World Cup 2026.. the best start for Asian teams in the World Cup

The Asian teams made a good start after the end of the first round of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, after the continent achieved 13 goals and 10 points, without any defeat in the first six matches of the tournament, out of nine.

The continent is participating in the current edition with 9 teams: Australia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Uzbekistan, in the largest Asian presence in the history of the World Cup.

The first round resulted in a positive outcome of two victories, four draws, and three defeats. South Korea opened the results with an important victory over the Czech Republic (2-1), while Australia defeated Turkey (2-0). Japan also came out with an exciting draw against the Netherlands (2-2), Qatar against Switzerland (1-1), and Saudi Arabia against Uruguay with the same score, while Iran tied with New Zealand (2-2). On the other hand, Iraq lost to Norway (1-4), Jordan to Austria (1-3), and Uzbekistan to Colombia (1-3).

This start surpassed the 2022 edition, in which the Asian teams scored only 7 goals and 6 points in the opening round, while the 2018 edition came with two victories and three defeats, and 2014 was the weakest start after the continent settled for only two points.

The current participation stands out as the largest Asian participation in the history of the World Cup, with the presence of the Jordanian and Uzbekistan teams for the first time, along with experienced teams such as Japan, South Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Qatar.

In the context of historical comparisons, the 2022 edition witnessed the most prominent Asian achievement in the first round, with Saudi Arabia defeating Argentina and Japan defeating Germany, while the 2014 edition was the worst ever.

The numbers confirm that the Asian teams started the 2026 World Cup in a more balanced and strong manner, with an offensive presence that reached 13 goals and a remarkable competitiveness against European and American teams.