If Italy was there in the world cup, they would have been one of the favorites. But they couldn't even qualify. All the 9 teams named by nullama are either from CONMEBOL or UEFA. It is sad that other confederations are taking part only to fill their numbers. And for OFC, this time there will be no representation, after New Zealand lost the playoff match to Costa Rica. Time for the Asian, African, North American and Oceanian teams to do introspection. Why they are not in the contention? And don't forget the fact that Asia is manytimes more populous than Europe and South America combined.
Forgive my ignorance, but since we are talking again about the vacancies by continents for the world cup, allow me to ask...
Currently the criteria for deciding the number of teams is based on the number of countries in each continent, is it based on its population or is there some other criterion for this?
I'm sure Europe and America are the continents that could contribute with the best players, but this is obviously not the criterion chosen by FIFA, what would it be?