The Asian Challenge.

With less than two weeks until the World Cup begins, I have been pondering the the potential outcome for the Asian challengers. Australia, Japan, South and North Korea comprise the quartet who will hopefully do better then before. New Zealand is a kind of de-facto Asian contestant, having beaten Bahrain to qualify.

The facts show that teams from the AFC have not done well in the past. Australia got into the Group of 16 as an Oceania winner last time. South Korea and Japan did quite well in 2002 when the tournament was on home turf. That's about it.

My own feeling is that the best chance for an Asian team advancing lies in South Korea, who (I think) are the best team in Asia, never mind the Fifa rankings. Australia and Japan have been under-performing and North Korea is unlikely to set their group (the alleged, 'Group of Death') on fire. Oddly enough, lowly-placed New Zealand are having a strong burst of form, though I doubt that they have the pedigree to get through. But they are principally an A-League team and it's magnificent that they are in the competition.

Asia really does need to get the runs on the board in the World Cup if the region is to be taken seriously. South Africa presents an opportunity for all four countries to do something that breaks expectations. My guess is that at least two of the teams have to get to the Round of 16 for it to be seen as a success.

And that is a big ask.