Arlington (United States) (AFP) – The gap between Asia's best teams and the rest has been laid bare by the region's disappointing World Cup as just two AFC sides reached the knockout rounds.
A record nine countries from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) reached the finals in North America after the tournament was expanded to 48 teams.But with the group phase having concluded on Saturday, only Australia and Japan remain.Of 27 group games contested by AFC teams, they won only three.In contrast, it has been a success story for African football, with nine of their 10 sides reaching the last 32."Where we need to improve is in Asian football (as a whole), not only Uzbekistan," said Fabio Cannavaro, the Italian 2006 World Cup winner and now Uzbek coach.Uzbekistan, playing at a World Cup for the first time, finished bottom of their group with zero points and a goal difference of minus nine.Although they had good moments going forward and were in a hard group, they were ultimately well beaten in all three matches, including being thrashed 5-0 by a Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired Portugal."Other than Japan, Australia and maybe Iran... every (Asian) team needs to improve," said Cannavaro, who previously managed in China including a short stint as national coach.Fellow AFC sides Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Asian champions Qatar all finished last in their groups.Also gone at the first hurdle were Iran -- whose tournament was overshadowed by war and politics -- and most surprisingly of all, South Korea.Much-maligned coach Hong Myung-bo quit on Sunday.
