© Image by Pexels from Pixabay
With the World Cup being held in the Middle East for the first time, it seems an ideal time to look at the history of teams from the region competing in this year's tournament as well as others from the far east.
There are a record six teams from the Asian qualifying section competing this year with Saudi Arabia, Iran, South Korea, Japan, and Australia joining hosts Qatar; but which country from Asia has been the most successful in World Cups of the past?
2 - The 2022 edition of the World Cup is the second to be held in Asia. Brazil won the first one (2002 in Japan and South Korea). Home. pic.twitter.com/pp13BYEgAQ
— OptaJoao (@OptaJoao) November 16, 2022
South Korea
South Korea is certainly the biggest footballing nation from the Asian continent regarding their international performances in tournaments of the past. They have competed at ten World Cups, which is more than any other nation from the region, with the highlight coming in 2002 when they reached the semi-final in the tournament that they co-hosted with Japan.The east Asian side knocked Italy out in the round of sixteen before defeating Spain on penalties in an intense affair in the quarter-final. Unfortunately, South Korea missed out on achieving a third-placed finish as they were defeated by Turkey in the playoffs following losing the semi-final fixture to Germany.
South Korea is by far the best-performing Asian nation on the World Cup stage in history and this year in Qatar they are seen as one of the strongest nations going into the tournament yet again as Heung Min Son leads an extremely strong squad. The Best FIFA World Cup odds are available at Bodog where they are offered at 10/1 to reach the quarter-final stage.
Japan
The other east Asian giants are seen to be marginally stronger than South Korea going into this year's tournament and also have a rich footballing history. They are offered at odds of 9/1 to make a long run to the quarter-final stage.Japan is the record Asia Cup winner having been crowned continental champions four times and in the World Cup, they have also been impressive on several occasions. They have competed at the World Cup stage seven times and reached the FIFA Confederations Cup final in 2001 where they lost to a sole Patrick Vieira goal against France.
Hidetoshi Nakata received the Bronze Ball at the tournament for his stunning contributions against Australia and Brazil.
Australia
Australia is a peculiar Asian nation as they competed in the Oceania region until 2006, and as a result, became the only team to have been Oceanian and Asian champion when they won the Asia Cup in 2015.They have a huge range of notable footballing legends including Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill, and legendary Premier League goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer. The Aussies will compete in their sixth World Cup in Qatar, which will be their fifth consecutive appearance in the tournament, representing an immaculate qualifying record since joining the Asian section.
One of Australian football's most decorated former players, @Tim_Cahill, has joined the #Socceroos' official staff for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ as Head of Delegation. #GiveIt100
— Socceroos (@Socceroos) November 15, 2022
Cahill is one of the most potent forwards in Asian history at World Cups netting five goals between Germany in 2006 and Brazil in 2014. They face a tough group this year against the likes of France and Denmark and have a relatively weaker squad compared to past years, but they stunned Peru in winning the playoff to qualify for the tournament, and they could certainly cause an upset again.
Qatar
Hosts Qatar have a relatively small footballing history on the international stage, they have hosted Gulf Cups and recently participated in the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, but this will be their first-ever tournament which will take place in their home nation.Qatar's international team has improved immensely in recent years as they managed to defeat Japan in the 2019 Asia Cup final to become Asian champions for the first ever time. At their maiden tournament over the next month, they have announced a squad of purely domestic-based players and are certainly seen as one of the weakest Asian nations competing this year.
Portugal
South Korea
Uruguay
Ghana
