Asia continues to improve, Europe provides key to further World Cup success

DOHA, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Asia said goodbye to the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Monday night with the exits of Japan and South Korea.

Japan saw Croatia march on after a penalty shootout and South Korea suffered a 4-1 defeat to tournament favorites Brazil.

There was frustration for Japan, who for the fourth time fell at the last 16 without being able to reach the quarterfinals, while South Korea was unable to repeat their feats of 2002, when they got to the semifinals on home soil.

Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said he was proud of his players, and despite once again crashing into the glass ceiling of the last eight, he said they had laid the foundations for the future.

"The players can be confident that they can play on the world stage and they showed they can play in the World Cup. I think Japanese football can continue to grow."

"We can play against the world and beat the world and the players have shown a new era of Japanese football, and they should use this feeling of frustration to win next time," he said after the game.

Although the tournament ultimately ends in frustration for Asian football, there are indeed positives.

Six Asian teams competed in Qatar, including Australia, who also battled into the knockout stages with brave displays against Tunisia and Denmark before falling to a narrow defeat to a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina.

The fact that three sides from six made it into the last 16 has to be viewed in a positive light, even more so with Saudi Arabia and Iran also winning games here in Qatar.

Saudi Arabia stunned Argentina in their opening group game, before pushing Poland hard and wasting chances in their second match. Although big game nerves maybe got the better of them against Mexico, the experience will be important to get prepared for the 2026 World Cup.

Iran was well beaten by England in their opening match, but Carlos Queiroz's team recovered and showed personality to beat Wales in emotional circumstances, to go into their last group match needing just a draw to qualify.

They eventually lost 1-0 to an energetic USA, but showed they too can make an impact on the world stage.

The only Asian side not to win a game was hosts Qatar, who is ranked 50th in the world by FIFA. They were the weakest side in the tournament, but even so, Qatari football has improved enormously and with the facilities now available to local players, they are capable of pushing to qualify again in 2026.

19 players from the Japan squad now play for European clubs, while eight South Koreans also play in European football. However, only one Korean defender - Kim Min-jae - plays in Europe and defense was their weak spot in the tournament.

12 Iranians also play in Europe, with the majority in Greece and Turkey, while all of the Saudi Arabians compete in their homeland, although Salem Al-Dawsari had a brief spell with Spanish side Villarreal.

Although it is possible to bring top European coaches to Asia, the fact is that Europe is still the place to go in order to pick up the big-game experience at domestic and continental level that is needed at the very top level.

That is also true for China as well, bearing in mind only a handful of Chinese players, such as Wu Lei and Sun Jihai, have competed at top European clubs. In order to succeed, it is not enough to be technically good; it is necessary to learn the tactical game as well and develop the competitive edge that La Liga, the Premier League or the Bundesliga can provide.

South America can also provide experience, but a look at where the top South American players ply their trade shows they too follow the European route to success.

But the display of Asian sides in Qatar will certainly attract more and more scouts, and in 2026, it won't be a surprise if an Asian side finally breaks into the quarterfinals.