AFC Teams Unbeaten Through Six World Cup Matches
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- AFC teams went unbeaten across their six opening matches at the World Cup, recording two wins and four draws against opposition including world No. 8 Netherlands and tournament mainstays from Europe and South America.
- South Korea opened the tournament with a comeback victory over Czechia after initially trailing, a result consistent with their 22-place higher FIFA ranking.
- Australia stunned Türkiye 2-0 despite pre-match dismissals from the Turkish camp, including captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu's post-match insistence that his side had dominated even in defeat.
- Japan came from behind twice to draw the Netherlands in what the article calls the match of the tournament so far, echoing their 2022 wins over Germany and Spain.
- Saudi Arabia and Qatar forced creditable draws against Uruguay and Switzerland, sides ranked 42 and 30 places above them respectively in the FIFA rankings.
- Iran's 2-2 draw with New Zealand — originally the lowest-ranked team at the draw — was the closest thing to a slip, though Team Melli twice came from behind.
- Debutants Jordan and Uzbekistan plus Iraq, returning to the World Cup for the first time since 1986, face their opening tests against Austria, Colombia, and Norway in the coming days.
Why it matters: The article directly challenges the pre-tournament debate that expanding the World Cup to 48 teams would dilute quality, citing concrete results — Saudi Arabia and Qatar holding higher-ranked opponents, Australia upsetting Türkiye — as evidence that AFC sides belong at this level. A swipe at UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin signals this argument is aimed squarely at European football's governing body, which has been skeptical of expansion.
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