Asian teams as the whipping boys

Asia no doubt has big potential in sports in general. I mean, look how many World Championships and Olympic medals the Chinese have won in Athletic's and such. But someway they don't seem to perform in team sports and as we all know, football is all about team performance not individuals.

South Korea came close to glory in 2002. Being the host nation, they reached the semis and got into the 3rd place match. Even though they lost it in the end 3:3 to Turkey, thanks to World Cup histories fastest goal scored (10.8 seconds) by the legendary Turkish striker Hakan Sükür, it was looked as a turning point for Asia. But none of the teams that were involved in Germany 2006 (Iran, South Korea, Saudi Arabia & Japan) managed to get past the group stage, with South Korea coming the closest, even snatching a draw versus France. And it looks to be the same story again in South Africa. Even though the groups are yet to be drawn, I'm willing to bet my house on South Korea again being the best from Asia.

Australia will bring more competitiveness to the region, but I doubt the Aussies will repeat their success of Germany 2006, where they were knocked out by the eventual winner Italy in the first knock-out stage.

Japan are going through a generation change and while there are still some players, who've made a name for themselves in Europe (Shunsuke Nakamure being the most notable one), the squad is largely made up of players playing in the local J-league.

Korea DPR deservedly made it to South Africa, playing some very smart and tactical football under their manager Kim Jong-Hun, but with only a few players playing outside the local league, this will be more of a learning curve for them and they're there just to make up the numbers.

Africa is also the continent that hasn't yet tasted World Cup glory, but in terms of footballing quality they are light years ahead of Asia. Talent plays big part in football and while the Asian players might have physical skills, they are still learning the mental aspects of the game and being a team in general.