The 2026 World Cup cements European dominance.

The United States men's national soccer team dreamed of winning the title, and Cape Verde surprised Spain with a thrilling draw, while Morocco shone until reaching the quarter-finals. However, when the World Cup reaches its decisive stages, European teams reassert their dominance.

Among the other continents, Africa seems to be the only one that has actually succeeded in narrowing the gap with Europe, while South America suffers from stagnation, Asia is witnessing a decline, and it would be better for the teams from North and Central America, led by the United States, to look at their capabilities with greater realism.

Certainly, the Asian teams were the biggest disappointment in the tournament. Of the 9 teams that participated, only Japan and Australia managed to reach the Round of 32, before being eliminated at that stage. The Japanese team, in particular, seems to have made no additional progress.

In the World Cup hosted by Japan in 2002, the team reached the knockout stages for the first time, but it still has not managed to achieve any victory in it. Perhaps facing Brazil in the Round of 32 was bad luck, but they took the lead and then excessively retreated, ultimately losing 1-2.

At the club level, Japanese football has developed significantly, with many Japanese players becoming key figures in major clubs, from the German league to the English Premier League.

Therefore, it was surprising that the national team could not translate this development into success in major tournaments, especially after defeating Brazil and England in friendly matches in recent months.

Nine out of ten teams advanced from the group stage. Hugo Broos, the head coach of the South African team, stated that it is "only a matter of time" before an African team wins the World Cup. However, only Egypt and Morocco remained in the Round of 16, before Morocco's adventure ended in the quarter-finals with a loss to France.

This raises the question of why African teams have been unable to carry the momentum they achieved in the group stage into the knockout rounds.

There is no clear answer, but a notable observation is that most of these teams were eliminated in the final minutes of their matches. Cape Verde lost to Argentina, and Senegal lost to Belgium after going into extra time.

South Africa conceded a losing goal against Canada, and Egypt against Argentina, in stoppage time, while the Democratic Republic of Congo was eliminated by England, and Ivory Coast by Norway, with less than five minutes remaining in regular time.