Japan, Korea, Iran And Australia : Dismal World Cup But The Future Looks Better

By Somnath Sengupta
10 years Ago

In Ai??the 2010 World Cup two Asian teams qualified for the knock-out rounds, the best show from AFC barring the 2002 World Cup. In the knock-out round both Japan and South Korea gave a tough fight to Uruguay and Paraguay respectively before losing narrowly. Australia too came very close to qualifying for the knock-out rounds. This year though, the performance of AFC teams was nothing short of disastrous. Four teams earned three points altogether and each of them finished bottom of their respective groups.

In 1998 Iran and USA played out one of the tensest matches ever played in World Cup ai??i?? a game filled with political implications. Iran triumphed 2-1, picking up their first ever victory in a World Cup. Since then USA went on to reach a World Cup quarter-final and are now going toe to toe with superpowers like Germany but Team Melli have hardly improved. Iranai??i??s defensive organization does demand some applause. They were solid against African champions Nigeria and had they been a bit more clinical in front of goal, they could have easily picked up a shock win over Argentina. However, in the third game with qualification chances still alive, Iranai??i??s performance dipped as they lost comprehensively to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Iranian central defensive pairing of Amir Hossein Sadeghi and Pejman Montazeri were solid for most of the World Cup but a combined age of 62 means that the West Asians may have to look at other options soon.

Carlos Quiroz deserves some measure of credit for the turnaround of the Iranian national team and his decision to call Iranian players based on other countries was a major boost for Team Melli. Under him Iran not only qualified for World Cup the but was also sensational in the 2015 AFC Cup qualifiers where they topped their group without losing a single game. This team has a good blend of youth and experience and for now Iranai??i??s primary focus should be doing well in the AFC Cup next year. Quirozai??i??s resignation following the World Cup exit was a major blow and it remains to be seen who his replacement will be, with Roberto di Matteoai??i??s name floating around as per some rumours.

In the end, Australia was the only team from Asia to finish without a single point on board but they were far from being the worst performers. The perils of a group where too many teams were too strong caused the downfall of the Australian campaign although their 2-3 loss to the Netherlands in the second match was perhaps the best showing from an Asian team in this World Cup. Australiaai??i??s fighting display against Chile was also praiseworthy and by the time they suffered the 3-0 reversal against Spain, the Socceroos had nothing left to play for. Tim Cahill, effectively playing his last World Cup joined an elite group of players to have scored in three World Cups when he notched up his fifth overall Cup goal with a thumping volley against the Dutch ai??i?? perhaps the best moment from any Asian team in Brazil. Jason Davidson and Mathew Leckie showed promise while captain Mile Jedinak put solid, if unspectacular shifts.

Despite losing all three games, Australia can draw more positives from this campaign than the 2010 one. This is a very young squad where as many as 14 players were either 25 or less. Some of the Aussie youngsters stepped up on the big stage and the Socceroos can dream of a competitive unit for the next few years with these players. They will certainly be one of major favourites for the AFC Cup that they are set to host next year. And with a domestic league which has attracted the likes of Alessandro del Piero and Emile Heskey in recent times, Australian football is definitely looking at a bright future.

Just like their fellow continental teams,Ai??JapanAi??were undone by lack of a good finisher. 24 year old Yuya Osako, who scored 6 times for1860 Munich last season, started the first two matches as the tip of Zaccheroniai??i??s 4-2-3-1 formation. He failed to make any mark in either game and had to be replaced both times. The Italian coachai??i??s tactical decisions will also come under the scanner, especially for the game against Greece. Given the relative strength of teams in their group, Greece was perhaps Japanai??i??s best opportunity for three points. Zaccheroni inexplicably decided to start without Shinji Kagawa, one of Japanai??i??s primary goal threats. Even when Greece was reduced to 10 men Zaccheroni waited for over 20 minutes to bring Kagawa on. There was a visible zip in Japanai??i??s game after the Manchester United attacker came on the field and one had to wonder if it was a case of ai???too little, too lateai???. Against Colombia, Japan dominated possession and had more shots on goal but yet again, the lack of clinical finishing became a bane for the Samurai Blue.

So, where does Japan go from here? They are perhaps the strongest team in Asia, having won the AFC Cup four times in the last six editions. The success of their youth team in the Asian Games in 2010 and their womenai??i??s team winning the World Cup point towards a deep rooted football culture in the country. With a host of Europe based players in their team Japan still remains one of the best options from Asia to challenge on the world stage. Their current team has a number of highly talented players but unless they find a striker who can convert chances, Japan will continue to struggle in the World Cup.

Korea RepublicAi??sensationally reached the semi-finals in the 2002 World Cup but hasnai??i??t quite managed to build on that success since then. They were somewhat fortunate in the first match to come away with a point, with Igor Akinfeev spilling a routine catch from Lee Kyun-ho for Koreaai??i??s opening goal. Korea was expected to put up a better show against Algeria but lost the match in the first half thanks to a display of breath-taking team play from the Northern Africans. Taking advantage of some poor defending from Korea, Algeria struck thrice between the 26th and 38th minutes ai??i?? Koreaai??i??s two goals in the second half did nothing but add some respectability to the score-line. They still had an outside chance of qualification when they lined up against the already qualified Belgium in the last match. Korean hopes received a further boost when Belgium was reduced to 10 men in the first half with Steven Defour getting marching orders. Yet, just like their neighbours Japan against Greece, Korea failed to take opportunity of this situation, despite changing to a more attacking formation. A 78th minute strike from Jan Vertonghen all but killed off any fight left in the Asians. This was the first time since 1998 World Cup that Korea finished a tournament without notching a single victory.

At least three of the four teams that qualified for this World Cup are strongly placed in the AFC zone to qualify for years to come. Japan, Korea and Australia are significantly better than their continental counterparts in terms of domestic leagues, infrastructure and financial strength. They have the potential to challenge some of the bigger teams but at present, they lack the consistency to regularly do well in World Cups.

Categories: Features, World Cup 2014
Tags: Australia Iran Japan Korea World Cup

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