Lautaro: Mbappe's South America comments were unfair

The Argentine fought back against criticism of football in South America.

Lautaro Martinez, who plays for Inter and Argentina, was not impressed when he heard Kylian Mbappe compare European and South American football.

The player for Paris Saint-Germain turned up the heat before the World Cup by saying that Europe would have a big advantage over their opponents in Qatar. Emiliano Martinez, the Argentina No. 1 for Aston Villa, also criticized the France star for what he said, along with Lautaro. Mbappe, who won the World Cup with France in 2018, caused a stir when he talked about the chances of Argentina and Brazil in 2022.

He told TNT Sports Brasil, "Argentina haven't played very good games to get to the World Cup." "Football in South America isn't as good as it is in Europe. So, if you look at the winners of the last few World Cups, they have all been Europeans." Lautaro told TyC Sports, "Most of us who have been called up are in Europe, and every day, even during training, you measure up against them."

"Because of this, I'll say that we're doing well and working on the ideas that the trainer gives us. We're happy with how it's going and what we're doing on the field. "I heard what [Mbappe] said, but players from both Argentina and Brazil are very good. Like us, most of Brazil's players are in Europe. I thought it was a bad thing to say." Martinez agreed with his fellow countryman that what Mbappe said was not on point.

"Bolivia in La Paz, Ecuador in 30°C heat, and Colombia where you can't even breathe," the Villa star told TyC Sports. "In Europe, they always play on perfect fields and have no idea what South America is like. Every time you go on a trip with the national team, it takes you two days to get there and back. You're always tired and can't train as much.

"When an England player goes to practice, he or she is there in 30 minutes. Let them go to Bolivia, Colombia, or Ecuador and see if it's that easy."