No Asian team managed to go far this World Cup (again). What's holding them back?

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. No Asian team managed to go far this World Cup (again). What's holding them back? July 16, 20265:00 AM ET Juliana Kim Seol Young-woo (#22) of South Korea reacts after his team's 0-1 loss to South Africa at the 2026 World Cup on June 2 in Guadalupe, Mexico.

Luke Hales/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Luke Hales/Getty Images For a brief moment, it felt like this would be a good summer for Asia. The 2026 World Cup began with South Korea's electrifying victory over the Czech Republic. Then, over the next four days, teams from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) went undefeated, largely through draws.

The Details

Soccer Edition It's not just Cape Verde: African soccer is having a World Cup moment Luck turned on the tournament's sixth day. And when the losses rained down on Asia, they poured. The World Cup's expanded format made way for a record nine teams from the AFC.

But after the group stage, seven were eliminated: South Korea, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan. The last two, Australia and Japan, were sent home after the round of 32 — making the AFC the first significant confederation to see all of its teams eliminated at this World Cup (the Oceania Football Confederation, also eliminated in the group stage, was represented by one team, New Zealand. ) Teammates on Japan's national team react at the end of the World Cup match between Brazil and Japan in Houston on June 29.

Ronaldo Schemidt/ via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Ronaldo Schemidt/ via Getty Images It was not only a blow to the individual countries, but Asian football at large. Today, there are more Asian players in European club football, and more money and effort spent on the beautiful game in Asia. Yet when it was showtime on football's biggest stage, AFC teams delivered only three wins out of 29.

What Experts Say

For the sixth World Cup in a row, no squad from the AFC could notch a victory in the knockout round. Sponsor Message " What it showed is that Asian football can be competitive to a level, but there is still a gap that still needs to be bridged between Asia and the rest of the world," says Paul Williams, who is based in Australia and is co-founder of the online news outlet The Asian Game. So, what's holding teams back?

Or is it a matter of time until Asia has its moment in the World Cup like Europe, South America and most recently Africa? Dissecting Asia's World Cup performance The biggest disappointment among AFC teams was South Korea, which was the second-highest ranked squad in its group. After their initial win, the Taeguk Warriors became increasingly disorganized and failed to deliver in their subsequent games against Mexico and South Africa.

A group of people hold a banner reading "South Korea football is dead" as they wait for the arrival of South Korea's head coach Hong Myung-bo at Seoul-Incheon International Airport in Incheon on June 30. The best World Cup finish by an Asian nation was South Korea in 2002, when they placed fourth.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.