Domínguez backs South Americans: "Only winners go through" | OneFootball

The Paraguayan responded to the criticisms from the Old Continent regarding the number of spots Conmebol has for the World Cup and stated that this region is the birthplace of the "best football in the world."

The president of Conmebol, Alejandro Domínguez, defended the six spots and the playoff spot that the region has for the 2026 World Cup because this area is the cradle of the "best football in the world" and fired back at the Europeans who criticized: "They should worry more about themselves."

"For me, 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," said Domínguez at an event organized by the Paraguayan Football Association (APF) in the city of Ypané.

The official also stated that there are "friends from Europe," without mentioning countries, who are "a bit attentive" to what happens in South America, who, according to him: "Complain because we will have 6.5 or 7 qualifiers."

And then, after Paraguay's return to the competition after 16 years, he elaborated: "I recommend that they don't worry so much about South America, to those countries I recommend they worry more about themselves and win their matches, because only those who win qualify, as the Albirroja team did."

Furthermore, the leader maintained that it is "fair" for the 10 South American teams associated with Conmebol to go to the World Cup, defending that these teams "will elevate the level" of the competition.

It is worth noting that Domínguez's statements come almost a month after Genaro Gattuso, the Italian coach, criticized South America before the Azzurra's 2-0 victory over Moldova, which was not enough to secure their spot in the World Cup. "The South American group has 10 teams, six go directly to the World Cup and the seventh plays a playoff with the Oceania team... That is regrettable, we definitely need to review something," said the former midfielder at the time.

The four-time world champion played its last World Cup 11 years ago. In total, 54 teams from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) compete for 16 spots for the 2026 World Cup, 12 of them direct, and four through the 'playoffs.'

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.