As the countdown to the 100-day World Cup in Qatar begins, this sports feast is getting closer and closer to us. In this World Cup, there are six teams from the AFC for the first time, they are:
Hosts Qatar and Australia, as well as Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Iran, have advanced to the play-offs.
What kind of results can six Asian teams achieve in the World Cup? This article analyzes the qualifying situation of various Asian teams in the World Cup.
Hosts Qatar
Qatar, as the host of this World Cup, has never reached the final round of the World Cup itself, and has been jokingly called "the weakest host" by the media.
The Qatari national team was founded relatively late, and they only began to compete in various international competitions around the 1970s. They did not participate in the Asian Cup until 1976 and did not reach the knockout stage of the Asian Cup until 1992.
Despite its late start, Qatari football has made amazing progress over the course of a decade, becoming a force that has sprung up in Asia in recent years. In the 2019 Asian Cup, Qatar has been all the way through the barriers, successively defeating traditional strong teams such as South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and Japan, and finally reaching the top of Asia to win the first crown.
In the new edition of the world rankings, Qatar ranks 49th and fifth in Asia.
Ecuador, a South American powerhouse, is currently ranked 44th in the world and has a world cup best record of 16.
Senegal, Africa Cup of Nations champion, currently ranked 18th in the world, with a world cup of the top 8.
The Netherlands, the uncrowned king, is currently ranked 8th in the world and runners-up in the world cup with the best result.
From the perspective of paper strength, Qatar is undoubtedly the weakest team in Group A, whether it is facing the uncrowned king Netherlands, or facing African and American powerhouses, there is no win.
However, in recent years, Qatari football has made rapid progress, and it is even more at home, and I believe that Qatar will not lose too ugly against a strong opponent in the same group.
Persian Iron Rider Iran Team
In the Asian Qualifiers Round of 12, Iran lost only one of the ten matches, accumulated 25 points, and directly advanced to the Qatar World Cup finals with the first place in Group A.
Iran is currently ranked 23rd in the world, the highest-ranked Asian team currently ranked, followed by Japan at 24th.
As an old powerhouse in Asia, Iran has won the Asian Cup many times, and has advanced to the World Cup six times in history, with the best result of the 1978 World Cup, which won the 14th place.
Although Iran has a very good performance in Asia, most of its players are distributed around the world, and there are no players who play for the five major leagues, so there is still a certain gap between its national team and the european teams.
England, the Three Lions, are strong contenders for the title and are currently ranked No. 5 in the world.
The United States, a talent explosion, is currently ranked 14th in the world and the third best in the World Cup.
Wales, the Red Dragon of Europe, returned to the World Cup after many years and is currently ranked 19th in the world.
Judging from the strength of the paper, the grouping situation of Iran is not optimistic. Whether it is the veteran powerhouse England or the Talent Explosion in the United States, it is not easy for Asian teams to win, and Iran's qualifying situation is also very grim.
Desert Fox Saudi Arabia
The Saudi team is currently ranked 53rd in the world and 6th in Asia.
As an old asian team, Saudi Arabia won 7 wins, drew 2 and lost 1 loss in the round of 12 qualifiers, scoring 23 points and directly entering the final round of the World Cup in Qatar with the first place in Group B.
Argentina, the Pampas Eagles, currently ranked No. 3 in the world, are strong contenders for the Hercules Cup.
Mexico, the Straw Hats, is currently ranked 12th in the world and has a World Cup top-8.
Poland, the European White Hawk, is currently ranked 26th in the world and the third best in the World Cup.
In terms of overall strength, Argentina and Mexico are very strong, and although the Polish team belongs to the second-rate level in Europe, its overall strength is not weak, and it is led by The Divine Front Levan. The saudi team's situation of trying to qualify from the group is very serious.
Kangaroo Legion Australia
Since joining the AFC, Australia has been strong in Asia, rushing out of the Asian region to reach the World Cup for four consecutive times, but overall, Australia's squad has long been different from the past, and its strength has not been as good as before.
Australia is currently ranked 39th in the world and 4th in Asia.
The Australian squad is mostly played by players who play in the five major league sub-leagues and other leagues in Europe, which also reflects the decline of Australian football.
The Kangaroo Army's World Cup best was the 2006 World Cup Round of Sixteen.
Australia scored 15 points in Group B of the Asian Qualifiers, finished 3rd in the Intercontinental Play-offs, and finally eliminated Peru on penalties to catch the last train of the World Cup in Qatar.
France, defending champion, currently ranked 4th in the world, 2018 World Cup winner.
Denmark, the fairytale kingdom, is currently ranked 10th in the world and has a world cup best record of 8.
Tunisia, Africa's traditional powerhouse, is currently ranked 30th in the world and has never qualified from the group in the World Cup.
Judging from the strength on paper, Australia can not escape the fate of the group can not qualify, but the World Cup has an interesting spell: the defending champions can not qualify from the group. For example, the 10-year champion Spain, the 14-year champion Germany, all folded the group stage. But france's squad strength is really hard to imagine how it can not qualify from the group.
Asian Blue Samurai Japan
With solid youth training and stable development, the level of Japanese football in recent years has improved significantly, and it has become a regular in the World Cup. In the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup, Japan fought against belgium and was finally killed by the star-studded Belgian team, stopping the round of 16 3-2.
The Japanese team is currently ranked 24th in the world and 2nd in Asia.
Spain, Matadors, currently ranked 6th in the world, 2010 South Africa World Cup champion.
Costa Rica, currently ranked 34th in the world, is the top 8 of the world cup best.
Germany, the Germanic chariot, currently ranked 11th in the world, has lifted the Hercules Cup several times.
E is formed as a recognized "death group", not only Spain and Germany have two championship teams, but also Japan and Costa Rica have certain strengths. Not surprisingly, in the Group Stage of the World Cup, this group of competition will be particularly fierce.
Taiji Tiger Korea
The South Korean team is currently ranked 28th in the world and 3rd in Asia.
Under the leadership of The Asian brother Sun Xingxuan, more and more Koreans have appeared on the European League field, and the strength of the Korean team has continued to improve.
South Korea's world cup best result was the top 4 of the 2002 World Cup, which is also the best result of the Asian team in the World Cup. But under the huge "home advantage" of the 2002 World Cup, the top 4 is full of controversy, and the sportsmanship of South Koreans has also been criticized.
Portugal, currently ranked 9th in the world, is led by superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
Uruguay, south America's veteran powerhouse, is currently ranked 13th in the world and has a brilliant World Cup record.
Ghana, Africa's traditional powerhouse, is currently ranked 60th in the world and has a world cup best record of 8.
The H group match is even more interesting, first of all, portugal and South Korea love-hate: in the 2002 World Cup, South Korea won the golden generation of Portugal by "home advantage".
Ghana and Uruguay also have a small story on the field: in the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup, Ghana instinctively defeated Uruguay and became the first African team to reach the final four, but Uruguayan striker Suarez blocked Ghana's must-score with a handball foul, and the subsequent penalty failed to seize the opportunity, and Ghana could only hate the quarterfinals.
From the perspective of strength, the Korean team's matches in the group stage are all hard battles, although there is a certain gap in strength, but today's South Korean team is also the same group of teams do not dare to despise.
epilogue
Judging from the strength on paper, among the six Asian teams, the only ones who hope to break through the group stage are probably Japan, South Korea and Iran, which are three more powerful teams. But football is round and anything can happen. Either way, we all hope that Asian teams can achieve good results in the World Cup and show Asian level!
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