Depends which national teams really. Nigeria and Cameroon have nowhere near quality of what they did in early 2000s when they both had top tier players at CL clubs (Geremi, Eto'o, Kanu etc) but I think the Senegal 11 is probably stronger than what they had in 2002. Mendy-Koulibaly-Gueye-Mane, that's a very strong spine and comparable to many european teams.
Asia is tricky. Wouldn't expect much from Australia if they made it but South Korea and Japan are very competitive in group stages nowadays. Japan made last 16 in two of the last three world cups and while Korea didn't get through they did beat Germany which was historic result for them. If Son starts next season well they can be a threat. Iran are also a pain in the backside with how solid they are defensively and Argentina, Portugal and Spain have all struggled v them in previous world cups.
This is also best USA NT since 2002 although may not be reflected in the actual result given issues with the coach. Got some very talented young players though so more likely to be preparing for 2026 but underachieving if they don't make last 16.
The overall standard in CONMEBOL has declined sharply. I think that was already evident in the 2019 Copa America before COVID, and again at the last Copa America last summer. It was impressive that CONMEBOL kept pace with Europe / UEFA for as long as it did to be honest, given the latter's general advantages in terms of infrastructure, organisation, logistics and money (I'd wager for example without looking at figures that there's more money overall in Portuguese football than Argentinean football, before we even get to France, Spain etc.). A big / wider gulf between UEFA and CONMEBOL (and it's really growing) was always expected at some point. Many CONMEBOL teams are struggling with their production pipelines and bringing through younger players, and are effectively forced to keep fielding the same players for longer including when they're well past their past.
In terms of CONCACAF, the future looks very rosy for the USA, but the weakness of coach is a big hindrance, and while there were big positives such as the performance at the Azteca and the first half against Panama, I don't think they were particularly impressive overall during qualification, especially on the road. They just suffered their 10th consecutive defeat in a competitive / qualification game away in Costa Rica as well. Also things looking rosy for them is more than offset by the fact that this is the worst Mexican team for more than 30 years at at least with established players not delivering and a huge dearth of talented youngsters waiting in the wings. Also understandably given their resources, Costa Rica are weaker than they were during the previous decade (or also compared to the 00s), and Honduras (also understandably) declined - they used to cause stronger Mexican teams a lot of problems in the past. Canada's rise was great to see.
In terms of Africa, Senegal look good, but I don't think there are any other teams in the continent as good as the Ghana or Ivory Coast teams of the past. I would say that in general African international football has become stagnant at best, and of course we know that many African teams struggle when it comes to delivering and handling the pressure at the World Cup itself.
As far as Asia goes, Japan, Korea and Iran are all good teams and to be respected, but that was also the case in previous years, so I don't think any of those teams have particularly improved. Also the 2019 Asian Cup was widely criticised for the lack of quality.
Another big advantage for Europe is strength in numbers, as when certain teams are struggle and fail to deliver, others are able to effectively step in and take their place. Despite football become more and more global over time, it some ways it has actually become less global with more and more of a centralisation of power in Europe.
