The deepening imprint of Asia on the global map

With the full-time whistle against Portugal, Son Heung-Min, the captain of South Korea, removed his face mask, knelt on the ground and broke down in tears.

The Koreans had made it beyond the group stage after 12 years – three World Cups – and this time there were no accusations of ‘robbery’ or ‘thieves of dreams’ against them.

But Korea was not alone from the continent which had impressed in Qatar.

Just the second World Cup to be hosted in Asia after 2002, this edition has seen a seismic shift in team dimensions in the tournament.

Three countries from the Asian Football Confederation made it into the pre-quarterfinals for the first time.

First, Lionel Messi – one of the finest ever to embrace the game, with 95 international goals and donning the No. 10 jersey of Diego Maradona – saw his team open the tournament with a loss to Saudi Arabia.

“It’s a very hard blow for everyone, we didn’t expect to start like this,” repented the seven-time Ballon D’Or.

The beginning

Saudi Arabia had come into the World Cup with no wins in the tournament since June 1994 – when it had qualified for the round of 16.

It its opening game against Argentina, Messi who scored from the spot, giving Albiceleste the lead in the 10th minute, the then-quickest goal in the tournament.

But a half-time chat – led by Saudi coach Herve Renard – saw a rejuvenated team take the field.

“Don’t you feel we have a chance to come back? Come on guys, come on, this is a World Cup! Give everything! When you are at the edge of the box, you are stationary…..be mobile! Concentrate and be attentive,” Renard had exclaimed.

Three minutes after restart, the Saudis were level.

Saleh Al-Shehri scored the first and Salem Al-Dawsari – with a curling right-footed strike – found the net in the 53rd minute.

Renard’s ‘comeback’ – was complete.

The ocean of blue-and-white at the Lusail Stadium stood gobsmacked is disbelief as an Asian side woke from slumber, giving glimpses of 1994.

Another Asian country, another late attack, another historic win.

Wales looked to have sealed a draw against Iran, strengthening its hopesif making the knockouts. But a horrendous tackle on Mehdi Taremi by Wayne Hennessey saw the Wales goalkeeper get a straight red.

Though Wales hung on momentarily, Roozbeh Cheshmi gave Iran the breakthrough with a powerful hit from outside the box in the eighth minute of second-half stoppage time, leaving the defenders on the ground.

Three minutes later, Ramin Razaeian doubled the lead and just like that, Wales’ historic return to the tournament after 56 years, was marred by the prospect of an early exit.

Moriyasu’s shot at redemption

In 1993, Japan, drawing 2-2 against Iraq in the Asian qualifiers, had missed out on the FIFA World Cup in 1994. Hajime Moriyasu, the current head coach of Japan, was part of the squad then. The stadium was Khalifa International Stadium.

Nearly two decades later, Japan started its World Cup campaign in that very stadium with a miraculous comeback.

The Samurai Blues’ grit saw them come from behind in two of their three group-stage matches and those, too, against former World Champions, Spain and Germany.

Moriyasu’s strategy to wait and fire late saw his side score four second-half goals as it topped Group E, becoming the first Asian side to qualify for the round of 16 as the group topper.

But his decision-making changed Japan’s core squad, just months before the tournament began.

Despite leaving out forwards Kyogo Furuhashi and Yuya Osako, retaining a core from European leagues proved instrumental in Japan’s quarterfinal finish in Qatar.

Sizzling show: Japan, propelled by players like Ritsu Doan, caught the eye with some impressive performances.
| Photo Credit:
AP

All its goalscorers in the tournament, Ritsu Doan (Freiburg), Takuma Asano (Bochum), Ao Tanaka (Fortuna Dusseldorf) and Daizen (Maeda) play in European leagues

South Korea and Australia’s moment of glory

Drawn alongside a two-time World Cup winner Uruguay and a European Champion Portugal, looked like an uphill battle for South Korea, which had not qualified beyond the group stage since 2010.

It remained undefeated against both, beating the latter courtesy Son’s heroic run from defence to attack, which assisted Hee-Chan Hwang’s second-half injury time winner.

It came very close to beating Ghana, which rode on Mohammed Kudus’ brace to snatch a win in a tug-of-war of a fixture.

Playing their hearts out: The Australians gave it their everything in Qatar before running into Argentina in the round of 16.
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images

For Australia – which geographically is not under Asia, but falls under AFC – it was walking on thin ice, qualifying for the knockouts with two 1-0 wins.

Nevertheless, both qualified and the two along with Japan became the flagbearers of Asia’s progress in global football.

The FIFA World Cup knockouts, which were graced by usual suspects from Europe and South America, now had three from the Asian Confederation as well.

This, in itself, is a huge achievement for the continent, given the years of struggle it has had to endure in front of gatekeepers of the game from Europe and South America.

Asia did not have a designated slot in the World Cup until 1986. Subsequently, the continent has seen its allocation increase from two in 1990 to three, and a possible fourth qualifier, in 1998.

In 2022, six countries from AFC played in a FIFA World Cup for the first time and half of them made it beyond the group stage – a testimony of what higher representation can do for Asia.

Recruitment and development of Asian footballers has also burgeoned over the years, rubbbishing the theory of players being sequestered in the leagues within the continent.

The South Korea team – which played the semifinal 20 years ago – had two players from European leagues. The one in Qatar, this year, had four times of the count, including captain Son – an ever-reliable goalscorer for Tottenham Hotspur.

The other side of the coin saw Saudi Arabia and Qatar – two Asian sides with all players from its own leagues – get knocked out early, with Saudi’s truimph over Argentina being a notable aberration.

With the 2026 World Cup set to have 48 teams, Asia will look to carry on the legacy of not just upsets, but historic runs like Morocco, into the semifinals or perhaps even beyond.