Since it has been pointed out in the title that it is a strong team, don't talk about the national football team. Obviously, today's topic is not mixed with the national football team. Although the national football team is indeed embarrassed, the embarrassment mentioned today is the embarrassment of the high position, and it has nothing to do with the national football team.
In fact, there are only 5 strong teams in Asian football. As for which five they are, everyone must be clear. Just look at the last few World Cups, almost every World Cup, Asia is the same few faces. Obviously, they dominate the landscape of Asian football. Of course, in addition to the World Cup, they also have to compete in the Asian Cup. After all, Asian strong teams will instantly become weak teams in the World Cup, and if they can advance from the group, it will be considered a success, as for winning the championship, it is a fantasy. But in the Asian Cup, these strong teams are really giants, and winning the championship is not only feasible for them, but also very possible.
From the perspective of the Asian Cup, the number one team in Asia in the past 30 years should be Japan. Since its rise in the 90s, Japan has won the championship four times and is the first in Asia. In just over 30 years, Japan has become the team with the most victories in the history of the Asian Cup, and while Japan has made a brilliant achievement, it has also made other traditional Asian powerhouses look up. After all, the Asian Cup is only 68 years old.
South Korea, for example, is quite embarrassing. South Korea is a veteran of the Asian Cup, having won the previous two Asian Cups. And from the perspective of the World Cup, South Korea can also be called the most successful team in Asia, they have participated in the Asian Cup the most times, not only in Asian football, but also compared with some second-rate European teams, they are not inferior in any way. But many people may not believe it, since winning the championship in 1960, South Korea has never been involved in the Asian Cup, and they have reached the top twice and never climbed again.
Of course, during this period, South Korea was close to winning the championship, such as the 2015 Asian Cup, South Korea reached the final, but unfortunately lost to Australia. In addition, South Korea has reached the final many times, but they have been unlucky and have never won the championship.
Speaking of which, we bring out the most embarrassing Asian powerhouses. Although South Korea has not won the championship for a long time, they have at least reached the final many times, but the team we are talking about today has not reached the final of the Asian Cup in 48 years. Moreover, this team is often referred to as the strongest team in Asia.
Iran.
Don't look at the abundance of Iranian talent, every era can put the team on the top of Asian football. But since 1968 to 1976, Iran has never won the Asian Cup again, and even the final has not been reached. In other words, the semi-finals have become a bottleneck for Iran in the Asian Cup after 1976.
Perhaps the most impressive thing for us was the 2004 Asian Cup. At that time, the national football team and Iran met in the semi-finals, the two sides drew 1:1, and finally the national football team defeated Iran in the penalty shootout.
Even the national football team can beat Iran in the semi-finals, not to mention the mighty Japan. In the last Asian Cup, Japan and Iran met in the semi-finals, which was supposed to be a close match, but in the end it turned into a one-sided situation, and Japan won 3:0 and advanced to the final.
In addition, Iran also reached the semi-finals of the 1980, 1984, 1988 and 1996 Asian Cups. Obviously, the semi-finals of the Asian Cup have become a hurdle that Iran cannot overcome.
In the past 30 years, many teams have been named the strongest teams in Asia. For example, Japan, Iran, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and so on. And Iran, with its style of play that is tougher than South Korea's, seems to be better able to control this title. At that time, Ali Daei was definitely the No. 1 star in Asia and the first player in Asia to play in a top giant (Bayern). It's hard to imagine that a team that once had Ali Daei couldn't even make it to the Asian Cup final.
Iran have reached the round of 16 in this Asian Cup, and they will need to win two more games to reach the familiar semi-finals. With their strength, it should be no problem to reach the semi-finals, but it depends on who the opponent is in the semi-finals. Whether Iran can break through the fate of stopping in the semifinals this time, let's wait and see.