Argentina star Emiliano Martinez fires back at Italy coach Gattuso over World Cup qualifiers controversy
Argentina and Italy are two of the most iconic national teams in soccer history, with seven World Cup titles between them. However, they are now in very different situations: while the South Americans are the reigning World Cup champions, the Europeans have missed the last two editions and are struggling to secure their place in the FIFA tournament in 2026. In this context, an unexpected exchange unfolded between Gennaro Gattuso and Emiliano Martinez.
The head coach of the Italian national team spoke during this international break about the difficulties his country is facing in securing a spot at the World Cup 2026, as they appear destined for the playoffs after falling behind Norway in Group I.
“No regrets,” Gattuso said in a press conference, according to Marca. “Winning helps winning, but we need to understand the criteria well. We’ve talked about it before, but to see South American groups with 10 teams, of which six qualify and the seventh goes to a playoff against Oceania… the biggest regret is that: not qualifying directly. We definitely need to review the criteria.”
Emiliano Martinez’s response to Gattuso
Gennaro Gattuso’s comments did not go unnoticed in South America, and hours later an Argentina star responded. “They don’t know what South America is,” Emiliano Martinez told DSports. “There are other difficulties that in Europe they don’t see… They always play on perfect, watered pitches.”
The Aston Villa goalkeeper pointed out that beyond the number of spots and the format of qualifiers, South America presents internal and external conditions that make competition tougher than in Europe. Altitude, heat, hostile stadium atmospheres, and the quality of the pitches are some of the factors that explain this difference.
The World Cup qualifying format
Gennaro Gattuso’s words about qualification criteria and the distribution of World Cup spots echo complaints made by other figures in recent years. Some argue that qualifying systems are easier in certain continents than in others, giving unjustified advantages to particular national teams.
However, Europe is the continent with the largest representation. Sixteen of the 48 teams in the World Cup will be European—nearly double the next closest region, Africa (9). Behind them are Asia (8), South America (6), Concacaf (3, plus the 3 hosts), and Oceania (1). The final two spots will be awarded through an intercontinental playoff held in March.
These allocations reflect geographic and sporting criteria. On one hand, the number of countries in each region is taken into account. But competitive level also matters—and this is why South America qualifies between 60% and 70% of its teams to the FIFA tournament.
It is worth remembering that three Conmebol nations—Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay—collectively own almost half of all World Cup titles in history (10 of 22), underscoring the region’s strength. Meanwhile, continents such as Africa or Asia, despite having roughly five times as many national teams, have yet to win a single title.