[Saba Sports News] In the blink of an eye, the 2026 World Cup has completed the first round of the group stage. For many years, AFC teams have remained on the fringes of the men’s FIFA World Cup — historically, only South Korea reached the semi-finals back in 2002. When the World Cup expanded to 48 teams, many predicted a drop in tournament quality, and the increase of AFC’s participating sides from six to nine was seen as a contributing factor to the perceived decline in standards. However, this has not proven to be the case at the current North American World Cup. AFC teams are unbeaten across their first five matches of the tournament, logging two wins and three draws. South Korea and Australia both claimed victories, while Qatar and Japan pulled off impressive comebacks. Notably, the nine AFC nations that qualified for the World Cup occupy exactly the top nine spots in Asia’s FIFA rankings. Japan, the highest-ranked among them, sits 17th globally, with Jordan the lowest at 65th in the world.
The group stage moves into its second round. Now that all teams have appeared one after another, each team’s true strength and current form have been fully exposed. The big matchups between top contenders are set to be the focus this week. Powerhouse title favorites such as Brazil, Argentina, England, Germany, and France won’t face opponents that are all that formidable this week — so their matchups may not be as eye-catching as the clashes between the two hosts and two AFC-affiliated teams that performed exceptionally well in the opening round: Mexico vs. South Korea, and the United States vs. Australia!
The editor believes that Saudi Arabia will host the World Cup in eight years, and the success of its national team is a key component of the government’s vision. A stronger AFC will undoubtedly fuel their progress.