Argentina won the World Cup for the first time in 36 years, and a South American team lifted the World Cup for the first time in 20 years.

In the past 36 years, the international football landscape has undergone major changes: 36 years ago, South America and Europe competed for supremacy, and now it is Europe's only strength - even if the winner this time is Argentina.

Take a look at the two clubs where Argentine players in the same blue and white jersey play -

Of the 22 Argentine players in the 1986 World Cup, only six played for European clubs, including three in Serie A, two in La Liga and one in France. As many as 15 play in Argentina's domestic league and one in the Mexican league.

Only one of Argentina's 26 players at the World Cup came from domestic league side River Plate, with the other 25 coming from European clubs. While Maradona almost single-handedly defeated arch-rivals England, five of his squad now play in the Premier League.

It's not just Argentina. Even at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, 11 of the 22 players on Brazil's winning team came from domestic clubs; this year, only three; Twenty-two of Brazil's 26 players play in Europe. Even if Uruguay did not qualify for the group, there are 15 players playing in Europe.

In fact, not only in South America, except for a few teams such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Costa Rica and Mexico, the proportion of players in other teams traveling to Europe is more than half of the whole team.

Of the African team Senegal, all 26 players play in Europe.

In contrast to the 13 European teams participating, the roster provided by FIFA shows that except for three players playing in the United States MLS and one from the Saudi League, the rest of the players play in Europe.

A more detailed analysis of the roster shows that of the 832 players in the 32 teams, 602, or more than 72%, play for European clubs.

Among them, 136 played in the Premier League, 83 in La Liga, 75 in the Bundesliga, 68 in Serie A, 54 in France, and even 26 in the Championship.

Manchester City alone contributed 16 World Cup players to nine teams, while Paris Saint-Germain, which belongs to the same consortium as Manchester City, concentrated the three giants of Messi, Mbappe and Neymar.

The main reason why the European leagues occupy a strong monopoly position is that the countries where the major European leagues are located are themselves developed countries.

With the economic globalization of the past 30 years, the global talent, capital and even technology have been concentrated, and the brand advantages have been maximized, and the highest value-added parts of the value chain have been obtained.

From 2022 to 2025, the Premier League's TV rights fees from international markets alone will rise 30 percent from the previous three-year cycle to $7.1 billion.

At the end of the season, the Premier League's bottom team will also receive more than $100 million in broadcast revenue, while Argentina, which won the World Cup, will receive $42 million from FIFA.

The outstanding performances of the Japanese, Korean and Moroccan teams in this World Cup have raised the hope of Asian and African football.

The Japanese and Moroccan teams, both composed mainly of European-based players, have shared the dividends of the growth of European football in two regions that were small players in international football 36 years ago.

But in the long run, the development of football in Asian and African countries must not just be satisfied with the team to participate in the World Cup, or to send a few players to the European league, but to build their own league brand and high-quality football matches, and build a strong football industry.