World Cup 2026, Gennaro Gattuso reignites debate over qualifiers

The World Cup qualification system is once again in the crosshairs of soccer insiders and it is the national team’s technical commissioner, Gennaro Gattuso, who has reignited the debate on the places reserved for European representatives in relation to those allocated to other continental confederations, particularly South America.

Talking to Sky Sport microphones on the eve of the match against Moldova, the Azzurri coach did not mince words: “Winning helps to win and we have to understand what will eventually happen in the playoffs – said Gattuso – but seeing situations like those in South America, where six national teams qualify and the seventh makes the playoff with a national team from Oceania makes one think”.

“Disappointment stems more from that, something needs to be fixed from the next editions” Gattuso then concluded, aware that even a double success of the Azzurri against Moldova and Norway might not be enough to avoid the playoff serpentine, especially in light of an overall goal difference (the first criterion to be evaluated in case of a tied finish) far on the side of Erling Haaland and his teammates.

In comparison with the previous World Cup, only three more places were reserved for European national teams (from 13 to 16), despite the overall increase from 32 to 48 teams. Asia has gone from 6 to 8 directly qualified teams, Africa from 5 to 9, Central-North America from 4 to 6 (including the three host nations), South America from 4 to 6, and Oceania from 0 to 1. In addition, all continents except Europe are sending at least one team to the intercontinental playoff scheduled for March 2026.