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The 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup will be remembered as one of the finest as Qatar hosted a spectacular festival of football that produced classic matches, incredible upsets, late drama and, in the end, saw Lionel Messi finally get his hands on the prize he craved most.
For the Asian Football Confederation, meanwhile, it was collectively a best-ever campaign as the six sides from the continent posted some of the greatest results in their history as they broke new ground on the world stage.
With the sun now set on Qatar 2022, AFC Media highlights some of the stats and facts that caught the eye with Asia’s six representatives.
Five of the six Asian teams at Qatar 2022 picked up at least one victory, with Australia and Japan winning two of their games and Iran, South Korea and Saudi Arabia all claiming one win apiece.
The seven victories eclipsed the five from 2002 when Korea Republic made it to the semi-finals, while the 22 points was also more than ever before, beating the 15 from Russia in 2018.
Champions beaten
Japan’s stunning come-from-behind victories over Germany and Spain saw the East Asians defeat both the 2014 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup winners, with the former ultimately eliminated at the first hurdle.
Saudi Arabia’s incredible 2-1 win over Argentina, meanwhile, not only saw the Green Falcons defeat a then two-time champion, it also meant they were the only side to beat the eventual winners.
In addition, South Korea’s victory over Portugal was another huge scalp as they edged the 2016 European champions to advance to the knockout rounds.
Trio progress
And the knockout rounds is where we saw a record high three Asian teams, with Australia, Japan and South Korea all making it to the last 16 to better the previous best when the Japanese and the Koreans had both advanced in 2002 and 2010.
For Japan’s Samurai Blue, it meant a record fourth appearance in the knockout stage in the past six editions, with Korea’s Taeguk Warriors and Australia’s Socceroos advancing for the third and second times respectively.
Socceroos’ success
Indeed, it was an excellent FIFA World Cup all round for Australia, whose 1-0 win over Tunisia in their second game was their first victory at the tournament since beating Serbia 2-1 in 2010 in South Africa.
That game was also their first clean sheet since a scoreless draw with Chile in 1974, while the subsequent 1-0 victory against Denmark saw Graham Arnold’s team win two games at the global showpiece for the first time.
Breaking new ground
While the results may not have been what Qatar had hoped for in their maiden FIFA World Cup appearance, they achieved several firsts that will go down in history.
Qatar became the first Arabic country to ever host the tournament while Mohammed Muntari will forever be remembered as the first player to score a FIFA World Cup goal for the Maroons.
Amazing Al Dawsari
Of the seven wins Asia recorded in Qatar, four of them came after falling a goal behind as Japan conceded first against Germany and Spain before winning 2-1 while Saudi Arabia and South Korea did likewise against Argentina and Portugal respectively.
Furthermore, two of Asia’s victories came in stoppage time at the end of the game as Hwang Hee-chan sunk the Portuguese in the 91st minute and goals from Rouzbeh Cheshmi and Ramin Rezaeian in the 98th and 101st minutes saw Iran defeat Wales 2-0.
Evergreen Nagatomo
Japan’s veteran left-back Yuto Nagatomo played in all four of his country’s games in Qatar, which saw him move out in front when it comes to FIFA World Cup appearances for the Samurai Blue on 15.
In terms of all-time appearances among Asian players, Nagatomo, who’s now played at the 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022 editions, remains one game behind Korean legend Hong Myung-bo, who made 16 between the 1990 and 2002 tournaments.
Taremi doubles up
Speaking of topping lists, Iran may not have enjoyed the best of starts to the tournament, losing 6-2 to England in their opener, but Mehdi Taremi did manage to write some history.
The prolific FC Porto striker’s brace saw him become the first Iranian player to ever score two goals in the FIFA World Cup.
Goals aplenty
And finally, back to the collective, where the Asian teams scored a combined 22 goals – again a record high – in Qatar, with Japan and Korea top-scoring on five goals each.
The aforementioned Al Dawsari and Taremi bagged two apiece, while Japan’s Ritsu Doan and Korea’s Cho Gue-sung also netted twice.
