As the continent faces overwhelming disadvantage, the influence of Asian soccer continues world cup performance.
On Monday, Jeong Mong-gyu resigned as president of the Korean Football Association.
His resignation follows harsh criticism Last week, after South Korea lost 1-0 to South Africa and were eliminated from the group stage, the resignation of the president and coach Hong Myung-bo were announced.
Chung, who has held this role since 2013, said, “There were moments when I lived up to your expectations, and there were moments when I deeply disappointed you all.” “All successes are thanks to the players and fans, and every failure is my responsibility.”
“I am confident that Korean soccer will overcome adversity and reach heights again, just as it has in the past.”
South Korean soccer superstar Son Heung-min apologized for his team’s performance in a lengthy post on social media, saying he was “inflicted with unspeakable hurt” and said he was eager to “win the hearts” of the nation again.
The day after Mr. Hong resigned as the coach of the Korean national team, Yasser Al Misehar resigns as president of the Saudi Football Federation The team fell at the first hurdle in their seventh appearance.
“The national team’s failure to qualify for the next round of the World Cup is the result of not achieving all our ambitions,” Al Misehar wrote on social media. “I take full responsibility for that and apologize to everyone who expected the team to be in a better position.”
not enough wins
In the 48-team World Cup, teams within the Asian Football Confederation could only win three out of 29 games. Of the nine national teams, only Australia and Japan advanced from the group stage. Iran was undefeated, but three draws were not enough to advance the team to the knockout stage.
Australia and Japan were eliminated in the first stage of the tournament, the round of 32.
AFC’s last hope, Socceroos, Lost to Egypt in penalty shootout. Australian national team head coach Tony Popovich’s job was already secure. After he signed a contract extension on the eve of the team’s contract extension. Opening victory over Türkiye.
Japan defeated Tunisia 4-0 and tied with the Netherlands and Sweden for second place in the group. after that After leading Brazil 1-0 at half-timeSamurai Blue lost with a goal from the five-time champions in the 96th minute.
“Through the three group stage games and the heated match against Brazil, I felt that what we have built can compete on the world stage.” Director Hajime Moriyasu Said. “If we continue to grow steadily, the day will come when we can become the best in the world.”
Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa warned that the remaining federations have much work to do to catch up.
Speaking about the finals of the tournament, Salman said: “While we congratulate the two teams who have qualified, we also have to be realistic about the overall result.” “Our team is progressing and showing great fighting spirit. The gap to the absolute top tier remains narrow and we must continue to work to close the gap.”
South Korea’s run to the semi-finals in 2002 remains the continent’s benchmark in the Men’s World Cup. Japan has lost four times in the final tournament, and Australia has 0 wins and 3 losses in the World Cup final tournament.
Jordan lost all three games in its World Cup debut and parted ways with coach Jamal Selami on Sunday. Selami took over in 2024 and helped Jordan qualify for their first World Cup in June 2025.
There is still speculation about Qatar’s future. Iraq After both teams finished bottom of their respective groups, Coach.
Uzbekistan also failed to pick up a point in their first appearance at the world tournament, but coach Fabio Cannavaro plans to stay on.
Uzbekistan’s last loss was against Congo. 9 African countries To advance from the group stage.
“All the players realized how difficult it is to play at this level,” said Cannavaro, who was captain of Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning team. “Not only the players, but also myself, the staff and the federation gained valuable experience.
“I hope this experience will lead to further motivation in the future.”
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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
