These are just poor excuses. Addiction to the mobile phones (especially among the teenagers and pre-teens) have reduced physical activity all around the world. But in Europe, the education system is still putting a lot of focus on physical activity, unlike some of the East Asian nations such as South Korea or Taiwan. I would say that population ageing is the main reason, and that is why the European teams are going down, and countries with a very youthful population such as Uzbekistan and Jordan are entering the world cup for the first time ever.