding the Argentina goal-line firmly responded by saying,
“He doesn’t know enough about football.
“He never played in South America. When you don’t have this experience, it may be better not to talk about it.
“But it doesn’t matter. We are a great team, recognized as such.”
Other Factors
It is noteworthy that both continents have different approaches to the qualifying process of FIFA.
55 European countries are split into 10 groups for 13 spots, while 10 South American countries battle it out for four automatic and one playoff spot in the CONMEBOL.
