Sudáfrica 2010 - FIFA.com

96 Confederation analysis
Confederation
analysis
Asia
None of the four Asian teams qualifi ed for the round
of 16 at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
Nonetheless, in South Africa four years later, Japan and
Korea Republic made it through the group stage, which
represents a pleasing development and also a fi rst, as
never before have Asian teams qualifi ed for the round of
16 at World Cups held outside their home continent.
Japan won two of their three group matches and only lost
to Paraguay on penalties in the next round. Meanwhile,
one win and a draw was enough to seal Korea Republic’s
qualifi cation. The Koreans’ campaign was then ended
by eventual semi-fi nalists Uruguay. Australia, who had
qualifi ed for the World Cup for the fi rst time as a member
of the AFC, made an impressive recovery from a poor start
(a 4-0 loss to Germany) with a draw against Ghana and a
win over Serbia and only narrowly missed out on a place
in the second round. Korea DPR opened their campaign
with a respectable 2-1 defeat against Brazil, but were
unable to muster the same level of performance against
Portugal and Côte d’Ivoire. The improved showing by
Asian teams demonstrates that the considerable effort
made to promote football in the various associations,
particularly at youth level, is gradually bearing fruit. The
fact that numerous players are now plying their trade
outside Asia and are able to gain more international
experience should also be viewed positively. It is also
worthy of note that three of the four Asian representatives
had home-grown coaches, which demonstrates the
progress that has been made with coach education in
Asia.