On Wednesday (November 23), Japan caused an enormous surprise, overcoming Germany 2-1.In this Football World Cup, this was not the first major upset caused by an Asian team.A determined Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina by a score of 1-2 on Tuesday.We take a look back at how Asian teams performed at the FIFA World Cup and the challenges they have faced over the years as South Korea plays Uruguay on November 24 evening.
Asian teams competing in the FIFA World Cup Historically, Europe and South America have dominated the tournament.The most prestigious award in football has never been won by a team from outside these two continents.In fact, only two semi-finalists have not come from Europe or South America in the 21 World Cups that have been completed thus far:the struggling South Koreans in their home World Cup in 2002 and the United States in 1930, when there were only 13 teams.
In point of fact, Asian teams have performed particularly badly in comparison to teams from other continents other than the big two.With the exception of 2018, every World Cup has had at least one African team advance from their group, despite the fact that no African nation has ever reached the semifinals.
Asian players on the biggest stage Asia has produced a significantly smaller number of players .
Who have consistently played for the best European football leagues and teams.Asian players have fared much worse than their African or North American counterparts in terms of name recognition.
This was the principal FIFA World Cup hung on Asian soil.It has been the Asian teams’ most successful World Cup to date.Japan and South Korea, the hosts, both made it out of the group, and South Korea made an unlikely run to the semifinals.This is still the best World Cup performance by a team other than Europe and South America.
From a group that included Belgium, Russia, and Tunisia, Japan qualified undefeated.They battled to a close draw with a talented Belgium team, and they won easily against Russia and Tunisia.They played an underrated Turkish team in the 16th round.
In six games (not including the third-place playoff), the Koreans’ defense was.
Rock-solid, allowing just one goal in the group stages and three in total.They beat Poland, drew with the United States, and stunned Portugal in a game that both teams needed to win.
Even though they didn’t score many goals, they were good at scoring quickly. Their famous extra-time goal against a stunned Italian team in the Round of 16 was especially timely.
First, the Confederation determines who gets a spot in the World Cup.Every Confederation has a specific number of ensured spaces and a couple of openings which they have between mainland games for.
The distribution of World Cup slots is a significant political issue in international football, with Europe receiving the majority.There are currently four to five spots available in Asia for 45 teams participating in the qualifying rounds.Europe, on the other hand, receives 13 slots for 55 qualifying teams.
The argument in favor of such a system is that Europe has better teams and needs more slots to guarantee the World Cup’s quality of play.However, this system also ensures that Asian teams never face much better competition, preventing them from growing to their full potential.
Asian leagues and player development infrastructure aren’t up to par, and European club player scouting networks don’t cover enough of the continent.Asian players are disadvantaged over their counterparts from other continents as a result.