Who are the Asian teams that have reached the World Cup round of 16? Japan has been on the list many times, and one team has won fourth place

The World Cup is the most important event in the world football world. Every competition will bring together teams from all over the world, and teams from different continents such as Europe and Africa gather together. Of course, teams from Asia are no exception. The Chinese team made its debut in the 2002 World Cup and also played against the final champion Brazil in the group stage. However, the Chinese team lost all three games in that World Cup and was eventually eliminated at the bottom of the group. As Asia, which is less developed in football, it is common to eliminate group members in the World Cup. Only 5 teams in the entire World Cup history have reached the top 16 of the World Cup. Let's take a look today.

North Korea reached the World Cup quarterfinals once

North Korea advanced to the World Cup twice, among which North Korea reached the semi-finals in the 1966 World Cup. In that World Cup, North Korea, with the Soviet Union, Italy and Chile, achieved a record of 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss in the group stage, and successfully advanced to the knockout round. Since only 16 teams participated in the competition at that time, North Korea, which qualified, directly advanced to the semi-finals of the World Cup. North Korea lost 3-5 in the first round of the knockout round and finally stopped in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. North Korea also participated in the World Cup in 2010, but was eliminated after the group stage.

Saudi Arabia 16 World Cup

Saudi Arabia was unpopular in the first game at the 2022 World Cup. They defeated the final champion Argentina 2-1, becoming the only team in the World Cup that defeated Argentina. Saudi Arabia has reached the main competition six times in the history of the World Cup, and in the 1994 World Cup, Saudi Arabia completed its feat of advancing to the top 16 of the World Cup. In the 1994 World Cup, Saudi Arabia was in the same group as the Netherlands, Belgium and Morocco in the group stage. Saudi Arabia achieved a record of 2 wins and 1 loss in this group, defeating Belgium and Morocco respectively, and entered the World Cup knockout round as the second in the group. In the first round of the knockout round, Saudi Arabia lost 1-3 to Sweden, ending in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. In the subsequent five World Cup trips, Saudi Arabia never advanced to the knockout round again.

Australia 2 times in the World Cup round of 16

Although Australia belongs to the Oceania country geographically, for Australia, which has joined the AFC, they belong to Asian countries in football. Australia has reached the World Cup six times, two of which have advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals. Australia in the 2006 World Cup was in the same group as defending champions Brazil, Croatia and Japan. In the end, Australia achieved a record of 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss in three group matches, and advanced to the World Cup for the first time. However, in the quarterfinals, Australia met its final champion Italy, who lost 0-1 to the Blues and stopped in the quarterfinals of the 2006 World Cup. Australia broke through in the group again in the 2022 World Cup. Australia, in the same group as France, Tunisia and Denmark in that World Cup, defeated Tunisia and Denmark in the group stage, achieved a record of 2 wins and 1 loss, and successfully advanced to the knockout stage. In the quarterfinals, Australia met the final champion again, and they lost 1-2 to Argentina and stopped in the World Cup quarterfinals.

South Korea has twice the top 16 in the World Cup; 1 time for the top 4 in the World Cup

South Korea has participated in the World Cup 11 times, making it the team with the most participation in the World Cup and the team with the best results. Although there are many hidden stories in the 2002 World Cup, FIFA did not deprive this ranking, so the highest ranking of Asian teams in the World Cup is still the fourth place that South Korea won. The host of the 2002 World Cup South Korea won 2 wins and 1 draw in the group stage and remained unbeaten and successfully advanced to the top 16 of the World Cup. In the knockout round, South Korea relied on its referee's advantage to eliminate Italy and Spain one after another, reached the semi-finals of the World Cup, and finally won the fourth place in the World Cup. In the 2010 World Cup, South Korea won 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss in the group stage, and once again passed the group stage test to advance to the knockout stage. The quarterfinals lost 1-2 to Uruguay and ended in the quarterfinals. In the 2022 World Cup, South Korea won 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss in the group stage, and advanced to the top 16 again with the second place in the group. In the quarterfinals, he suffered a defeat of 1-4 to his opponent and stopped in the quarterfinals.

Japan The World Cup round of 16 times

As the number one in Asia, they defeated Germany and Spain on the stage of the last World Cup and are currently the strongest team in the World Cup. Japan has participated in the World Cup 7 times, and four of them advanced to the top 16. Japan, one of the hosts of the 2002 World Cup, remained unbeaten in the group stage with 2 wins and 1 draw, and advanced to the World Cup knockout stage for the first time. However, he encountered Türkiye in the first round of the knockout round, and eventually lost to his opponent and missed the opportunity to go further. In the 2010 World Cup, Japan reached the top 16 of the World Cup again as the second in the group. This time the opponent in the knockout stage was the South American team Paraguay. Japan lost in the penalty shootout and missed the quarterfinals of the World Cup. Japan reached the World Cup for the third time in the 2018 World Cup, and led Belgium 2-0 at one point in the quarterfinals. Unfortunately, it was finally reversed by Belgium three goals and stopped again. In the 2022 World Cup, Japan defeated Germany and Spain in a row, and advanced to the top 16 as the group. This time they faced Croatia led by Modric, and finally lost the penalty kick and stopped in the quarterfinals again. The team reached the World Cup quarterfinals 4 times in total, but failed to go further.