9 slaps to Gattuso’s face… Africa is growing in the World Cup

African teams needed no statement or statement to respond to the criticism that accompanied the increase in the number of continental spots for the 2026 World Cup, as the response came from within the green rectangle.

As the curtain fell on the group stage, 9 of the 10 African teams had managed to secure their places in the round of 32, giving the continent the highest qualification rate of any continent participating in the tournament.

FIFA increased the number of African places at the World Cup to nine outright, in addition to a place in the global play-offs, bringing the number of participating teams to 48, a decision criticized by some European voices.

Former Italian coach Gennaro Gattuso was one of the most prominent critics of the new system, saying: “In my day, the best second-placed players qualified directly for the World Cup, but now the rules have changed.”

He added: “In 1990 and 1994 there were two teams from Africa and now there are nineIf we look at South America, we find that six of the ten teams qualify directly, while the seventh goes to the play-offs, and this causes disappointment. “The system in Europe must be changed.”

But Gattuso’s statements included some inaccuracies, as three African teams, not two, took part in the 1994 World Cup, and his talk of all the runners-up in previous qualifiers did not match the qualification systems in place at the time.

The practical response to these criticisms was swift, after African teams imposed themselves strongly in the first round of the 48-team World Cup, as 9 out of 10 teams qualified for the round of 32, a success rate of 90%, the highest of any continent.

In terms of qualification, Africa outperformed Europe, with 13 out of 16 teams advancing, with an 81% rate. It also outperformed South America, with 5 out of 6 teams qualifying for an 83% rate. Whereas Asia settled for just two of the 9 teams, which was 22%.

The list of African qualifiers included Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo and Cape Verde, while Tunisia was the only African team to exit the tournament in the group stage.

Ironically, Gattuso’s comments came as Italy failed to reach the World Cup finals under him, finishing second after qualifying before being eliminated in the European play-offs against Bosnia and Herzegovina, while African teams proved on the pitch that their promotion was not a compliment but a compliment.