5 Asian teams who have done well at the FIFA World Cup

With the World Cup right around the corner, we look atthe Asian teams who have performed the best at the World Cup.

#5 North Korea

North Korea have played in only 2 World Cups, 1966 and 2010.

In 1966, they caused one of the biggest upsets ever after beating Italy 1-0 in their debut World Cup and qualifying for the quarter-finals. They lost 5-3 to Portugal in the quarter-finals despite leading 3-0 in the first 30 minutes and were the first Asian team to advance past the group stages.

In 2010, they faced Brazil in their opening match and narrowly lost 2-1, this was followed by a 7-0 thumping at the hands of Portugal and 3-0 loss to Ivory Coast which meant they were eliminated at the group stages once again. They have failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup.

#4 Iran

Iran are currently ranked as the No. 1 Asian team by FIFA and are ranked 37th in the world. They played their first World Cup in 1978 and have since played in the 1998 and 2006 editions of the tournament and are set to play in the 2014 edition as well.

In their first World Cup in 1978 they were eliminated after losing to Netherlands and Peru but surprisingly drew against Scotland to get their first ever points in the competiton.

In 1998, they recorded their first World Cup victory, beating the United States 2-1 but lost to Yugoslavia and Germany and thus failed to qualify for the knockout stages.

In 2010, they lost two games (against Portugal and Mexico) and drew one (against Angola) and were thus eliminated in the group stages.

#3 Australia

Australia have competed in 3 World Cups prior to 2014 in 1974, 2006 and 2010. In 1974, they were eliminated in the group stages after failing to score a single goal, were defeated by both East Germany and West Germany and drew against Chile.

Their best campaign was in 2006 when they advanced to the knockout stages after defeating Japan and drawing with Croatia. Tim Cahill and John Aloisi became the first Australians to score at a World Cup in their 3-1 victory over Japan. They were knocked out at the last 16 stage by eventual champions Italy.

In the 2010 World Cup, Australia failed to qualify for the knockout stages on goal difference after losing 4-0 to Germany in their opening game. The consecquent draw against Ghana and win against Serbia were not enough to secure qualification.

#2 Japan

Japan’s first World Cup appearance was in 1998 in France; they have qualified for every World Cup since. Their domestic league, J-League, is regarded as the best Asian league with a number of Brazilian and European stars part of the league.

Their best World Cup performances were in 2002, when they co-hosted the tournament, and in 2010 when they qualified for the knockout stages.

They were the first team to qualify for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups after the host nations. In 2002, they beat Russia and Tunisia and drew againt Bulgaria to advance to the knockout stages where they eventually lost to Turkey.

In the 2010 World Cup they lost to Netherlands but defeated Cameroon and Denmark to qualify for the knockout stages where they lost to Paraguay on penalties.

#1 South Korea

South Korea is undoubtedly the best Asian football team. They quaified for their first World Cup in 1954 but lost 9-0 and 7-0 to Hungary and Turkey and were thus knocked out. They have played in every World Cup since 1986 and in 9 World Cups overall, the most for an Asian team.

Their best performance was in the 2002 World Cup which they co-hosted with Japan. Having never won a World Cup game before, they were expected to crash out in the group stages like they previously had, but after beating Poland and Portugal and drawing against the United States they qualified for the knockout stages where they surprisingly beat Italy 2-1 to knock them out of the World Cup.

They faced Spain in the quarter-finals and beat them 5-3 on penalties to advance into the semi-finals. They lost 1-0 to Germany and then lost the third place playoff to Turkey but are the only Asian team to advance so far in the competition.