AFC v CONMEBOL at Qatar 2022 Qatar 0-2 Ecuador Saudi Arabia 2-1 Argentina South Korea 0-0 Uruguay Australia 1-2 Argentina South Korea 1-4 Brazil
Skorea learned the hard way the difference between playing a big team on paper who has nothing to play for vs a big team who has something to play for. They were lucky this was not a group stage game and GD didn't matter and Brazil stopped playing in the 2nd half to conserve their energy, otherwise it could have turned into a Spain vs Costa Rica. 4-0 in one half is the worst drubbing in a half this WC, this was the most lopsided half of any game so far. Japan on the other hand impressed against Croatia, though Croatia tends to play down to the level of thei opponents in the knockouts, they did this last WC too, I think they had 3 shootouts last WC.
For me Japan is the best team in Asia, regardless of Asian Qualifiers or Asian Championships. They produce in quantity and quality the best players on Asia, just my personal opinion.
My point before the World Cup was that AFC 1st tier is at least at the same level as CONMEBOL 2nd tier which has been proven right at this World Cup. Brazil and Argentina were always out of the quotation. How many AFC 1st tier sides advanced to the Round of 16? - 3/5 => 60% How many CONMEBOL 2nd tier sides advanced to the Round of 16? - 0/3 => 0% Yes! 0/3 since I count also Peru's playoff loss to Australia. Case closed.
Just when Asia make history with 3 teams in KO round but then none can make it further. A bit sad here
Japan seems like the Mexico of Asia, always gives a good game in the Round of 16 but ultimately falls short.
Now that I learned that Switzerland has never gone past the Round of 16, I feel like they're European Mexico
lol Has anyone told you you're full of *it*? Is this better? AFC v CONMEBOL at Qatar 2022 Qatar 0-2 Ecuador Saudi Arabia 2-1 Argentina South Korea 0-0 Uruguay Australia 1-2 Argentina South Korea 1-4 Brazil You're getting your butt kicked in our Barca prediction thread so don't be chirping too much.
If I am not wrong Switzerland was knocked out without suffering a single goal that WC. I am with awfull vibes for tomorrow, they are one of the most treacherous teams to face in Europe, no one talks about them in torunaments but they work like a Swiss Watch, always on the same mode. Bulgaria X Mexico in 94 also was one of the worse knockout games in that WC.
I think I agree with you for the present day. Time will tell if this is just a case of AFC's peak and CONMEbol's dip or if it's part of a longer term trend. There have been times when some of CONMEBOL's 2nd tier have risen to the level of Argentina and Brazil without sustaining it. No Asian side has reached that level yet.
Actually, they have never played a fifth match. For all the talks about Mexico, they did reach "el quinto partido" in 1986. Switzerland has never done it, and neither does Japan.
Well, the Swiss have been in the final 8, i. e. the quarter-finals. I don’t see what a “fifth match” has to do with it. It was a different format back then.
Japan were screaming out for a top class centre forward against Croatia. Until they manage to fix this issue, I can't see them getting past the Mexico syndrome. I wonder why they still haven't addressed this. Iran and Korea have goalscoring strikers in their ranks, while Japan seem to be stuck with the hard working, terrier types that don't really pose a presence inside the opposition box. A gap in their grassroots maybe?
Japan really feel like a mid-tier Euro side, akin to a Denmark or Switzerland, which is honestly a huge compliment for anyone in AFC. I get the sense they can hang with anybody but the true giants (really today just Brazil and a full strength French squad) when they're on their absolute best day. Even the pre-game bookies gave Japan almost equal odds as Croatia and as far as rankings go, they drew level so that will do a lot to advance where they stand. Iran is a half step behind but I mean they just beat Wales 2-0 so they're still in the mix of mid-tier Euro sides too. Just need to get out of the group stage one day to really prove it. I've no idea what to make or South Korea or Australia, they both have the ability to beat stronger opponents and excuses run out when they can do it more than once. It's no small feat to beat Denmark, Germany, Portugal and draw with Uruguay on the biggest stage, and these teams have done it these last two WCs. Korea beat four strong European sides twenty years ago no matter what lens you look at it. These are decent national teams and not afterthoughts. Saudis can play this year and show they deserve to be the last team or two to qualify for a WC as much as anyone else on the cusp of missing. You could say Italy and Colombia are more deserving but then I'd just sub out Serbia and Ecuador with them and you won't get much better or worse. Qatar didn't belong here. Qatar shouldn't have even hosted. In conclusion, the top 5 AFC sides, which have been unchanging for a long time now ever since Australia joined, have every bit of a right to be at a World Cup as any Euro or South American side just on the balance of performance, and they have the edge in them for continental diversity. Even if the Euro has one or two more good sides maybe, the World Cup is just far more interesting.
No kidding, they've nothing to offer aside from Mexico and the USA. Canada are woeful in their debut and Costa Rica is way, way over the hill.
I think OFC still holds this title quite comfortably. I think if you only look at the top 2 or 3 nations in Africa, Asia and North America there isn't much difference, but when you look at depth it's Africa, Asia then North America. At any one time there are around 10 competitive teams in CAF, 5 in Asia and 2/3 in CONCACAF. By competitive I mean capable of getting a point in a world cup tournament should they qualify. I don't think this has changed much over the years, the only change being the better teams are now roughly on par with the second tier UEFA sides.