Asian Teams Vye for World Cup Glory
By James Moreau | 30 Aug, 2025

A new generation of Asian soccer stars are poised to make a World Cup splash.

The 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, to be hosted across Canada, Mexico, and the United States, will be the largest in history as the tournament expands from 32 to 48 teams.  The expansion offers Asian nations a huge opportunity with eight direct spots for the Asian Football Confederation.  

Japan and South Korea have already secured places, extending their impressive streaks of consecutive World Cup appearances.

Japan will look to build on their last two round-of-16 finishes.   The Samurai Blue’s wealth of talent is highlighted by right winger Takefusa Kubo of La Liga’s Real Sociedad, forward Daichi Kamada of Crystal Palace, and left winger Kaoru Mitoma of Brighton & Hove Albion, both in the Premier League.  The trio, all under 30, have a combined 26 international goals.

South Korea, with eleven consecutive qualifications, will once again be led by veteran captain Son Heung-min.  The newly signed LAFC star, recently became one of MLS’s highest paid players after spending over a decade playing for the Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur.  He is the nation’s all-time leading FIFA scorer with 51 goals.  

The Reds also boast Bayern Munich centre-back Kim Min-jae and PSG’s midfielder Lee Kang-in who have 16 combined international goals.  South Korea famously finished fourth in the 2002 World Cup, which they co-hosted with Japan – the highest finish of any Asian team.

Indonesia along with five Middle Eastern teams are in contention for the final two direct qualification AFC spots.  China, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines have all been eliminated.  Indonesia is considered a massive underdog.  Qualifying would mean their first World Cup appearance since 1938.  The first matches of the group stages will be played on October 8th.