MOSCOW – This unpredictable World Cup has finally given us a guarantee. When the trophy will be raised at the Luzhniki stadium on July 15, the winner will be a European nation

The elimination of Uruguay and Brazil in the quarter-finals on Friday meant that there remained six teams , all from Europe, sealing the continent. dominating the event and ensuring that it will provide the champion for the fourth consecutive time.

But this is not a major problem, at least not as much as it has been claimed. Part comes from geography. Whether it's comfort, familiarity, weather or anything else, European teams still win the World Cups in Europe, with the exception of a gorgeous teenager named Pele. , who awakened Brazil in Sweden 60 years ago

. also. When Germany won out on Brazilian soil four years ago, it was the first time that a non-South American nation had won a World Cup.

This does not mean a catastrophic collapse of the capabilities of South America. He is in a bath (not helped by Neymar being better diving than scoring), Lionel Messi was out of the way for Argentina and that Colombia got unlucky in penalty shots.

South American fans traveled to Russia in large numbers and travel is largely unrewarded. Peru, Colombia and Argentina have had tremendous support in each of their matches. Peru was sunk early, out of contention even before playing its third game. The stuttering campaign of Argentina was ended by France and Colombia by England thanks to these evil penalties.

Only Brazil and Uruguay survived the quarter-finals and were immediately eliminated, leaving the tournament entirely European. , with the sole exception of the unfortunate Senegal, was the subject of an eighth place on a break of equality on the basis of its disciplinary record.

Asia had strong points. Japan was tough in the group and outstanding against Belgium in the round of 16 before blowing a 2-0 lead. South Korea returned home early but beat Germany to end and received a heroic welcome on her arrival. Morocco and Iran gave Portugal and Spain all they could for the group's final match, even as Saudi Arabia won

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The only contribution of CONCACAF – except that Panama was probably the most inept team of the tournament – was in the dramatic race of Mexico. On the basis of limited information, it is unclear where the US regional confederation is located in relation to the rest of the world, but the eye test suggests that Americans and their rivals are far away of the elite.

meanwhile, was in control pretty much everywhere you looked. He was ahead of five of the eight groups and only four of his fourteen teams (Iceland, Poland, Serbia and shockingly Germany) failed to reach the knockout stages. The best football clubs in the world are based in Europe, the big money follows the standard and the best talent follows the money.

Is this bad for the game? It depends on how you see it. If you want the best teams in the tournament and in its final stages, no matter where they come from, then there is no doubt where the power base of the sport currently rests.

Do not expect that to change either. Europe is already one of the most difficult regions to qualify, as evidenced by the absence of Italy and the Netherlands. It receives 13 automatic seats out of 32, but although it is higher than any other confederation, it still does not exactly represent Europe's dominant position in the rankings.

Dominance could increase when the World Cup will rise to 48 teams by 2026. By then, the division of the UEFA will be 16 teams. and it is virtually certain that one of them will be placed in each of the 16 groups of three. With two teams qualified for each of them, expect that most, if not all, Euro countries will remain for the knockout game.

The good news for others. There is not much but just that. At least, the next two World Cups will not take place in Europe.